Mat-Su hockey team wins state championship

Frontiersman staff

ANCHORAGE — The Mat-Su Bantam D's recently came home with another Valley youth hockey championship. They beat the Healy bantam team, 6-3, in a see-saw battle that was not decided until the closing minutes.

With Mat-Su leading 4-3, Healy pulled their goaltender for the man advantage with one minute, 56 seconds remaining in the game. Forward Andrew Lopez banked a shot off the boards into an empty net for a 5-3 lead to end Healy's comeback bid, icing the title game for Mat-Su.

The Mat-Su team, which was coached by Chris Faeo, went 5-1 in six games during the state tourney. They opened with a 9-0 victory over Anchorage, then they beat the Healy team 5-2 before losing 3-2 to Nikiski. They defeated Eagle River 10-0 and the Boys and Girls Club of Anchorage 8-2 to advance to the championship game in a rematch with the Healy Bantam Ds.