The Homer Mariners, Division II hockey state champions in 2020 and 2021, will not complete the three-peat in 2022; as the Houston Hawks, #1 seed in the Division II state tournament, held-off Homer 2-1 in the winner’s bracket, semi-final game at the ASAA Division II State Hockey Championships on Friday at the Menard Arena.
Houston 2 – Homer 1
Houston scored a pair of early, first period goals and battled Homer to a 2-1 Hawks victory and a state championship title game for Houston.
Dominin Efimov and Afanasy Efimov scored back-to-back goals in the first five minutes and Houston’s defense held the Mariners to a lone, third period goal by Breck Barth for the Houston win.
In goal for the Mariners, Keegan Strong recorded 28 saves; including 26 straight following the first period goals. For Houston, Ari Burnside recorded 20 saves for the Hawks.
Homer will play North Pole in the 3rd-place game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Menard Arena.
Follow the Mariners on ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming at radiokenai.com
Palmer 3 – North Pole 1
The Palmer Moose punched their ticket to the Division II hockey state championship game with a 3-1 victory over North Pole.
The championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Menard Arena. The game broadcast is available through the NFHS Network.
