The Soldotna and Homer hockey teams set up a title match in the End of the Road Shootout by winning games Friday in Homer.
The Stars took down Bartlett 2-1 to improve to 4-2 on the season.
Clayton Longfellow put SoHi out front in the second period on an assist from Coel Nelson. Ty Fenton, with help from Nelson and Longfellow, made it 2-0 Soldotna in the third before a late strike by Kyle Sun of Bartlett.
Corey Hanson, playing just his second game ever at goalie, had 14 saves for SoHi, while Dimitri Trihub turned aside 21 for the Bears.
Also Friday, Homer defeated Houston 3-1. The Mariners, who outshot the Hawks 44-20, took a 2-0 lead in the first when Ulian Kuzmin scored on assists from Clem Tillion and Woape Huffman, and Kiril Sanarov lit the lamp on a setup from Anton Kuzmin.
Kyle Quincy, assisted by Tristan Hracha, made it 2-1 with 4:35 left in the first.
Homer then went up 3-1 when Sanarov struck again in the second period, this time assisted by Anton Kuzmin and Robby Larson.
Aaron Allred had 41 saves for the Hawks, while Markian Polushkin saved 19 for the Mariners.
Saturday, Bartlett and Houston play at 10 a.m., while Homer and Soldotna square off for the title at 12:30 p.m. The teams have already met twice this season, with each side winning one game.
Friday
Stars 2, Golden Bears 1
Soldotna 0 1 1 —2
Bartlett 0 0 1 —1
First period — none. Penalties — Soldotna 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 1. Soldotna, Longfellow (Nelson), 12:54. Penalties — none.
Third period — 2. Soldotna, Fenton (Nelson, Longfellow), 6:06; 3. Bartlett, Sun (un.), 0:14. Penalties — Soldotna 2 for 4:00; Bartlett 1 for 2:00.
Shots on goal — Soldotna 6-11-4—21; Bartlett 5-1-8—14.
Goalies — Soldotna, Hanson (15 shots, 14 saves); Bartlett, Dimitri Trihub (23 shots, 21 saves).
Friday
Mariners 3, Hawks 1
Houston 1 0 0 —1
Homer 2 1 0 —3
First period — 1. Homer, U. Kuzmin (C. Tillion, Huffman), 2:26; 2. Homer, Sanarov (A. Kuzmin), 4:26; 3. Houston, Quincy (Hracha), 10:25. Penalties — Houston 3 for 6:00; Homer 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 4. Homer, Sanarov (A. Kuzmin, Larson), 7:59. Penalties — Houston 3 for 6:00; Homer 2 for 4:00.
Third period — none. Penalties — Houston 3 for 6:00; Homer 4 for 8:00.
Shots on goal — Houston 8-6-6—20; Homer 19-11-14—44.
Goalies — Houston, Allred (44 shots, 41 saves); Homer, Polushkin (20 shots, 19 saves).
