The Juneau Douglas Ice Association brought home a gold medal by winning four-straight games in the Moose Fest Invitational Tournament’s 10 and under division in Anchorage last weekend.
The squad, also known as Squirts, closed out the tournament with an overtime, shoot-out victory versus the Comets from Anchorage.
The two teams played to a scoreless tie through an overtime period, so the game came down to the shootout.
Defenseman John McElmurry and forward Jaeger Dostal scored in the shootout, while goalie Florian Wade held the Comets scoreless.
“They played every shift with a level of intensity we haven’t seen yet; it was really impressive,” said coach Jason Kohlhase, who along with co-head coach Mike Bovitz guided the undefeated team.
Wade posted two shutouts, including a 26-save performance in the title game while giving up just four goals throughout the tournament.
Juneau started the tournament at the Subway Center with a 4-1 victory over Kenai. Karter Kohlhase’s unassisted first-period goal held up as the game winner.
Also scoring were Sonny Monsef and Jaxson White with two third-period goals 16 seconds apart that put the game out of reach.
Juneau won its second game versus the Moose Rangers, 4-3. Forward Lake Barltett broke a 3-3, third-period tie with just over 5 minutes to play. Also scoring for Juneau were Monsef, White and Oliver Stopher.
Juneau advanced to the title game by defeating a different Anchorage Comets squad, 1-0, when Dostal scored with 5:37 remaining in the game.
For many of these youth players, this this was their first competition against opponents from another town.
The team played at the Tier III level, the higher of the two offered in this tournament that featured more seasoned opponents.
Coach Jason Kohlhase has worked with many of these players for up to five years and said the new experience from the tournament produced some noticeable growth.
“As you move through life, you have major steps of progress,” Kohlhase said. “This was a weekend where they really grew. You could almost watch it unfold before your eyes.”
In addition to those who scored, playing forward for Juneau were Brendan West, Caden Johns and Macabee Brna. Turning in a strong defense were Stein Dostal, Camden Kovach, Luke Bovitz and Gabe Hansen.
