The Soldotna and Homer hockey teams picked up victories on the opening day of the Division II state hockey tournament at the Patty Center in Fairbanks, while Kenai took a loss.
Soldotna continues tournament play today in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal against Palmer, which defeated Glennallen/Tok/Barrow 5-3. The semifinal is a rematch of last year’s semifinals, which Soldotna lost 4-3 in overtime as the Moose went on to claim the state title.
Homer moves on to play North Pole in the other semifinal at 5 p.m. Kenai drops into the fourth-sixth place bracket to play Tri-Valley at noon today.
Soldotna toppled Houston 6-1, taking a 6-0 lead after two periods.
In the first period, Brier Books, assisted by Trent Powell and Journey Miller, and Aiden Burcham, assisted by Gavin Haakenson and Wyatt Medcoff, staked Soldotna to a 2-0 lead.
By the midpoint of the second period, Soldotna was up 4-0 thanks to Powell and David Aley, assisted by Dylan Dahlgren.
Two goals in the final two minutes of the second period finished things off — Miller assisted by Spencer Kapp and Gavin Haakenson, and Galen Brantley III assisted by Julie Ann Nye and Alex Montague.
Josh Tree stopped 11 for Soldotna, while Josh Smoldon saved 27 for Houston.
Homer rolled to a 13-0 victory over Tri-Valley. After a scoreless first period, Homer had nine goals in the second period and four goals in the third period.
Kenai fell to North Pole 8-3, with Daniel Crutcher scoring four goals for the Patriots.
Gavin Langham, Miles Marston and Nate Beiser had goals for the Kards, while Marston and Beiser added assists. Kenai won the shot count 49-34.
Railbelt All-Conference team
Most Valuable Player: Ethan Pitzman, Homer.
Coach of the Year: Scott Shelden, Kenai Central.
All-conference: Ethan Pitzman, Homer; Wyatt Medcoff, Soldotna; Isaiah Nevak, Homer; Tyler Gilliland, Homer; Galen Brantley III, Soldotna; Trent Powell, Soldotna; Jordan Knudsen, Kenai; Miles Marston, Kenai; Tiernan O’Rourke, Palmer; Isaiah Squires, Houston; Ethan Welch, Juneau.
Thursday
Stars 6, Hawks 1
Houston 0 0 1 —1
Soldotna 2 2 2 —6
First period — 1. Soldotna, Books (Powell, J. Miller), 9:18; 2. Soldotna, Burcham (Haakenson, Medcoff), 12:43. Penalties — Houston 1 for 2:00; Soldotna 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 3. Soldotna, Powell (un.), 2:15; 4. Soldotna, Aley (Dahlgren), 7:12; 5. Soldotna, J. Miller (Kapp, Haakenson), 13:31; 6. Soldotna, Brantley III (Nye, A. Montague), 13:51 . Penalties — Houston 1 for 2:00; Soldotna 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 7. Houston, Konev (Pike), 14:08. Penalties — Houston 1 for 2:00; Soldotna 4 for 8:00.
Shots on goal — Houston 6-2-4—12; Soldotna 10-12-11—33.
Goalies — Houston, Smoldon (33 shots, 27 saves); Soldotna, Tree (12 shots, 11 saves).
Mariners 13, Viking Warriors 0
Tri-Valley 0 0 0 —0
Homer 0 9 4 —13
First period — none. Penalties — none.
Second period — 1. Homer, Shafford (Stineff), 0:31; 2. Homer, E. Pitzman (Ross); 3. Homer, E. Pitzman (Allen, Knutson), 4:00; 4. Homer, Ross (Gilliland), 5:42; 5. Homer, I. Nevak (Gilliland), 6:07; 6. Homer, T. Nevak (un.), 7:58; 7. Homer, Shafford (un.), 8:30; 8. Homer, O. Pitzman (Allen, Otis), 9:04; 9. Homer, I. Nevak (Weston), 10:17. Penalties — Homer 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 10. Homer, Allen (E. Pitzman), 5:35; 11. Homer, Stineff (Weston), 8:25; 12. Homer, Banks (Green), 10:35; 13. Homer, Nevak (un.), 13:12. Penalties — Tri-Valley 1 for 2:00; Homer 1 for 2:00.
Shots on goal — Tri-Valley 4-3-2—9; Homer 16-22-18—56.
Patriots 8, Kardinals 3
Kenai 1 1 1 —3
North Pole 1 3 4 —8
First period — 1. North Pole, Frollo (Genz, Theriault), 1:54; 2. Kenai, Langham (un.), 13:20. Penalties — Kenai 1 for 2:00; North Pole 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 3. North Pole, Wilbus (Crutcher), 3:03; 4. North Pole, Crutcher (un.), 5:47; 5. North Pole, Crutcher (Sterner), 8:38; 6. Kenai, Marston (Beiser), 12:53. Penalties — Kenai 3 for 6:00; North Pole 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 7. North Pole, Crutcher (un.), 0:23; 8. North Pole, Crutcher (un.), 2:44; 9. Kenai, Beiser (Marston), 4:25; 10. North Pole, Battcher (un.), 8:06; 11. North Pole, Genz (un.), 11:17. Penalties — Kenai 3 for 6:00; North Pole 1 for 2:00.
Shots on goal — Kenai 13-24-12—49; North Pole 10-10-14—34.
Goalies — North Pole, Clark (49 shots, 46 saves); Kenai, Baker (13 shots, 14 saves), Cross (16 shots, 12 saves).
