WASILLA — If there’s any question about parity in the North Star Conference, just look at two of the final games of the regular season.

Last Friday, Wasilla edged Palmer 3-2 in overtime to capture in the top seed NSC Championships, which starts Thursday at the Soldotna Sports Center in Soldotna.

On that same night, Kenai Central edged Soldotna 2-1 to grab the third seed in the three-day tourney.

ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Wasilla sophomore forward Dylan McRee waits for a pass in front of the Colony goal during the Warriors’ 7-3 win over the Knights at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena last week. On Friday, McRee scored a second-period goal to help Wasilla claim a 3-2 overtime win over Palmer, which gave the Warriors the top seed in the North Star Conference Championships tournament that starts Thursday in Soldotna.

Those games decided the top four seeds in a tourney that most NSC coaches feel is up for grabs.

“You look at the scores of the region games so far. There have been some close games. Anybody can win,” Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdevant said after his squad sealed the team seed with the win over Palmer. “It’s that old cliché. Anybody can win.”

Wasilla is the top seed, thanks to its 9-1-0 conference mark. Its only loss came after the team was forced to forfeit a victory over Palmer after learning the team had mistakenly allowed an ineligible player to participate during the contest.

And of Wasilla’s nine official wins, the Warriors played a handful of close battles.

In addition to the overtime victory on Friday, the Warriors edged Soldotna 4-3 at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in January. Early in the season, the Warriors beat the defending North Star Conference champions 3-1.

Wasilla also found itself trailing to Colony after the first period and Kenai after the second. The Warriors enjoyed big third periods during both games to get the wins.

Based on those experiences, Sturdevant said his team will enter each game with the same focus.

“We’re not going to look past anybody or look ahead too far,” Sturdevant said.

Palmer head coach Brad Hanson said Wasilla may have an edge, but he sees five teams with the potential of scoring one of the NSC’s two berths to the 4A state tournament.

“I think Wasilla has the upper hand on all of us,” Hanson said. “Us, Soldotna, Kenai and Colony are competing with one another. I think it’s going to be a real interesting region tournament. There may be some upsets. We’re going to try not to be one of them.”

Palmer (8-2-0) also played it its fair share of tight games.

The Moose edged Kenai 3-2 in overtime in January. In December, Palmer slipped past Soldotna 2-1.

“We got better over the course of the year,” Hanson said. “I’m happy where we are, seed wise. We have an opportunity to extend the season.”

Colony, the fifth seed, will be the lone Valley team in action during the first day of the tourney. The Knights finished 2-7-1 in conference play, but gave its first-round foe — Soldotna — two of its toughest contests of the regular season.

In December, Soldotna needed overtime to edge the Knights 3-2. The teams skated to a 1-1 tie at the Menard Arena in January.

Colony and Soldotna will face off Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Soldotna Sports Center.

Third-seeded Kenai will meet sixth-seeded Homer in the other first-round game.

Wasilla opens tourney play against either Soldotna or Colony on Friday at 5 p.m. Palmer will meet either Kenai or Homer at 7:30 p.m.

The winner of each semifinal match on Friday will earn the conference’s two automatic bids to the state tournament, which starts Feb. 11 at the Menard Arena.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.