The 2023 ASAA First National Cup Division II Hockey State Championships opened Thursday with the Soldotna Stars downing Monroe 3-2 and the Kenai Kardinals falling to Juneau 7-4 in the first round of the eight-team state bracket.
The Division II hockey state tournament , at the Patty Center at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in Fairbanks, runs through Saturday’s championship game.
ASAA Division II State Championships: First Round Results
Juneau 7 – Kenai 4
A three-goal, hat trick (and an assist) by Kenai’s Logan Mese was not enough to overcome four, first period goals by Juneau; as the Kenai Kardinals fell to Juneau 7-4 in the first game of the ASAA DII hockey state tournament.
Juneau opened the scoring just :10 seconds into the game; Kenai answered on a Sawyer Vann goal for a 1-1 score early in the game. Juneau answered with three, straight goals and a 4-1 first period advantage. Mese scored two additional goals in the second period and added a third period goal. For the game, Seanna Swanson recorded 10 saves on 14 shots, and Evyn Witt recorded 19 saves on 22 shots.
Kenai faces Delta in the noon contest on Friday at the Patty Center in Fairbanks.
SoHi 3 – Monroe 2
The #3 Soldotna Stars survived a first-round scare from the #6 seed Monroe Rams with a tie-breaking goal by Jace Applehans in the final minute of regulation for a 3-2 opening victory at the state championships.
Applehans opened the game’s scoring with a first period goal, assisted by Silas Larsen. SoHi allowed a Ram goal in the second period and the game entered the third period at 1-1. Gehrret Medcoff opened the third period with a goal in the first minute for a 2-1 SoHi lead; Monroe responded with a mid-period goal and tied the game at 2-2. The game-winner for the Stars came off the stick of Applehans with only ::58 seconds remaining. Jackson Purcell recorded 16 saves on 18 shots. Final Score: SoHi 3 – Monroe 2.
SoHi advances to the semi-final game on Friday to battle Palmer in the 7:30 p.m. game.
Houston 8 – Delta 0
Palmer 4 – North Pole 3
ASAA Division II State Championships: Friday Game Schedule
Consolation Round
Noon Kenai Kardinals vs Delta
2:30 p.m. Monroe vs North Pole
Winner’s Bracket Semi Final Round
5 p.m. Houston vs Juneau
7:30 p.m. SoHi vs Palmer
All tournament games involving Kenai and SoHi will be broadcast on ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streamed live and free at radiokenai.com.
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