KHL teams win Turkey Shootout titles

No skates. No sticks. 

It’s a good thing players and parents left early, though. The gear arrived to Anchorage before the start of Friday’s games. 

With their own equipment, the 10U and 14U teams skated to B division tournament titles. 

10U polished off a dominating run with an 8-6 victory over the Gomez Rams in Sunday’s championship game. 

14U rebounded from an early loss to the Anchorage Hockey Association Asteroids to defeat them 4-3 in Sunday’s championship match. 

“It’s great to represent Kodiak anywhere that we travel. We are happy to come back with the win,” KHL 14U coach Connor Beuthin said. “Obviously, super excited for the 10U as well. It is always good to have multiple age groups come back with championships.” 

14U

The 14U started the holiday tournament with a 5-0 loss to the Asteroids. 

It was all Kodiak after that. 

The islanders posted a 3-1 victory over Team Mann from Fairbanks, a 9-0 victory over the Mat-Su Eagles and trounced the Mustangs, 8-1, in the semifinals. 

In the championship match, Kodiak jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead and never looked back, getting goals from Kevin Foster, AJ Izzo, John Paul Pogson and Kieran Hayden. 

“I tried to get them in the mindset that we are a different team this game and we could definitely show them what Kodiak is actually about,” Buethin said. 

Kodiak got balanced scoring throughout the tournament, with Pogson leading the team with five goals, including a hat trick against the Mustangs, and four assists. Izzo, Collin Gibbs and Foster each tallied four goals, while Kieran Hayden and Joseph Dube added three goals. 

Foster and Maddox Deemer each had three assists, while Garrett Wood, Gibbs and Coven Otto each had two assists. Izzo, Ronan Hinman and Marek Wyszkowski contributed an assist.

All 11 skaters scored at least one point.  

Goalie Simon Lonheim was a stalwart, collecting 97 saves. 

“Each kid really did chip in. It was an overall team victory. ... They all did fantastic and I really want to stress that. The kids definitely came together,” Beuthin said. 

This is Beuthin’s second-year coaching KHL’s 14 team. He is known for wearing a suit — like NHL coaches — during games. The active Coast Guardsman wore a different suit for each game. 

“I try to be a good role model for the kids,” he said. “When you look good, you play good. That is just how I was raised when I played hockey.

“Those suits don’t get too much wear in Kodiak so I like to break them out of the closet and use them when we are playing tournaments on the Mainland.”

10U

Even though it was the first off-island tournament for many 10U players, Kodiak didn’t show any nerves playing on the big stage. 

Kodiak demolished the competition, outscoring its opposition 33-10. The closest outcome was the 8-6 championship game. 

Gomez scored the first goal before Kodiak jumped ahead and held at least a two-goal cushion for the remainder of the game. 

After Gomez pulled to within a goal in the closing 90 seconds of the game, Kodiak iced the contest with an open-net goal. 

“It was our toughest game and the game that we played our best — a lot of good passing, a lot of good assists for goals. They were tough competition,” 10U coach Derek Hietala said.  

Clayton Gardner was unstoppable in the championship game, netting five of his tournament-leading 17 goals. The youngster also added three assists. 

“He is a great goal-scorer and had quite a few nice assists for other team members to score,” Hietala said. “He kind of takes charge out on the ice, and when we need something done, he is our go-to guy.”  

Skylar Gatter and Jack Gardner also found the net in the final. 

The coach was proud that everybody scored at least one point during the five games. 

Jack Gardner had seven goals, followed by Anderson Graham (five), Logan Frost (four), Jax Arndt (three) Aviella Hietala (two), Titus Griffin (two), Gatter (one), Ryker Reed (one) and Alton Lonheim (one). 

Aviella Hietala paced Kodiak with five assists, followed by Lucas Gronn (two), Gatter (two), Griffin (two), Hunter Bates (one), Riley Ferreira (one), Reed (one), Graham (one), EllaGrace Otto (one), Jonah Baxter (one) and Arndt (one). 

Goalies Eloise Coulter and Otto each posted a shutout and combined for 26 saves. 

“They worked very well together,” Hietala said of the team. 

Leading up to the finals, Kodiak defeated the Comet Girls 8-1, Mat-Su Eagles 8-3, Junior Avalanche 9-0 and Team Dupree 10-0. 

Without having played an off-island opponent this season, Hietala, who has been coaching in the KHL since 2016, wasn’t sure how his team would fair against Mainland squads. He didn’t rule out testing the A division next time. 

“We don’t really know how good or bad we are going to do until we get to a tournament.  Turns out we had a really good team,” Hietala said.

18U

Kodiak’s 18U A team posted a 1-2-1 record during the Turkey Shootout. 

Kodiak topped the KPHA Ice Hawks 4-1, tied HCF Kennett 2-2, and lost to Junior Avalance 7-1 and AHA Comets 3-0. 

Captain Noah Coulter led Kodiak with two goals in the team’s victory. Rylee Otto, Noah Schrof, Theron Glover, Simon Grimes and George Aquino scored a goal. 

Rowan Wyskowski tallied a team-high three assists. Eljer Durand, Miles Grimes, Una McCarthy, Schrof and Aquino all had an assist. 

Goalie Aidan Johnson saved 72 shots. 

12U

Kodiak’s 12U team finished with a 1-2-1 record and placed fifth out of 12 teams. 

Kodiak lost in the quarterfinals to a team from Fairbanks.