The Soldotna hockey team finished 1-1-1 and Kenai Central finished 1-2-0 at the Stars and Stripes Showdown at the MTA Events Center in Palmer.
The Stars defeated North Pole 3-1 on Saturday, while the Kardinals fell to West Valley 4-2.
Soldotna finished sixth at the 12-team tournament, while Kenai was seventh. The title went to Colony. Soldotna’s Jace Appelhans and Kenai’s Logan Mese made the all-tournament team.
Soldotna 3, North Pole 1
The Stars move to 3-2-1 overall by getting a pair of goals from Silas Larsen.
North Pole’s Caiden Olson put the Patriots up 1-0 with 10:03 left in the second period, but a pair of tallies by Larsen had the Stars up 2-1 headed to the third. Assists were by Jace Appelhans and Aiden Burcham, and Burcham and Zach Zurfluh.
Burcham added an unassisted goal in the third period.
Tanner Clyde stopped 21 for the Stars, while Daniel Rady had 23 saves for the Patriots.
West Valley 4, Kenai 2
The Kardinals fell to 2-4-0 overall when a third-period rally came up short.
West Valley took a 2-0 lead into the final 15 minutes thanks to second-period strikes by Landon Rogers and Tucker Sarkisian.
In the third, Kenai’s Logan Mese scored at the 5:21 and 3:39 marks to cut the gap to 3-2. Landen Cialek assisted on the first goal, while Josiah Petty had the helper on the second.
With 17 seconds left, John Sauer scored unassisted for the Patriots.
Senna Swanson had 17 saves for Kenai, while Daniel Ragsdale stopped 22 for the Wolfpack.
Saturday
Stars 3, Patriots 1
North Pole 0 1 0 —1
Soldotna 0 2 1 —3
First period — none. Penalties — North Pole 1 for 2:00; Soldotna 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 1. North Pole, Olson (un.), 4:57; 2. Soldotna, Larsen (Appelhans, Burcham), pp, 12:31; 3. Soldotna, Larsen (Burcham, Zurfluh), 13:49. Penalties — North Pole 2 for 4:00; Soldotna 4 for 11:00.
Third period — 4. Soldotna, Burcham (un.), 0:23. Penalties — North Pole 2 for 4:00.
Shots on goal — North Pole 7-9-6—22; Soldotna 10-6-11—26.
Goalies — North Pole, Rady (26 shots, 23 saves); Soldotna, Clyde (22 shots, 21 saves).
Wolfpack 4, Kardinals 2
West Valley 0 2 2 —4
Kenai 0 0 2 —2
First period — none. Penalties — Kenai 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 1. West Valley, Rogers (Viviamore), sh, 3:49; 2. West Valley, Sarkisian (Irinaga, Reinheller), 5:45. Penalties — West Valley 2 for 4:00; Kenai 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 3. West Valley, Nautiyal (Roon), 3:02; 4. Kenai, Mese (Cialek), 9:39; 5. Kenai, Mese (Petty), 11:21; 6. West Valley, Sauer (un.), 14:43. Penalties — West Valley 1 for 2:00.
Shots on goal — West Valley 6-9-6—21; Kenai 8-8-8—24.
Goalies — West Valley, Ragsdale (24 shots, 22 saves); Kenai, Swanson (21 shots, 17 saves).
