Soldotna 4, Houston 4
The Soldotna Stars came within 17 seconds of sweet revenge against the Houston Hawks on Thursday but had to settle for a draw as the two teams faced one another for the first time since the 2023/24 Division II State Championship.
The Stars showed a lot of heart in their opening game of the Stars & Stripes Tournament, which features 12 teams from all over the state–both Division 1 & 2. They fell behind early, but clawed back and even briefly took a late lead against the defending D2 champion Hawks.
Houston opened the scoring with the lone goal of the first period when Forward Zasim Konev stuffed a close-range shot past SoHi goalie Brycen Clyde, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead that they would carry through the first break.
In the second period, a brief lapse in judgment by the Stars netminder led to another Hawks point. On a SoHi Power Play, Clyde took a cleared puck off the flat board behind his net and seemed to be trying for a dangerous cross-ice pass through his crease when Houston’s Carter Cook swooped and buried the puck in an empty net for a shorthanded Hawks goal.
The Stars didn’t let the 2-0 difference stand for long, though. A flurry of scoring from both teams near the end of the second period saw the two squads head into the second intermission tied 3-3. Soldotna notched three goals in the final three minutes from Zack Zurfluh, Noah Crabtree, and Marshall DeRaeve.
A well-contested third period remained scoreless until 13:39 when Sylis Hughes redirected a Keegan Myrick shot that dribbled past Houston goalie Ashton Vandersloot to give Soldotna its first lead.
Houston wouldn’t be denied, however, and scored with 17 seconds remaining in the game with their net empty and a one-man advantage.
With the tie, Soldotna is now 2-1-1 on the season.
Next up, Soldotna takes on North Pole on Friday at 11:15 a.m.
West Valley 3, Kenai 2
The Kenai Kardinals nearly came back from a late 2-goal deficit against the West Valley Wolfpack in their Stars & Stripes Tournament opener but fell just short.
In a well-defended game, both teams did an excellent job limiting their opponents’ clean scoring chances. The Wolfpack took first blood on an unfortunate bounce. Kenai goalie Evyn Witt got his chest in front of a wrist shot by West Valley Forward Nevin Graff but fumbled the puck as he tried to nab it in the catching glove, and it took a Wolfpack bounce into the net.
The second period was nearly scoreless, save for a West Valley Power Play goal as time expired on the penalty. The Wolfpack led 2-0 heading into the third period.
In the final frame, Logan Mese turned into an Autobot, scoring two goals at 00:31 (assisted by the newly returned Avery Martin) and 10:24 (unassisted). A West Valley goal at 5:24, however, proved to be the difference, and the Kardinals fell to 1-3 on the season.
Next up, Kenai faces another Division 1 opponent in the South Anchorage Wolverines at 3:45 on Friday.
