The Kenai Kardinals came into the DII State Hockey tournament with a lot of momentum after a big win over the Soldotna Stars in Kenai on Jan. 26, and after an impressive win over Juneau Douglas in the Quarterfinal Round, fell in their semifinal game to the eventual tournament champion Houston Hawks.
Thursday, Feb. 1
Juneau Douglas 2, Kenai 4
The Kardinals carried a hot finish to the 2023-24 regular season into the state tournament with a dramatic quarterfinal win over the Juneau Douglas Crimson Bears, dominating offensive time of possession throughout the game.
The first period was a battle of the netminders, with both Mason Sooter for the Crimson Bears and Evyn Witt for the Kardinals pitching first-frame shutouts.
After the scoreless streaks continued into the second period, both teams eventually broke through. Juneau Douglas’s Caden Johns struck first at 10:25 into the second. The Kardinals didn’t trail for long though, and equalized against Sooter at 11:40 when Logan Mese connected with Braden Smith from the left circle, Smith finishing the play off with a beautiful snap shot to beat Sooter on the right side. The Kardinals weren’t done, however, and at 13:49 Avery Martin buried another Mese pass for the Kardinals’ second goal of the period. 2-1 Kenai.
The third period started with fireworks. First, Mese scored unassisted 35 seconds into the period to give the Kardinals a two-goal advantage. The Crimson Bears slapped right back 9 seconds later, when Caden Johns netted his second goal of the night, bringing Juneau Douglas back within one. Witt and Sooter then resumed their duel, both holding their opponents scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Sawyer Vann put the game on ice with an empty net goal at 14:40 into the third.
Friday, Feb. 2
Houston 9, Kenai 1
Kenai’s momentum from their quarterfinal win over Juneau Douglas stalled out when they ran into the freight train that was the eventual tournament champion, Houston Hawks. Houston played with lethal efficiency, dominating the ice for all three periods, and demonstrating exactly why they came into the tournament as the overall #1 seed with an impressive season record of 18-3-1.
The Kardinals fell behind 1-0 early in the first, but managed to keep themselves only a goal down for the majority of the first period, until the 11th minute when the Hawks struck twice at 11:13 and 11:55 to extend their lead to 3-0. Kenai only managed two shots on goal in the period.
Kenai was able to generate more offensive pressure in the first half of the second period, but still could not break through against Houston goalie Ari Burnside. Witt did keep the Hawks out of his net for the first 10 minutes of the period, but goals from Brody Richard and Afanasy Efimov at 10:29 and 12:33, respectively.
The third period was when the efficiency of the Hawks offense really stretched its legs. Leading 5-0, Burnside continued to stymie the Kardinals. The Hawks added four more goals, extending their lead to 9-0 before Logan Mese scored on Burnside at 11:27–the only goal Burnside would give up the entre tournament, which includes the championship game against the Soldotna Stars.
Saturday. Feb. 3
Palmer 7, Kenai 2
Kenai’s tumble after their dismantling at the hands of the Houston Hawks continued in their 3rd/5th place matchup against the Palmer Moose on Saturday. After a tight first period, Palmer uncorked a flurry of goals in the second, eventually downing the Kardinals in Kenai’s final game of the season.
Dane Joseph put Palmer on the board first, scoring at 6:44. Kenai answered back shortly thereafter, however, when Braden Smith unassisted at 9:48, sending the two squads into the locker room knotted at one.
In the second period the Palmer Moose unloaded all their frustrations from a semifinal overtime loss to the Soldotna Stars, scoring five goals to Kenai’s one and making the game’s outcome a foregone conclusion heading into the third. Kenai’s lone goal was a Logan Mese score at 9:05, assisted by Sawyer Vann and Cole Langham.
Palmer added one goal in the third period for a final score of 7-2.
