The Railbelt Conference produced yet another tight game, with the Kenai Central and Soldotna hockey teams playing to a 4-all tie Tuesday at the Kenai Multi-Purpose Facility.
The Kardinals are now 7-6-1 and 3-1-1 in the league, while the Stars are 7-6-1 and 2-2-1 in the league. In nonconference play, Kenai had defeated Soldotna 6-5 in overtime Oct. 30.
“It’s just such a tight conference and that makes it so much fun,” Soldotna head coach Anthony Zurfluh said. “I have a lot of respect for (Kenai) coach Scott (Shelden). I’ve coached with him in the past.
“This is perfect for these kids and where they are headed in their hockey journey, and to bring high school hockey back to where it used to be.”
Zurfluh said it was a back-and-forth game that saw both teams lean on older and more experienced players as the contest wore on.
Soldotna took a 2-0 lead in the first period, with Gehret Medcoff scoring on assists from Daniel Heath and Boone Theiler, and Aiden Burcham lighting the lamp with help from Dylan Dahlgren and Josh O’Lena.
Just before the end of the period, Jacob Begich got Kenai going on an assist from Landen Cialek.
In the second period, SoHi jumped ahead on a goal from Marshall DeRaeve, Kenai fought back on a Cialek goal assisted by Begich and Koda Norbeck, then the Stars took a 4-3 lead into the final period when Dahlgren scored on an assist from Medcoff.
In the third period, Daniel Shelden scored unassisted with 9:37 to play to tie the game.
“In overtime, I thought we had a fair amount of pressure, then all of a sudden they were pouring it on,” Zurfluh said. “That’s what high school hockey is all about.”
Tanner Clyde saved 33 for the Stars, while Carson Koppes stopped 28 for the Kardinals.
“Tanner Clyde did well,” Zurfluh said. “We’ve been rolling with Ayden See, our senior goalie, but it’s our job to build Tanner up too. He got player of the game in our locker room.”
Zurfluh also gave defensemen Dahlgren, a senior, and Burcham, a junior, credit for logging a lot of effective minutes on the ice.
Tuesday
Stars 4, Kardinals 4
Soldotna 2 2 0 0 —4
Kenai 1 2 1 —4
First period — 1. Soldotna, Medcoff (Heath, Theiler), 4:07; 2. Soldotna, Burcham (Dahlgren, O’Lena), 7:35; 3. Kenai, Begich (Cialek), 13:13. Penalties — Soldotna 2 for 4:00; Kenai 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 4. Kenai, Petty (Mese, Shelden), 4:43; 5. Soldotna, DeRaeve (un.), 6:48; 6. Kenai, Cialek (Begich, Norbeck), 8:11; 7. Soldotna, Dahlgren (Medcoff), 12:40. Penalties — Soldotna 1 for 2:00; Kenai 1 for 2:00.
Third period — 8. Kenai, Shelden (un.), 5:23. Penalties — Soldotna 4 for 8:00; Kenai 3 for 6:00.
Shots on goal — Soldotna 8-11-9-4—32; Kenai 14-11-10-2—37.
Goalies — Soldotna, Clyde (37 shots, 33 saves); Kenai, Koppes (32 shots, 28 saves).
Kenai Central’s Koda Norbeck looks for a way around Soldotna’s Daniel Heath and Zack Zurfluh on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, at the Kenai Multi-Purpose Facility in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
