Playing against one of the top hockey teams in the state, the Homer Mariners fell in a 4-3 contest to the Dimond Lynx Thursday night in Homer.
Homer drops to 14-5 overall with the loss.
The Mariners led early thanks to a first-period goal by Spencer Warren and 17 minutes of penalty time charged to Dimond that kept Homer on top until the second frame.
Dimond tied it up with 9:11 to play in the second period on a Blake Hausinger goal, then took the lead with a strike from Max Hickel with 4:52 left in the frame.
The Lynx went up 3-1 in the second period but Homer answered with six seconds left on a goal by Tim Blakely. Overall, Homer outshot Dimond 18-8 in the period but was outscored 3-1.
Dimond scored early in the third period, and although Tyler Gilliland cut the gap to one with 1:42 left in the game, the Lynx were able to hold on for the nonconference win.
Homer goaltender Hunter Warren stopped 23 of 27 shots on the night, while Dimond goalie Hunter Kattness staved off 38 of 41 shots for the win.
East 5, Soldotna 0
The East Thunderbirds notched a shutout over Soldotna Thursday night at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.
Thunderbirds goaltender Lane Fox secured a perfect sheet with 41 saves. Nick Eddens and Devon Ament had two goals and an assist each to lead the East offense.
McKenzie Powell started between the pipes for SoHi and stopped 18 of 22 shots in two periods of work. Soldotna head coach Indy Walton explained in a text that Powell endured a leg injury midway through the second period and tried to finish the game.
“She’s a real trooper,” Walton said.
Ultimately, Corbin Wirz came in to finish the game and stopped nine of 10 shots in the third period.
Walton credited Fox for a fantastic game for East.
“We had two (power play) opportunities where we dominated the play but just (couldn’t) get one through,” Walton said. “He took up the whole net.”
West 6, Kenai 1
The Eagles walked off with a dominating victory Thursday over Kenai Central at the Kenai Multipurpose Facility.
West scored three times in the second period to wrap up the win as goalie Will Simpson stopped 14 of 15 shots.
Wyatt Harvey scored Kenai’s lone goal of the night with 9:39 left in the third period with help from Levi Mese and Matt Hagel. Josh Tree saved 30 of 36 shots sent his way for the Kards.
Thursday
Lynx 4, Mariners 3
Dimond 0 3 1 —4
Homer 1 1 1 —3
First period — 1. Homer, Warren (Kuzmin), 11:26. Penalties — Dimond 3 for 17:00; Homer 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 2. Dimond, Hausinger (Porter, Maxwell), 5:49; 3. Dimond, Hickel (Hausinger, Gibson), 10:08; 4. Dimond, Hickel (Gibson), 12:27; 5. Homer, Blakely (Kuzmin), 14:54. Penalties — Dimond 1 for 2:00; Homer 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 6. Dimond, Porter (Reed), 4:27; 7. Homer, Gilliland (Williamson, Polushkin), 13:18. Penalties — Dimond 3 for 6:00; Homer 2 for 4:00.
Shots on goal — Dimond 5-8-14—27; Homer 13-18-10—41.
Goalies — Dimond, Kattness (41 shots, 38 saves); Homer, Warren (27 shots, 23 saves).
Thunderbirds 5, Stars 0
East 0 4 1 —5
Soldotna 0 0 0 —0
First period — no scoring. Penalties — Soldotna 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 1. East, Eddens (unassisted), 3:07; 2. East, Ament (Eddens), PP, 8:21; 3. East, Eddens (unassisted), 5:42; 4. East, Ament (Solberg), 13:57. Penalties — East 1 for 2:00.
Third period — 5. East, Solberg (Ament), 12:50. Penalties — East 1 for 2:00.
Shots on goal — East 12-10-10—32; Soldotna 14-16-11—41.
Goalies — East, Fox (41 shots, 41 saves); Soldotna, Powell (22 shots, 18 saves), Wirz (10 shots, 9 saves).
Eagles 6, Kardinals 1
West 1 3 2 —6
Kenai 0 0 1 —1
First period — 1. West, Harren (Nakeski), 4:26. Penalties — West 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 2. West, Thaggard (Lindemann), 5:43; 3. West, Opinsky (Pickett), 9:38; 4. West, Patchin (Mack, Pickett), 7:52. Penalties — West 1 for 2:00; Kenai 3 for 6:00.
Third period — 5. Kenai, Harvey (Mese, Hagel), 5:21; 6. West, Sloane (Harren, Opinsky), 11:19; 7. West, Welch (Boots), 13:27. Penalties — West 2 for 4:00; Kenai 2 for 4:00.
Shots on goal — West 12-12-12—36; Kenai 6-6-3—15.
Goalies — West, Simpson (15 shots, 14 saves); Kenai, Tree (36 shots, 30 saves).
