Hawks, Moose cap Division II regular season with victories

The Houston Hawks clinched the Aurora Conference regular season title with a 7-2 win at North Pole Jan. 31.

Andrey Efimov used a five-point night to help the defending Division II state champions win the conference. Efimov finished with a hat trick and two assists. Daniel Matveev also bagged a hat trick for the Hawks. Domnin Efimov added a goal. Zasim Konev led the Hawks with three assists.

Dylan Shafer made 17 saves for Houston.

Palmer capped its regular season with a pair of home wins over Delta. The Moose beat Delta 12-5 the first night. Eleven different players scored a goal. Elijah Von Gunten scored twice for the Moose. Kaleb Von Gunten led Palmer with five points, a goal and four assists.

Palmer followed with a 9-5 victory over the Huskies the following afternoon. Eight different players scored. Cooper Frank had a pair of goals.

Houston and Palmer both move on to the ASAA Division II First National Cup state championships, which start Thursday in Soldotna. Palmer is the No. 2 seed in the bracket and Houston is seeded third.

The Hawks open against sixth-seeded Juneau-Douglas Thursday at 11 a.m. Palmer follows against seventh-seeded Tri-Valley at 1:30 p.m.

Palmer and Houston are both on the bottom side of the bracket. The top side features No. 1 seed Soldotna against eighth-seeded Delta at 6 p.m. Fourth-seeded North Pole plays fifth-seeded Kenai at 4 p.m.

The Division II championship game is Saturday at 5 p.m. in Soldotna.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.