The Division II Soldotna hockey team dropped a pair of nonconference games to Division I Chugiak on Friday and Saturday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.

The Stars are now 3-3-2 overall.

Friday, Chugiak pulled out a 4-2 victory. Soldotna took the lead twice but could not pull it out in the end.

Soldotna head coach Anthony Zurfluh said his young squad learned some valuable lessons in the loss.

“I think that was probably the worst game we played,” he said. “I think lots of things are going to be able to get better.

“They got physical, and we kind of went away. We saw that against Kenai last night. They’re a big, tough team and they played physical.”

The Stars started well, with Noah Crabtree scoring the lone goal of the first period on the power play.

Early in the second period, Sam Theis lit the lamp to draw the Mustangs even.

With 2:57 to play in the second period, the Stars went our front again when Daniel Heath scored on the power play.

The Mustangs then took command in the third period. Morgan Greninger and Max McFall each scored on the power play and Chugiak led 3-2 with 4:37 to play.

“A couple power-play goals and the next thing you know, we’re on our heels,” Zurfluh said. “So props to Chugiak. They came out and took advantage of our miscues, and that’s just the way hockey goes.”

Holt Hanson finished off the victory with a short-handed goal in the final minute.

Jordan Olmstead made 27 saves for the Mustangs, while Brycen Clyde stopped 27 for the Stars.

“Their goalie came up with some huge saves that kept them right in the mix of things,” Zurfluh said.

Saturday, the Mustangs notched a 3-2 victory.

After a scoreless first period, Holt Hanson scored for Chugiak in the second period, but Marshall DeRaeve answered later in the period on the power play.

In the third period, the Mustangs jumped out to a 3-1 lead with 4:02 left to play on goals by Max McFall and Morgan Greninger.

Noah Crabtree scored with 10 seconds left on the power play for the Stars.

Caylin Jones had 29 saves for the Mustangs, while Brycen Clyde stopped 34 for the Stars.

Kenai takes 2 from Kodiak

Kenai swept Kodiak in Northern Lights Conference play at the Kenai Multi-Purpose Facility in Kenai. The Kardinals moved to 5-4 overall and 2-0 in the league.

Friday, the Kardinals topped the Bears 9-1. Mese led the way with a hat trick, while Martin had two goals and an assist, and Sawyer Vann had a goal and two assists.

Also, Noah Hallam had two assists, Cameron Cowie had a goal and an assist, Cole Langham had a goal and an assist, Mason Butler had an assist, William Howard had a goal and an assist, and Everett Chamberlain, Gavin Liles and Braden Smith had assists.

Miles Grimes scored for Kodiak.

Evyn Witt made 10 saves on 11 shots for Kenai, while Levi Crawford stopped both shots he faced.

Simon Lonheim and Garrett Wood combined to stop 31 pucks.

Saturday, Kenai won 6-2. The score was tied at 2 after the first period, with Rylee Otto and Kevin Koster scoring for Kodiak, and Langham and Martin scoring for Kenai.

Mese had the lone goal of the second period to start another hat trick. In the third period, Mese scored two more times, while Martin added another tally.

Lonheim and Wood combined for 40 saves for the Bears, while Witt stopped 16 for the Kardinals.

Both Soldotna and Kenai are at the End of the Road Shootout in Homer on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Jonas Oyoumick is interning with the Peninsula Clarion through the Kenaitze Indian Tribe Daggeyi internship program.

Friday

Kardinals 9, Bears 1

Kod 0 1 0 —1

Ken 4 2 3 —9

First period — 1. Kenai, Mese (Hallam, Vann), 7:48. 2. Kenai, Mese (Martin), 8:08. 3. Kenai, Cowie (C. Langham, Butler), 9:36. 4. Kenai, Martin (Hallam), 14:39.

Second period — 5. Kodiak, Grimes (McCarthy, R. Otto), 5:05. 6. Kenai, Howard (Chamberlain, Vann), 6:15. 7. Kenai, Vann (Liles, Howard), 13:10.

Third period — 8. Kenai, Martin (un.), 6:22. 9. Kenai, Mese (un.), 7:34. 10. Kenai, C. Langham (Cowie, Smith), 12:03.

Shots on goal — Kodiak 1-10-2—13; Kenai 16-11-13—40.

Goalies — Kodiak, Lonheim (20 shots, 16 saves), Wood (20 shots, 15 saves); Kenai, Witt (11 shots, 10 saves), Crawford (2 shots, 2 saves).

Friday

Mustangs 4, Stars 2

Chu 0 1 3 —4

Sol 1 1 0 —2

First period — 1. Soldotna, Crabtree (un.), pp, 13:38. Penalties — Chugiak 2 for 4:00; Soldotna 1 for 2:00.

Second period — 2. Chugiak, Theis (un.), 3:47. 3. Soldotna, Heath (Crabtree, Hawkins), 12:03. Penalties — Chugiak 1 for 2:00; Soldotna 2 for 4:00.

Third period — 4. Chugiak, Greninger (Gray), pp, 8:13. 5. Chugiak, Casey (McFall), pp, 10:23. 6. Chugiak, Hanson (un.), sh., 14:58. Penalties — Chugiak 6 for 20:00; Soldotna 5 for 18:00.

Shots on goal — Chugiak 8-11-11—30; Soldotna 11-9-9—29.

Goalies — Chugiak, Olmstead (29 shots, 27 saves); Soldotna, Clyde (30 shots, 27 saves).

Saturday

Kardinals 6, Bears 2

Kod 2 0 0 —2

Ken 2 1 3 —6

First period — 1. Kenai, Martin (Vann), 0:56. 2. Kodiak, R. Otto (Durand, Wyszkowski) 6:41. 3. Kenai, C. Langham (Mese, Hallam), 7:38. 4. Kodiak, Koster (un.), 13:15.

Second period — 5. Kenai, Mese (Howard), 6:57.

Third period — 6. Kenai, Mese (Vann, Martin), 0:31. 7. Kenai, Martin (Mese, Howard), 4:59. 8. Kenai, Mese (Vann, Liles), 12:31.

Shots on goal — Kodiak 10-6-2—18; Kenai 18-14-14—46.

Goalies — Kodiak, Lonheim (32 shots, 29 saves), Wood (14 shots, 11 saves); Kenai, Witt (18 shots, 16 saves).

Saturday

Mustangs 3, Stars 2

Chu 0 1 2 —3

Sol 0 1 1 —2

First period — none. Penalties — Chugiak 3 for 9:00; Soldotna 1 for 2:00.

Second period — 1. Chugiak, Hanson (Rukes, Runyan), 4:41. 2. Soldotna, DeRaeve (Crabtree), pp, 14:41. Penalties — Chugiak 2 for 4:00; Soldotna 3 for 6:00.

Third period — 3. Chugiak, McFall (un.), 3:42. 4. Chugiak, Greninger (Casey, McCormick), 10:58. 5. Soldotna, Crabtree (DeRaeve, Mullican), pp, 14:50. Penalties — Chugiak 2 for 7:00; Soldotna 2 for 4:00.

Shots on goal — Chugiak 6-15-16—37; Soldotna 8-13-10—31.

Goalies — Chugiak, Jones (31 shots, 29 saves); Soldotna, Clyde (37 shots, 34 saves).

Soldotna’s Riley Cronin carries the puck under pressure from Chugiak’s Morgan Greninger on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna’s Daniel Heath and Chugiak’s Cole Casey battle for the puck Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)