The 2022 ASAA Division II State Hockey Championships opened with the Kenai Kardinals, Soldotna Stars and Homer Mariners in first round pairings on Thursday at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.
Homer 3 SoHi 2 OT
The Homer Mariners opened defense of their 2020 and 2021 Division II State Hockey Championships with a 3-2 OT victory over the Soldotna Stars.
Homer opened the scoring with a first-period goal by Owen Pitzman at 6:06 of the period. SoHi tied the game at 11:10 with an unassisted goal by Aiden Burcham.
The Mariners took a 2-1 lead in the second period on a Micah Williamson goal at 9:13.
SoHi pulled even midway through the third period on a Gehret Medcoff goal at 7:51 of the third. The game ended regulation tied at 2-2.
In the sudden death overtime, Casey Otis scored the game-winner for the Mariners at 4:44 of the overtime period.
SoHi will play in the 11 a.m. consolation game on Friday, February 4th. Homer will play in the winner’s-bracket game at 4 p.m. Follow the Stars and Mariners on ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming live at radiokenai.com
North Pole 1 – Kenai 0
Kenai fell to the North Pole Patriots 1-0 on a Patriot goal with only 1:59 remaining in regulation. Nic Clark, in goal for North Pole, recorded 40 saves on 40 shots. Carson Koppes for the Kardinals recorded 12 saves on 13 shots.
Kenai will play in the 1:30 p.m. consolation game on Friday, February 4th. Follow the Kardinals on ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming live at radiokenai.com.
Houston 8 – Monroe 1
After a 1-0 Houston first period, the Hawks scored six goals in the second period for a 6-0 lead. In the third period, Daniel Matveev scored his third goal for the hat trick and the Hawks added another goal; while allowing only a single goal to the Rams. Final Score: Houston 8 – Monroe 1.
Houston faces Homer in the 4 p.m. game on Friday at the Menard Arena.
Palmer 7 – Juneau 2
The #3 seed Palmer Moose, on a five-goal effort by Elijah Von Gunten, downed Juneau 7-2 in the final quarterfinal game on Thursday at the Menard Arena.
Palmer lead 2-1 after one period on a pair of Von Gunten goals. Von Gunten added three goals in the second period.
Palmer advances to play North Pole in the winner’s bracket semi-final on Friday at 7 p.m. Juneau will face-off against Kenai in the 1:30 p.m. contest on Friday.
More game details to follow.
Tournament Preview
The Kenai Kardinals, second in the Railbelt Conference, are awarded the #2 seed.
The Soldotna Stars, 4th in the Railbelt Conference, are seeded fourth in the eight-team field.
Houston earns the top seed and plays #8 Monroe in the 4 p.m. game.
Palmer, #3 in the Railbelt, faces Juneau, Railbelt #6, in the 7 p.m. game.
The Railbelt Conference received four automatic berths and the Aurora Conference, two automatic berths. Two at-large berths went to the Railbelt Conference. The Railbelt teams were seeded #1 through #6 into the tournament bracket.
Division II State Championship Hockey: First Round
Homer 3 – Soldotna 2 OT
North Pole 1 -Kenai 0
Houston 8 – Monroe 1
Palmer 7 – Juneau 2
All games to be played at the Menard Arena in Wasilla
