WASILLA — In early December, during a three-day trip through the Kenai Peninsula, Valley hockey teams finished a combined 9-0 against Soldotna, Kenai and Homer. Thursday morning, the Peninsula programs made the trip north for their three-day tour of the Mat-Su. And Thursday evening, Wasilla, Colony and Palmer picked up right where they left off against their Peninsula opponents.
Valley squads improved to 12-0 this season against the Peninsula, with Wasilla, Colony and Palmer each picking up lopsided North Star Conference victories.
Wasilla 6, Soldotna 2
Freshman Porter Schachle scored a pair of goals to lead Wasilla (4-2 in North Star play) to a 6-2 win over the visiting Soldotna Stars. Garrett Conroy, Larsen Tubbs, Russell Harren and Dawson Monk also scored for Wasilla, which outshot Soldotna 40-15.
Jace Urban and Cameron Knolton scored for Soldotna. Both of SoHi’s goals came during the final 1:28 of regulation.
Billy Yoder made 35 saves for the Stars.
Wasilla hosts Kenai Friday at 7 p.m. Soldotna takes on Palmer Friday at 7.
Colony 9, Kenai 0
Colony (5-0-1) needed only 22 seconds to take a lead and 60 to push its lead to a pair of goals.
Jake Kirsch scored on Colony’s first shift and Otto Thiele added another early goal to help Colony cruise to a 9-0 lead over Kenai at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.
Cy Eller finished with the hat trick for Colony, which outshot Kenai 49-5.
Thiele scored twice in the game, adding a shorthanded goal in the second period. Thiele and Cooper Smith each scored shorthanded for the Knights within a 66-second span. Colton Griffeth and Jake Branch also scored for Colony. Branch’s goal came on the power play.
Ryan Williams made 40 saves in the Kenai goal.
Colony host Homer Friday at 7. Kenai is at Wasilla.
Palmer 5, Homer 1
Like Colony, Palmer (5-0-1) also jumped to a quick lead Thursday night.
Taylor Foster scored 48 seconds into regulation to lead Palmer to a 5-1 win over Homer at the MTA Events Center.
Nathaniel Savel also scored in the first minute, finding the back of the net seven seconds after the Foster score. Savel scored twice in the game. Josh Meyers and Darren Fish also scored for the Moose.
Dmitry Kuzmin scored Homer’s lone goal early in the first period.
Palmer hosts Soldotna Friday at 7 p.m. Homer is at Colony.
Wasilla 6, Soldotna 2
Thursday, Brett Arena
First period — 1. Wasilla, Schachle (Harren) 11:10; 2. Wasilla, Conroy (unassisted) 7:02; 3. Wasilla, Tubbs (Conroy, Engan) 2:02.
Second period — 4. Wasilla, Schachle (Harren, Moore) 7:10; 5. Wasilla, Harren (Schachle, Butcher) 4:55.
Third period — 6. Wasilla, Monk (Moore) 6:30; 7. Soldotna, Urban (Knolton, Hensley) 1:28; 8. Soldotna, Knolton (Urban, Hills) 0:31.
Shots on goal — Soldotna 3-6-6—15, Wasilla 11-17-12—40;
Saves — Soldotna, Yoder 8-15-11—35; Wasilla, Curry 3-6-4—13.
Colony 9, Kenai 0
Thursday, Menard Arena
First period — 1. Colony, Kirsch (Cole, Riekena) 14:28; 2. Colony, Thiele (unassisted) 14:00; 3. Colony, Eller (Thiele) 0:05.
Second period — 4. Colony, Griffeth (Crosta) 11:57; 5. Colony, Branch (Kirsch) pp, 10:36; 6. Colony, Smith (Riekena) sh, 8:08; 7. Colony, Thiele (Smith) sh, 7:02.
Third period — 8. Colony, Eller (Thiele, Kirsch) pp, 6:34.
Shots on goal — Kenai 1-2-2—5, Colony 17-20-12—49.
Palmer 5, Homer 1
Thursday MTA Events Center
First period — 1. Palmer, Foster (Savel) 14:12; 2. Palmer, Savel (unassisted) 14:05; 3. Homer, Kuzmin (Blakely) 10:42; 4. Palmer, Meyers (Dojka) 2:29.
Second period — 5. Palmer, Fish (Hanson, Savel) 11:46.
Third period — 6. Palmer, Savel (Foster) 10:40.
Shots on goal — Homer 5-6-12—23, Palmer 14-8-8—30;
Goalies — Homer, Swanson 11-7-7—25, Palmer, Grogan 4-6-12—22.
