Coyotes 14U make deep tournament run

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Coyotes 14U squad made a deep run in the Moses Lake 14U Winter Classic, just falling short 5-3 in the championship game to the Coeur d’Alene Thunder.    

“It went well overall,” head coach Dan Niehenke said. “They were out there skating fast and playing well as a team. We saw a lot more team play, even over the last two weekends of tournaments that we've had, just further refinement and dialing in how they execute as a team.”    

After a slow start in their first game, where they won 2-0, the Coyotes caught fire as they won four straight games. From their second game to their fourth, they won by six or more goals to advance all the way to the championship game. There, they met the Coeur d’Alene Thunder, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Coyotes. Over the second and third periods, they managed to climb back into the game momentarily, but the Thunder scored one last goal to seal the win.    

“It was all in all, a really physical game,” Niehenke said.    

Their first game came against the Junior Kraken 14U squad in a more tightly contested game. Cole Girvan got them on the board in the first period with an unassisted goal to put them up 1-0. Both teams shone defensively, not allowing another goal until the latter half of the second period, where the Coyotes’ Archer Turnbull scored their second goal of the game, making it 2-0.    

Moses Lake held off the Kraken until the end of the game to seal the win and advance further into the tournament. Niehenke said the Kraken presented some unique challenges that led to it being a close result.    

“Their goalie was really good; he had a pretty decent glove, but more critically, it was just overall bigger in the net. The goalie was (around) 6-foot and just filled the net relative to most other goalies at this age, so it was a lot harder to get a puck around him into the net,” he said.    

Despite the win, the Coyotes were down a player after Amari Kurczaba collided with another player and suffered a season-ending wrist injury. According to the coach, she was having one of the best games she’s had all season.    

“Just being in the right place at the right time, disrupting a lot of a lot of progress that the other team was trying to make and it was about the last 10 seconds of the game, she was coming around the net, trying to get to the puck, and ran into a player that had just taken a shot and collided (with them) and somehow ended up breaking her wrist,” he said.    

Over their next three games, the Coyotes found a second gear as they dominated the ice. In three games, Girvan scored seven goals; Jack Sanders also had seven and Conrad Nelson had four. They defeated the Seattle Jr 14U Spartans 8-1, the Seattle Jr 14U Badgers 6-0 and the Jr Americans-Team Emery 10-1 as they stormed their way to the championship game.    

The Thunder were also undefeated heading into the final round of the Winter Classic. They erupted with four goals in the first two periods, taking a commanding 4-0 lead over the Coyotes.    

However, Damien Van Iterson provided a spark for the Coyotes with two goals toward the end of the second period, one of which was assisted by Girvan. A third goal by Noah Wiley made the game 4-3 suddenly, with just over 10 minutes left in the game. The two teams went back and forth, trading shot attempts. It would be the Thunder that sealed the win in the final minutes with a fifth goal.    

Despite falling short in the championship game, Niehenke was proud of how his players never quit.    

“The most important thing for them is that they (fought) throughout the entire game. Being down four points halfway through the game, that's hard to overcome, and for them not to give up on themselves and to continue playing at their level, I think that was probably the most impressive thing,” he said.    

With 12 games left in their season, Niehenke said he will leave it up to his players on how they would like to finish. Whether it’s to win as much as possible or just ensure they’re all having fun on the ice.    

“I definitely think the players are still looking to compete and refine the skills that they've built this season,” Niehenke said. “At this point, I'm going to leave it up to them, because this is their game.”  

    A group of Moses Lake Coyotes 14U players pose for a team photo outside of the Moses Lake ice rink.
  

    The Coyotes’ Archer Turnbull (82) races against his opponents from the Coeur d’Alene Thunder in a previous game earlier this season.