The Juneau-Douglas High School hockey team plays today on the road for their first away games of the season.<\/p>\n
The Crimson Bears (1-4, 0-2 MAC) play at 3:30 p.m. against Chugiak (3-3 CIC) in the first round of the Big Lake Lions Christmas Classic in the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center in Houston.<\/p>\n
The Mustangs, the reigning state champions, defeated JDHS twice last season. JDHS skated to an 8-1 loss in January in Eagle River to the Mustangs. A month later, the Crimson Bears fell to Chugiak in a 7-2 loss in the first round of the state tournament.<\/p>\n
The winner of the Thursday afternoon matchup will advance to play either Hutchinson (Fairbanks) or host Houston in the second round. All teams in the tournament are guaranteed three games.<\/p>\n
The Crimson Bears are well acquainted with both their potential second-round opponents, the Hawks of Fairbanks (Hutchinson) or the Hawks of Houston. JDHS hosted both teams last season at the Treadwell Arena and fared well against each. JDHS defeated Hutchinson 6-1 and 11-0 in November and overtook Houston 8-2 and 3-0 two months later.<\/p>\n
JDHS is coming off three straight home losses to the defending Mid Alaska Conference champions West Valley Wolfpack last weekend.<\/p>\n
In those three games, the Crimson Bears were outshot approximately 3-to-1. Even though JDHS struggled to match West Valley’s shot totals, they were only outscored 15-to-9.<\/p>\n
JDHS head coach Luke Adams wants more shots out of his team moving forward.<\/p>\n
“Our kids just have to understand that they’re going to have a better opportunity to score if they shoot the puck, even if it’s not the best shot setup,” Adams said after a 3-2 loss to the Wolfpack on Friday. “We’ve talked about (shooting the puck more), but it’s hard to get pucks on net, especially when you’re playing real skilled teams.”<\/p>\n
JDHS senior captains Joseph Monsef and Jacob Dale have been the team’s biggest offensive threats so far this season. The two are tied for a team-high three goals this season.<\/p>\n
Monsef, Dale and the rest of the senior class were just freshmen the last time JDHS played in the Christmas Classic. The 2014-15 Crimson Bears lost to Colony JV, Colony varsity and Wasilla that year.<\/p>\n
The cohesiveness of the tournament competition left an impression on now-senior Kane Ginter, who assisted on a Cole Barelli goal in Saturday morning’s 6-5 loss to West Valley. That loss won’t count toward JDHS’ conference record.<\/p>\n
“I believe seeing how other teams have worked together helped us figure out how to do that better,” Ginter said by cellphone Wednesday. “We’ve not always done that too well.”<\/p>\n
On the other side of the eight-team bracket are Wasilla and Monroe Catholic, who play today at 1:30 p.m., and Palmer and Kenai, who face off at 11 a.m.<\/p>\n
Sophomore goaltender Cody Mitchell, the starter in three of JDHS’ five games so far, will likely tend net today for the Crimson Bears.<\/p>\n
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com. Follow the Empire Sports on Twitter (@akempiresports) and Facebook (@JuneauSports) to know what’s happening in Juneau sports.<\/b><\/p>\n
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