The Soldotna Stars proved deserving of their at-large berth to the 2023 ASAA Division I State Hockey Championships battling the West Anchorage Eagles to a narrow 5-4 loss in first round action at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.
The SoHi hockey team, champions of Division II hockey, played even with one of Anchorage’s finest in a 5-4 decision which wasn’t decided until the final 2 1/2 minutes of regulation.
West 5 – SoHi 4
The Stars led only once in the first-round pairing against the Eagles.
Jace Applehans opened the scoring with a goal at 5:16 of the first period, with assists from Silas Larsen and Mykah Booth, to stake SoHi to a 1-0 advantage. West answered with an unassisted goal by Austin Keim to even the game at 1-1.
In the second period, West opened-up a 3-1 lead with goals by Paul Dittrich and Henry Sholton by mid-second period. SoHi responded with a power-play goal by Gehret Medcoff , assisted by Marshall DeReave, and a goal by Aiden Burcham with an assist from Blake Bucho tying the game at 3-3 after two periods.
West regained the lead midway through the third period with the first of two Kaden Abbott goals for a 4-3 advantage. The Stars evened the score again with a Applehans power-play goal assisted by Silas Larsen and Boone Theiler.
Tied at 4-4, the Eagles game-winner came on a power-play goal by Abbott with 2:38 remaining in regulation. Final Score: West 5, SoHi 4
In goal for the Stars, Jackson Purcell recorded 37 saves on 41 shots; West goaltender Michael Rust recorded 16 saves on 20 shots.
The Stars return to the ice at the Menard Arena on Friday in a consolation round pairing against Wasilla scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Follow the Stars at the ASAA Division I State Hockey Championships on ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming live at radiokenai.com
