Knights, Warriors fall in state hockey semifinals

WASILLA — With quarterfinal wins on Thursday, the Colony Knights and Wasilla Warriors both advanced to the state semifinals for the third time in six seasons. But with losses on Friday, the Knights and Warriors were each knocked into the third-place game for the third time since 2015.

Defending state champion South Anchorage managed to slip one puck past Colony standout goalie Bryant Marks to edge the Knights 1-0, and West Anchorage used a late burst to get past Wasilla 6-3 during the semifinal round of the ASAA First National Cup Division I state hockey championships Friday night at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

South’s Logan Maddox scored the lone goal to help the Wolverines advance to the title game for the third time in four years. Maddox, leading a 2-on-1, snapped a wrister and scored at the 11:14 mark of the first period.

Marks continued his stellar state tournament with 27 saves in the loss. The sophomore netminder collected a combined 71 saves during the first two rounds of the tournament.

The Knights worked to put together a late push, outshooting the Wolverines 15-5 in the third period. After a South Anchorage penalty with 1:11 left in regulation, the Knights pulled Marks for a 6-on-4 opportunity with the power play and extra attacker.

Top-seeded West used a pair of goals during the final 1:14 of play to hold on for a win over fourth-seeded Wasilla. Chase Solberg cashed in on a 2-on-0 chance with 1:14 to go to give West the 5-3 lead. Martin Turney added a late empty-netter.

Holden Wiltfong had pulled the Warriors within a goal, winning a battle in front of the net to cut the score to 4-3 with 5:35 left in the game. Late in the second, Garrison Holler also brought the Warriros within a goal placing a wrist shot in the far side of the net at the top of the right wing circle late in the second period.

Wasilla grabbed the early lead. Dylan Harbour skated up the right wing and scored to give Wasilla the 1-0 advantage with 9:44 left in the first.

Matthew Patchin tied the score later in the first, and West took the lead with a pair of power play goals in the second period.

Patchin led the Eagles with a hat trick.

The losses on Friday followed a wild night for the Valley squads on Thursday. Kaden Ketchum scored with 28 seconds left in the second overtime to help seventh-seeded Colony upset second-seeded Dimond 3-2 during the first round.

“I have no words. That was crazy,” Ketchum said.

Ketchum, who bagged a hat trick in the victory, knocked in a rebound off his own shot to supply the game-winner.

Ketchum’s goal was one of only three shots in the second overtime, all coming during the final moments. Colony was held without a shot in the first eight-minute overtime.

Dimond outshot Colony 46-17 in the game, but Colony goalie Bryant Marks came through with a monster 44-save effort.

“He is so good,” Ketchum said of Marks, who is just a sophomore. “He’s always on his game.”

Marks stopped all 15 shots he saw during the two overtime frames.

Ketchum put the Knights on the scoreboard, scoring with only 9.5 seconds left the second period to tie the game at 1. Ketchum also tied the game at 2, scoring only 14 seconds after Dimond took the 2-1 lead midway through the third. Carsen Lantto and Carson McLaughlin finished with an assist each in the win.

The fourth-seeded Warriors scored three times in the third period during the win over the fifth-seeded Wolves. Langston Bouma provided the eventual game-winner on the power play with 5:42 left to play. Troy Randall added a Wasilla goal just after that power play expired. Randall led the Warriors with two goals and two assists in the win. Chase Schachle had a team-high three assists. Six different Warriors finished with a goal.

Eagle River led early in the game, but Mason Mulneaux took a centering pass Schachle on the back boards to tie the game at 1. About two minutes later, Randall sent a shot from the right wing to the back of the net to give Wasilla the 2-1 lead.

Eagle River tied the score at 2 late in the first. Holler chipped in a rebound during the first minute of the second to give Wasilla the 3-2 lead. Wasilla would never trail again.

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