Local hockey, ski programs hoping for postseason action in February

A handful of prep sporting events were postponed last week due to a recent rise in COVID-19 numbers in local schools. But local athletes in two sports are still hoping to participate in some type of postseason action this month.

The ASAA/First National Bank Division II State Hockey Championships is scheduled for Feb. 18-20 at the Menard Arena in Wasilla. Palmer High activities director and ASAA board president Dale Ewart said the plan calls for an eight-team, three-day tourney with a play-in game on Feb. 17 at the Menard. Either Palmer or Houston will play the third seed from the Kenai Peninsula in the play-in game, and the winner of that game would score a spot on the bracket.

The field would include a combined four teams from the Mat-Su and the Kenai Peninsula, three teams from the Aurora Conference in the Interior, and Juneau.

Juneau has not had an official game yet, but was approved to participate in the DII championships, Ewart said.

There will be no Division I state hockey tournament in 2021. Anchorage School District teams in the Cook Inlet Conference will not start their season until mid-March. That leaves only four Division I squads in the state — Colony, Wasilla, West Valley and Lathrop in the Railbelt Conference. Ewart said Wasilla High is hosting a Railbelt Conference tournament Feb. 26-27 at the Menard.

Palmer is the host school of the ASAA Division II state championships.

ASAA has canceled the cross-country skiing state championships, which was scheduled for Feb. 25-27 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.

“Currently ASAA is working with the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage Nordic Ski Association, and school districts to determine the feasibility of hosting the event at a later date,” ASAA officials posted in an update on their website.

Ewart said the hope to have a Region III ski meet Feb. 19-20. It would be a split meet with the local programs (Colony, Palmer and Susitna Valley) competing at the Government Peak Recreation Area, and the Kenai area teams competing on the Peninsula. Region III used the same game plan for cross-country running championships during the fall of 2020.

Valley programs in hockey, cross-country skiing and basketball have been restricted to intradistrict play. In basketball, local schools have been working to schedule games against Kenai Peninsula and Fairbanks area teams during the final two weeks of February. There also has been potential for Mat-Su squads to face Anchorage area private schools, such as Grace Christian, Anchorage Christian and Birchwood Christian. All of the above is contingent on the Mat-Su Borough School District’s approval of competition against teams outside of the district. Ewart said district administrators are expected to provide an update regarding sports on Friday.

The district’s 14-day COVID-19 case count is at 157 as of Monday night. Colony High, Colony Middle, Mat-Su Career and Technical High, Palmer High, Pioneer Peak Elementary and Wasilla High were all closed to in-class learning on Monday. Colony High, Colony Middle and Pioneer Peak will be closed through Friday, according to district officials. Career Tech and Wasilla High are also closed on Tuesday. Palmer High is closed through Wednesday. Teams at a school that is closed to in-class learning cannot practice or participate in games or events.

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