3 Valley teams in state hockey tourney

WASILLA —Parity could be the word best used to describe the 4A state hockey tournament field this year, with most around the state seeing the 2015 tourney completely up for grabs.

“I think so,” Colony head coach Jamie Smith said after his Knights beat Wasilla 5-3 in the North Star Conference championship game Saturday. “Take a look at the upsets going on in town. It’ll be interesting.”

Of the three 4A conferences, only the Mid-Alaska saw its No. 1 seed come away with a region title. West Valley cruised to its third straight conference title with a 7-1 win over North Pole.

In Anchorage, fourth-seeded West came out on top, beating third-seeded South 2-1 in double-overtime to win the Cook Inlet Conference championship. The Eagles upset top-seeded Service in the semifinals. Third-seeded South dropped second-seed Dimond in the semis

In the Valley, third-seeded Colony beat the top two seeds in the North Star bracket (second-seeded Palmer and top-seeded Wasilla) to earn its first conference title since 2002.

The pile of upsets in Southcenteral over the weekend left some interesting matchups in the first round.

North Star runner-up Wasilla, the host of the 2015 tourney, drew South Anchorage in the first round. The teams will meet Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Menard Arena in Wasilla. North Star champ Colony will meet Dimond, the No. 4 seed from the CIC, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The Warriors and Wolverines share the bottom side of the bracket with West Valley and Service, who meet Thursday at noon. CIC champ West Anchorage meets North Pole Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on the top side of the bracket.

Colony is competing in the state tournament for the first time since 2006. The Knights did not see their first-round opponent, Dimond, during the regular season, but did play Service and West Valley. Colony suffered a 4-1 loss to the Cougars in early January, and beat West Valley 2-1 in Fairbanks in late January.

The Warriors have seen their first-round opponent, South, once before, suffering a 4-1 loss to the Wolverines in early January.

Houston in 3A title game

The Houston Hawks will play for a third straight 3A state title. The Hawks meet Monroe Catholic Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the 3A state final.

It will mark the second time in a week that the teams will meet. Houston beat Monroe 3-1 last Saturday in the Greatland Conference Championships title game.

In the past, four Greatland teams have advanced to the 3A championships, but the field was cut in half.

Houston head coach Mike Styers said, regardless of the opponent, Houston is focused on winning a title that has eluded in the Hawks in recent years. Monroe beat Houston in the 2013 3A title game, and Hutchison edged Houston in overtime last year.

“Our goal from the beginning of the season has been a state championship,” Styers said. “We’re not there, but we’re close.”