Hawks, Moose advance to Division II state hockey title game

With one day remaining in the Division II state tourney, one thing is for certain. The trophy will stay in the Mat-Su.

Houston and Palmer will skate for the title in an all-Valley final after both teams notched victories during the semifinal round of the ASAA/First National Cup Division II State Championships Friday at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

The Hawks and the Moose drop the puck Saturday at 6 p.m. in the final.

Top-seeded Houston edged two-time defending state champion Homer 2-1 in the semis. Palmer, the No. 3 seed, scored a 3-1 win over North Pole.

Domnin Efimov and Afanasy Efimov scored goals for Houston. Both came within a two-minute span in the first period.

The Hawks outshot Homer 26-21. Ari Burnside made 20 saves for the Hawks in the win.

Xander Logan, Stuart McQuillin and Gavin Gore scored for Palmer.

The Moose outshot North Pole 33-19. Joshua Horacek made 18 saves in the win.

This is Palmer’s third trip to a Division II state championship, and fourth overall. The Moose won it all in 2019, the first year Palmer skated at the Division II level. The Moose finished as the runner-up last season. Palmer won its first state hockey championship in 1989.

The Hawks will skate in a state title game for the 15th time in school history, and first since 2018. Houston has won a state hockey championship nine times, the last came in 2015.

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