The Soldotna hockey team won the End of the Road Shootout by defeating Homer 3-1 on Saturday in Homer.
The two teams had split two earlier meetings, but the Stars (5-2 overall) took control Saturday by going up 3-0 heading into the third period.
Making the win even more impressive is the fact that SoHi goalie Corey Hanson had never played between the pipes until the tourney opener Thursday.
“The kids have worked hard,” Soldotna coach Derek Urban said. “Team defense is probably what kept us in every game. It’s definitely gratifying.”
Urban said Ty Fenton and Justice Miller were very good Saturday, while the leadership group of Fenton, Miller, Coel Nelson and Kenny Flanders had a great tournament.
Nelson scored the lone goal of the first period on an assist from Miller. In the second, Fenton, assisted by Cole Crandall, and Ethan Brown, assisted by Miller, put Soldotna up 3-0.
Dimitry Kuzmin, assisted by Kiril Sanarov, scored for Homer in the third.
Hanson made 24 saves, while Riley Swanson had 24 saves for the Mariners.
In the third-place game, Houston notched a 5-1 victory over Bartlett.
Friday, Soldotna and Homer set up a title match with victories.
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 Nelson. Fenton, with help from Nelson and Longfellow, made it 2-0 Soldotna in the third before a late strike by Kyle Sun of Bartlett.
Hanson 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 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.
Juneau sweeps Kenai
Host Juneau-Douglas swept Kenai Central on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the Crimson Bears won 5-2 and also outshot the Kards 32-11.
Dalton Dosko, on assists from Cody Arbelovsky and Chris Hagel, but the Kards up 1-0 in the first period, but Juneau would scored three times before the end of the period.
In the second, Dosko cut the gap to 3-2 on assists from Levi Mese and Tristan Bulot, but Juneau would take control from there.
Nate O’Lena had 27 saves for the Kardinals.
Saturday, Kenai lost 2-1. Dosko had the goal, assisted by Hagel. O’Lena made 26 saves.
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).
Friday
Crimson Bears 5, Kardinals 2
Kenai 1 1 0 —2
Juneau 3 0 2 —5
First Period – 1, Kenai, Dosko (Arbelovsky, Hagel), 2:48; 1, Juneau, Ainsworth (Box, Cheeseman), 2:12; 2, Juneau, Cheeseman (Ainsworth, Box), 2:04; 3, Juneau, Liebelt (Jones), 1:35. Penalties — Box, Juneau (head contact) 11:15; Dale, Juneau (cross check) 5:31; Lingafelt, Kenai (roughing) 5:31; Ainsworth, Juneau (tripping) :23.
Second Period – 2, Kenai, Dosko (Mese, Bulot). Penalties — Liebelt, Juneau (holding) 10:55; Kenai (too many on ice) :36.
Third Period — 4, Juneau, Liebelt (Moser), 10:27; 5, Juneau, Box (Dale), :37. Penalties — Box, Juneau (roughing) 7:44; Moller, Juneau (tripping) 3:47; Weber, Kenai (tripping) :37.
Shots On Goal — Kenai 6-4-1—11. Juneau 12-13-7—32.
Goalies — Kenai, O’Lena (32 shots,27 saves). Juneau, Hickok (11 shots, 9 saves).
Saturday
Stars 3, Mariners 1
Soldotna 1 2 0 —3
Homer 0 0 1 —1
First period — 1. Soldotna, Nelson (Miller), 10:05. Penalties — Homer 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 2. Soldotna, Fenton (Crandall), 4:21; 3. Soldotna, Brown (Miller), 14:57. Penalties — Soldotna 3 for 6:00; Homer 1 for 2:00.
Third period — 4. Homer, D. Kuzmin (Sanarov), 2:00. Penalties — Soldotna 4 for 8:00; Homer 2 for 4:00.
Shots on goal — Soldotna 13-11-3—27; Homer 5-9-11—25.
Goalies — Soldotna, Hanson (25 shots, 24 saves); Homer, Swanson (27 shots, 24 saves).
Kenai senior Heidi Perkins (12) battles Juneau-Douglas senior Michael Dale for the puck during the Kardinals 5-2 loss to the Crimson Bears on Friday at the Treadwell Arena in Juneau.
