Knights, Warriors fall in state hockey semis

WASILLA — Thursday marked the biggest day in Mat-Su 4A hockey in more than 25 years. Both Colony and Wasilla earned wins during the quarterfinal round, giving the Valley a pair of state semifinal teams for the first time since 1989.

The 1989 tournament also featured an all-Valley final, with Palmer edging Wasilla in overtime. With Colony and Wasilla moving into Friday’s semifinals on opposite sides of the bracket, it’s only natural for Valley hockey fans to dream of an all-Valley match on the final day of the 4A state tournament.

Valley rivals will meet on the last day of the tourney. But they won’t be playing for first.

Colony and Wasilla both suffered losses during the semifinal round, and will meet in the third-place game of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Championships Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

West Anchorage and West Valley both used strong semifinal performances to move into the state championship game, slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. West Anchorage clinched a spot in the championship for the second consecutive year with a 4-2 win over Colony. West Valley will play in the title game for the third time in school history thanks to a 5-1 win over Wasilla.

Defenseman Mac Fair scored a pair of goals to lead West to the win over the Knights. James Batman and Garrett Bruner also scored for the Eagles, who are in search of their first state title since 2010.

Josh Boyer and Jacob Link scored for the Knights, who were outshot by West 30-17.

Colony, which blanked Dimond 1-0 in the quarters, was held to only three shots in the first period, and the Knights did not get their first goal until late in the second.

With the Knights trailing 2-0, Cole Bloemer led a 2-on-1 rush down the ice. Bloemer fed Boyer with a puck, and the sophomore ripped a shot into the net.

Link scored his unassisted goal, a blue collar effort in front of the net, with 5:29 left in regulation.

West took its first lead early in the second period and added to its advantage late in the middle frame. Batman scored 29 seconds into the second to give the Eagles the 1-0 lead. Fair pushed West’s lead to 3-1 with a power play goal with 52 seconds left in the second.

West Valley stunned Wasilla with Tayllor Geil’s goal 17 seconds into regulation and rode the momentum to a 5-1 win over the Warriors. Geil was one of five different players to score for the Wolfpack, who outshot Wasilla 5-1.

Luke Schruf scored the lone goal for the Warriors.