Big hits were on the menu Wednesday night. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
As per usual when most high school sport’s regular seasons wind down, the night belonged to 13 seniors wearing Dimond hockey’s white, gold and maroon.
The players and two cheerleaders were feted in a pre-game ceremony that delayed Wednesday’s Cook Inlet Conference start versus Chugiak by 22 minutes. The honored Lynx thanked friends and family, named role models, shared memorable accomplishments while in school and more.
Dimond senior co-captain Joe Christiansen let it be known that passing a physical education class via remote learning and Zoom meetings ranked high for him personally. Don’t dare knock the effort.
“Just like hockey, come in, put your head down and do the work,” he said.
Christiansen and the Lynx did that and then some for three periods on the Ben Boeke Arena ice and secured arguably their season’s biggest signature win. Led by Andrew Sturgeon’s goal and two assists, six Dimond seniors accounted for all the scoring in a taut 4-3 victory over Chugiak, snapping the defending Division I state-champion Mustangs’ six-game unbeaten streak.
Senior goaltender Zoie Campbell got in on the upperclassmen fun with 18 saves.
Dimond 4 Chugiak 3 High School hockey at the peak! Sold out arena, blaring music, goals, big hits and scoring chances right down to the last buzzer. @sportsadn @KTUUSports @AKSportsReport @NFHS_Org pic.twitter.com/zy1Iss1eFg
— Anchorage HS Hockey (@CIC_Hockey) January 25, 2024
Whether or not it was the pomp and circumstance, Dimond mostly rid itself of the uneven spots that plagued it at times earlier this season. The Lynx improved to 8-4-1 overall, 7-4-0 in the CIC and have won six of seven since losing two straight back in November.
“We’re all coming down to the end and starting to figure it out before (the) state (tournament, Feb. 8-10 in Wasilla),” said Christiansen, who assisted on defenseman Jason McKenna’s goal at 13 minutes, 53 seconds of the opening period. “We’ve had our off games when we’ve been kind of inconsistent, and it all started coming together (tonight).”
Chugiak whipped Dimond 6-3 in Eagle River on Nov. 21. Wednesday’s loss dropped the Mustangs to 8-6-1, 7-3-1.
The sole CIC contest on the night’s docket was played at a playoff-like fever pitch only days away from the start of the 63-year-old league’s 55th conference tournament. Fans were vocally invested, hits were finished and the up-and-down action was fun for everyone to witness.
“We came into this knowing we had to focus on securing second place (in the regular-season standings),” said Chugiak coach Rod Wild. “Quite frankly, (Dimond coach) Dennis (Sorenson) had his team more ready to go than I had mine.”
Chugiak goaltender Caylin Jones turns away Dimond’s Caden Cartwright on the doorstep. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
McKenna’s goal in the first started off quite the exchange. Chugiak’s Brody Phillips scored with only three seconds remaining in the first off a horrid Dimond defensive-zone turnover. Lynx senior Caden San Juan answered in the second followed by Mustangs senior Fischer Sims.
Sturgeon’s rush down the right wing and goal at 3:33 of the third made the score 3-2. Dimond’s Tyson Jones, scorer of the decisive goal in the 2022 DI First National Cup finale, tallied the eventual game winner at 10:09. Chugiak’s Blake Yawit concluded the scoring 99 seconds later.
Chugiak junior goalie Caylin Jones turned aside 17 shots in the tough-luck loss.
At both the start of the third period and game’s end, Sorenson and Wild provided a pair of truly poignant moments. The coaches, Sorenson in his awe-inspiring 33rd season, and Wild his 25th, have been friends since the 1980s. They’ve coached against one another too many times to count, although Sorenson assuredly has the exact number documented somewhere. Wild said Sorenson helped him connect to Anchorage when Wild arrived to play at UAA a few years after Sorenson’s Hall of Fame career was over.
Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Sorenson and Wild stood on the ice near where their respective benches met, twice sharing meaningful hugs and heartfelt words. An Economics teacher at the school, Wild intends to return as coach next season if Chugiak will have him. Retirement could be on the table for Sorenson, who teaches at Mears Middle School.
The scene left you wondering – will dedicated, professional educators much longer be willing to coach for decades and decades? Only time will time.
“I told Denny I loved him,” an emotional Wild said. “Whether I’d convince him to come back or not, I love the idea of our last regular-season game being exactly like the one played tonight.
“We go back such a long way.”
ONE-TIMERS
- Here’s how the remainder of the CIC regular season shakes out: Thursday – Eagle River vs. South and West vs. Bartlett/East; Friday – Service vs. Dimond and Chugiak vs. Eagle River; Saturday – West vs. Service.
- Chugiak’s loss locked up West’s first conference regular-season championship since 2020 and eighth overall. The league tournament’s top seed guarantees the Eagles a spot at DI state as will the tournament’s second seed. The Mustangs, Dimond and South technically remain in play with one game remaining for each squad. The tournament’s top four finishers comprise half of the DI state bracket.
Chugiak’s Morgan Greninger on the move. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report