Lathrop ends Wasilla’s tourney run

WASILLA — The Wasilla Warriors were arguably the hottest team entering the 4A state hockey tournament, riding a 14-game winning streak.

But sometimes some losses are simply too tough to recover from.

Less than 24 hours after suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 double-overtime loss to West Anchorage, Lathrop eliminated Wasilla from the tournament with a 4-2 win over the Warriors during the consolation semifinal round of the ASAA/First National Cup Friday morning at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

“We were tired coming in,” Wasilla assistant coach Jeff Urban said after the loss to the Malemutes. “I don’t know if those boys got to bed until midnight, maybe later. Coming back for a (10 a.m.) game, they had to be here at 8, they were a little gassed, a little down.”

Wasilla’s first-round game with West had a 7:30 p.m. start time Thursday night, and the double-overtime match drove the game to the 10 o’clock hour.

The Warriors then turned around to drop the puck Friday at 10:15 a.m. Urban said regardless of time, rebounding from a double-overtime playoff defeat is difficult.

“Coming back right away is tough, but it’s tough anytime you’ve got to do it,” he said.

Cole Stephens and Max Blankenship each scored a pair of goals to lead the Malemutes into the tournament’s fourth-place game.

Stephens scored his first goal within the first three minutes of regulation, using a power-play tally to give the Malemutes the 1-0 lead.

Wasilla was able to respond just 1:15 later with a Jack Reeves power-play goal. Urban said it was good to see the Warriors respond to the early deficit.

“They’ve been doing that,” Urban said of the Warriors. “Especially in the second half of the year.”

Blankenship scored the first of his two goals early in the second period to give the Malemutes the 2-1 lead. But sophomore defenseman Austin Cook tied the score at 2 with a shot from the point midway through the frame.

Colton Fletcher dropped a pass back to Cook, at the right point, and Cook sent a puck inside the near-side post.

Lathrop sealed the game with a pair of third-period goals. The first, a Stephens deflection, came just 19 seconds into the third period.

“A little surprised, a little flat-footed,” Urban said of his team allowing the early goal. “Lathrop is a good team, and they capitalized on a few breakdowns.”

Lathrop outshot Wasilla 19-15 in the game.

Thursday, West forward Alex Bardsley scored with 59 seconds left in the second overtime to lift the Eagles to a 1-0 win over the Warriors. Max Osgood won a draw in the Wasilla defensive zone, and Bardsley gathered the puck in the right-wing circle, and fired a shot into the far, upper shelf of the net.

Urban said it was a shot most goalies would have a hard time stopping.

“Not without a little luck. Where he put it in the top corner, it’d be hard to get for sure,” Urban said. “Lauren (Massie) didn’t even see it. I could tell. I could see the line of the shot. He had no chance.”

Massie was stellar in net against the Eagles, recording 29 saves.

“He was outstanding. It’s hard to take the loss in what I think was his best game of the season,” Urban said of the sophomore.

Wasilla, the North Star Conference champion, skated in the state tourney game for the fourth straight year. The Warriors will loose key players to graduation, such as forward Brett Keene and defenseman William Harren, but the future continues to look bright for WHS hockey.

“We’re losing a couple of key guys, but it looks good,” Urban said. “We should have a pretty solid team next year.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Lathrop 4, Wasilla 2

ASAA state consolation semifinals

Friday, Wasilla

First period — 1. Lathrop- Stephens (Parsley) pp 12:16; 2. Wasilla- Reeves (Fletcher, Harren) pp 11:01.

Second period — 3. Lathrop- Blakenship (Ramaker) 11:25; 4. Wasilla- Cook (Fletcher, Hansen) 5:27.

Third period — 5. Lathrop- Stephens (Parsley) 14:41; 6. Lathrop- Blankenship (Meier) 9:32.

Shots on goal: Lathrop 6-5-7—19, Wasilla 4-4-7—15; Saves: Lathrop- Morey 3-3-7—13, Wasilla- Massie 5-4-5—14.