The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears hockey team will honor their senior players Friday as they host Northern Lights Conference foe Kenai.
JDHS will hold senior recognition at 6 p.m. Friday followed by game one of their two-game weekend series against the Kardinals at 7:30 p.m. (JV play at 2 p.m.). The teams will also play early on Saturday, getting on the ice at 8:30 a.m. for game two. (JV play at 7 a.m.).
“The seniors will be vital in the team’s progression into the new season,” JDHS coach Matt Boline said in a preseason interview.
Seniors to be honored are goalie Caleb Friend (#1); forwards Luke Bovitz (4), Zander Smith (8), Ike Puustinen (16), Matthew Plang (22), Angel Aranda-Jackson (27), Dylan Sowa (35), and Emilio Holbrook (37); and defensemen Carter Miller (6) and Loren Platt (26).
“It is fun to be in net, it’s a good honor,” Friend said earlier this season. “I just keep battling and just have fun…I know I have the team behind me.”
The most important part of this group is their team-first attitude. Their motto of “Show your work, trust the process and accept the results” has foretold their willingness to leave every ounce of effort on the ice for each other.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the team,” JDHS captain Bovitz said prior to the first game of the season. “Even if one player is playing good and the team is not playing good then the one player can’t do it all. It’s about the team effort and everyone playing together.”
Currently JDHS is second in the NLC with a 6-3 record (9-6-1 overall) and Kenai is third at 6-4 (10-9 overall).
Against the same opponents, JDHS has beaten Kodiak 7-2, 5-0 and 9-0; Kenai defeated the Bears 9-1, 6-2 and 5-1. JDHS has defeated Soldotna 2-0 and lost 4-3; Kenai defeated the Stars 7-6 and 4-1 and lost 4-0. JDHS defeated Houston 8-2 and lost 6-1; Kenai lost to the Hawks 6-3. JDHS has lost to Palmer 4-3 and 8-4; Kenai lost to the Moose 8-3, 4-1 and 5-3. JDHS tied non-conference Colony 3-3; Kenai beat the Knights 6-2. JDHS defeated non-conference Bartlett 7-5 and 10-6; Kenai beat the Golden Bears 8-3. JDHS defeated Homer 13-1 and 9-2; Kenai topped the Mariners 11-1.
“It is not just an individual game,” Sowa said earlier this season. “You have to play as a team…just trying your best every day and never taking a shift off is how you set a good example…We have the leadership, we just have to grind it out. It is not an individual game. If we play as a team, just grind, I think we’ll do pretty good.”
JDHS last played two weeks ago on a three-game road trip defeating Houston 8-2 and Homer 13-1 and 9-2. Kenai lost to Houston 6-3 last Thursday and Palmer 5-2 last Friday. The Kardinals defeated Homer 11-1 on Tuesday.
“It is a team effort,” Platt said in an earlier interview. “Everybody has to contribute for us to be a good team this year…For us to have a successful season, every kid has got to show up ready to play and practice at 6 a.m.”
Palmer leads the NLC with an 8-2 conference record (14-5 overall), Soldotna is 4-3 (8-7-2 overall), Homer 1-6 (1-12 overall) and Kodiak is 1-8 (1-15 overall).
The top eight teams in the NLC and the Aurora Conference advance to the state championships Feb. 6-8 at Soldotna.
Houston leads the Aurora Conference at 3-0 (11-3-2 overall), North Pole is 5-0-1 (14-4-1 overall), Monroe 1-2-2 (8-3-3 overall), Tri Valley 2-5-1 (6-6-1 overall), and Delta 0-4 (1-8 overall).
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
