JDHS hockey seniors feted with win over Homer
- Klas Stolpe
- Jan 24
- 3 min read
Crimson Bears ice Mariners to celebrate seniors final home games
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
A special class of seniors were treated to a special evening Friday at Treadwell Arena as the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé hockey team sent their seniors off the ice with a resounding 8-2 win over the visiting Homer Mariners.
With a first ever appearance near the ice by the JDHS pep band, and a standing room only crowd in attendance, Crimson Bears seniors Elias Schane, Elliot Welch, Jack Barrett, Nolan Cruz, Hunter Lingle, Emerson Newell, Isaac Phelps, Zachary Prather, Issy Martin, Paxton Mertl and John Melancon were honored with their families.
“We played great as a team,” JDHS’ Isaac Phelps said. “Not quite our best game but we’ve got one more before state. I loved how many people were able to come out and I love seeing the pep band for the first time too! The whole atmosphere was more than I could have imagined. We’ve got to keep going hard for one more tomorrow though!”
JDHS had four goals in the first period. Cruz scored at 13:51, assisted by junior Caden Morris; Morris scored at 11:34, assisted by Cruz; Mertl scored at 8:39, assisted by junior Tricen Headings; and with 0.4 showing on the clock Welch scored on a power play goal.
“The game was good,” JDHS’ Elliot Welch said. “The team kind of slacked off a little bit and got sloppy in the second period, but we came back in the third to finish off strong. The showing for senior night was awesome. Sometimes with big crowds players can get selfish, but our team stayed with a ‘We’ mentally. The team definitely thanks everyone for showing up to watch our senior night and we hope you all will come back for our last home game of the season tomorrow.”
JDHS added three goals in the second period. Morris scored on a power play at 13:29, assisted by Headings; Mertl scored at 9:53, assisted by Headings; and Cruz scored at 1:25, assisted by Welch and Barrett.
The Crimson Bears final goal came at 10:01 of the third period as Mertl notched his third of the game, unassisted and short-handed.
Homer senior Nico Erickson scored at 8:32 of the first period unassisted and junior Berend Pearson at 5:27 of the second period, assisted by freshmen Landon Dehling and Elijah Williams.
JDHS will play Homer at 1:45 p.m. Saturday.
JDHS is 6-2 in the Division II Northern Lights Conference and 8-5 overall. NLC standings are 1. Palmer 9-1 (17-5 overall); 2. JDHS 6-2 (8-5 OA); 3. Soldotna 3-3 (10-7-1 OA); 4. Kodiak 3-4 (8-9 OA); 5. Kenai 1-6 (4-16-1); 6. Homer 0-6 (1-11 OA).
In the DII Aurora Conference Houston is 3-0 (11-5-1 OA); 2. North Pole 4-1 (16–2-1 OA); 3. Monroe 2-2 (7-3 OA); 4. Delta Junction 2-4 (5-13-1 OA); 5. Tri-Valley 0-4 (1-8 OA).
Both conferences qualify their top three teams. Two at-large teams are selected among the non-qualifying teams across both conferences based on the Ranking Percentage Index (RPI). Seeding for all eight state-qualified teams is determined through the same RPI. The RPI is based on a team’s record versus eligible varsity DI and DII games, opponents winning percentage, and opponents’ opponents winning percentage.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
