Crimson Bears swallow Kardinals on Kenai ice
- Klas Stolpe
- Dec 6, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Goal-scoring floodgates open and cover the sheets
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears hockey team opened the scoring floodgates and covered the Kenai Ice Arena in a two-game sweep over the Kardinals, winning 4-2 on Friday and 8-2 Saturday.
The Crimson Bears also beat Soldotna 1-0 on Wednesday and 4-0 Thursday at the Soldotna Sports Complex.
“The team played great,” JDHS senior captain Elliot Welch said. “These two games were really good character-building games after we came off from beating SOHI. We had a small hiccup in the first period on Friday, but other than that we worked hard through the rest of Friday and all of Saturday.”
Welch scored the Crimson Bears’ first goal Friday, tying the score at 1-1, answering an earlier score by Kenai’s Noah Hallam for a momentum boost. He was assisted by freshman Paxton Willoughby and sophomore Summit Bos.
“It was a pass from Paxton Willoughby,” Welch said. “I walked across the blue line with a quick shot with Ryker Nelson screening the goalie so he couldn’t see the shot.”
JDHS then scored twice in the second period with Welch hitting unassisted at 10:39 and junior Caden Morris scoring at 5:00 assisted by senior Elias Schane for a 3-1 lead.
“The second goal was off a center ice faceoff from Paxton Mertl,” Welch said. “I took it with speed into the zone, cut in towards the center and shot it low glove-side…Although I may have been the one who scored the goal, all the goals are a team effort and normally it means that each player was doing their job on the ice to make that goal possible.”
Kenai’s Ryder Gagnon scored unassisted at 2:09 of the third period to pull the Kardinals to 3-2, but JDHS senior Dylan Miller scored unassisted less than a minute later for the 4-2 final.
JDHS junior goalie Jed Davis stopped 25 of 27 Kenai shots on Friday and 23 of 25 on Saturday as the Crimson Bears continued to play solid on the forecheck, pressuring the Kardinals in their defensive and neutral zones to regain puck possession, creating turnovers and disrupting the Kardinals’ breakouts.
"Overall I would say we did what we came there to do, dominate," Davis said. "From my perspective it felt like we were always in control of the game. Our offense was strong and our defense letting something by was a rare occasion. I was pretty nervous to see how I would do after so many years off the ice but it felt like I had never stepped off. I made a few mistakes but in the end I made the saves that I needed to and it paid off for the whole team."
The Crimson Bears were also stellar at the forward position, back-checking into their own defensive zone to aid Davis against the Kardinals’ scoring chances.
“I would say I am happiest with how this team has come together,” JDHS senior Isaac Phelps said. “We had a rough first two games of the season (Palmer), but going on the road and shutting out Soldotna twice and taking it to Kenai twice in one weekend is huge. I am also proud of this team and how big of a statement we made. From our forecheck to our shot count, we played so good this weekend. I am just so proud of this team.”
JDHS had 62 shots on the Kenai goal Friday and 48 Saturday.
On Saturday, JDHS scored in the opening minutes of the first period with senior Nolan Cruz hitting at 13:58, assisted by Welch and senior Zach Prather, and Bos hitting at 10:39, assisted by Phelps. Kenai would find the net with two seconds remaining to pull to 2-1.
"I would describe my goal as a team effort," Cruz said. "Our line works hard to keep the puck in the zone and we were able to get it up to our point. He took a low hard shot and I was able to tip it. I am very happy about our teams performance this week. And moving forward teams know that we are a good team and that we can competet."
JDHS scored two goals in the opening minutes of the second period as well, with senior Paxton Mertl hitting at 14:41, assisted by junior Drew Cadigan-McAdoo, and sophomore Ryker Nelson hit at 13:15, assisted by Willoughby and Bos. Welch would add a score unassisted with 8:05 remaining in the stanza.
JDHS earned three more goals in the third period. Willoughby hit at 12:21 assisted by Nelson and Bos, Cadigan-McAdoo at 8:34 assisted by Morris, and Bos with 17 seconds remaining assisted by Welch. Kenai scored a goal at 6:25 of the stanza.
JDHS had seven penalties and Kenai 11 in the series.
The Crimson Bears are currently 4-2 in the Northern Lights Conference. Their two losses are to Palmer. JDHS will next play at the Houston/Big Lake Tournament on Dec. 11-13 and will host NLC opponent Kodiak Dec. 18-19.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
