Chugiak hockey hands top-seeded West first loss in overtime thriller ahead of winter break

Dec. 20—The drinks will taste sweeter and the fire will feel warmer for players and coaches with Chugiak High's hockey team this Christmas, after the defending Division I state champions pulled off a 4-3 upset of previously undefeated West Anchorage in overtime on Tuesday night at the Harry J. McDonald Memorial Center.

The matchup was a replay of last year's state championship and featured two teams that once again figured to compete for a state title.

"West is a great high school hockey team, and they don't have a lot of gaps in their skill level from top to bottom," Chugiak coach Rodney Wild said. "They're very skilled, very fast, and had so many opportunities to score, but the big difference for us was our goaltending."

Wild praised junior goaltender Cailyn Jones and believes that the Mustangs have the best tandem of goalies in the state, between her and River Scott.

"(West) had all types of opportunities but not second opportunities," Wild said. "We gave up a lot of shots, and in the third period, our ice was pretty cut up, and you could've shaved on their end of the ice because the puck was hardly ever down there."

The last time the two Cook Inlet Conference powers faced off was in last season's state championship game, in February. Back then, the Mustangs had a star-studded lineup loaded with some of the best players in the state. Chugiak captured the program's first title since 2017 with a convincing 5-2 victory.

"That was a special group from top to bottom," Wild said. "We lost the No. 1 goaltender, the No. 1 defenseman, and our top two lines for the most part. Those are big holes to fill."

['Committed' Chugiak hockey team completes unbeaten season with Alaska Division I championship]

Chugiak lost nine of its top players from that team, including seven to graduation and two to transfer — one out of state and another to West. On Tuesday night, a relatively new cast of players was featured in starring roles, and they came up clutch when it counted most.

"We were the team that everybody doubted, and even teammates on my comp team were putting us off, but we just showed everybody that we're here to play and we're here to win," said junior forward Blake Yawit, who scored the game-winning goal. "It was nice to play in front of and put on a show for the hometown crowd."

Heading into the last game of the calendar year for both teams, the West High Eagles were soaring high to start the 2023-24 season as the top seed in the CIC and only undefeated team in the state at 6-0-1. Meanwhile, after going undefeated last year, the Mustangs began their title defense by stumbling out of the blocks a bit, dropping four of their first eight games.

"It was probably the most intense game we've had so far," Yawit said. "We came out, played pretty well, and they kind of put it to us in the third, but we found a way to win and that's what we need to do every time."

After breaking a 1-1 stalemate in the final minute of the opening period and tacking on another goal in the second to go up 3-1, it appeared as if the Mustangs were poised to secure the upset in regulation. But a furious rally by West in the first five minutes of the third period resulted in a 3-3 tie. The score remained the same through the final third-period buzzer despite golden opportunities by both teams to avoid overtime in the last couple of minutes.

Then Yawit came up with an unassisted goal with 2:02 left on the clock to close the door on a potential West comeback and secure Chugiak's biggest and wildest win of the season so far.

"I got a chip from (teammate Landen Orebaugh) and I just took it in behind the goal line, and I saw a little bit of an opening and it just bounced off the goalie's back and went in," he said. "I saw the puck in the back of the net and was happy."

Jones was under siege far more often than West's Gunnar Bergo, and after a rough third period, she was lights out in overtime as she was credited with five of her 39 saves on the night.

"She's a good goalie and really stepped it up for us at the end," Yawit said. "We didn't play good enough defense in the end, but she saved us."

Stepping up and taking the reins

Yawit is one of the new faces in a featured role on this team this year. Even though Yawit is zoned for Chugiak, he wasn't able to play on last year's state championship team because he was a member of the Team Alaska travel competitive team, and players weren't allowed to play for both.

A special exemption was made this season to lift that restriction, and Yawit is now part of a large contingent of players around the state who are permitted to play for their high school and travel teams this school year. He's enjoyed his return to competing at the prep level after playing as a freshman two years ago.

"I think Blake really thrives in the kind of atmosphere that we have, which is to keep things simple, work hard, make plays — and that is what he does," Wild said. "He's great at the penalty kill, he blocks shots, and he busts his butt all the time on the ice."

[The Rewind: State wrestling features historic results, Rosie Brennan wins silver at World Cup and both UAA basketball teams have success on the road]

One of the returning players stepping up this year whom Wild went out of his way to praise is senior forward Fischer Sims. He's primarily a baseball player and doesn't play on any competitive travel teams.

"He hadn't played a game of hockey since February in the state tournament last year, and he just gets better all the time as he gets his groove," he said.

Wild believes the win gives the team a huge confidence boost and a lot of momentum heading into their break that the team hopes to carry over into 2024.

"I think it helps a lot," Wild said. "I was telling the kids after the game that up to this point, Chugiak was easily overlooked, but when you have an outcome like this against a team that is as skilled and good as West and we're able to come out on top, it makes other teams more aware."