Moose skate into the DII state title game

The Palmer Moose are back in the state title game.

Palmer skated to a 6-1 win over the Soldotna Stars during the semifinal round of the ASAA/First National Bank Division II State Hockey Championships Friday at the Menard Arena in Wasilla. With the victory, the Moose move into the DII title game for the second time in three years. Palmer won its second state hockey title in school history in 2019. The Moose face Homer Saturday at 1 p.m. in the championship, a rematch of the 2019 title game. The Mariners, the defending state champion, advanced to the championship game for the third straight year with a 4-1 win over North Pole in the other semifinal.

Gavin Gore led the Moose with a hat trick in the win, and grabbed an assist on another goal. Jeremy Horacek enjoyed a three-point night with two goals and an assist. Ryan Martin also scored.

A fortunate bounce gave Palmer an early lead just 10 seconds into regulation. After the opening face off, a loose puck deflected off a SoHi player, into the net. The Moose built a 2-0 lead in the first period, and after SoHi recorded its lone goal on a second-period power play, Palmer scored four unanswered. Gore completed his hat trick with 14 seconds left in the game.

The Moose, who opened the tourney with an 11-0 shutout of Tri Valley in the quarterfinals, have now scored 17 total goals in six periods of state tourney hockey.

Both teams finished with 22 shots in the game. Palmer’s Jackson Heard made 21 saves in the win. SoHi’s Ayden See stopped 16 shots in the loss.

SoHi’s season comes to an end with the loss. There will be no third- or fourth-place games this year due to the tournament organizers’ COVID-19 mitigation plan.

Kenai 4, Houston 2

Houston’s season came to an end with a 4-2 loss to Kenai during state tournament consolation action Friday.

Houston scored both of its goals on the power play. Afanasy Efmov tallied a power play goal midway through the first period. Brayden Johnson added a late goal with the man advantage.

Jacob Begich led Kenai with a goal and two assists.

Kenai outshot Houston 19-14. Houston’s Kevin Lewis made 15 saves in the loss.

Monroe 4, Tri Valley 2

In a battle of a pair of Aurora Conference teams, Monroe beat Tri Valley 4-2 in state tournament consolation action Friday.

Chris Hodges led Monroe with two goals and two assists. Chris Graham and Corey Stickle scored for Tri Valley.

Homer 4, North Pole 1

Homer advanced to its third straight DII title game with a 4-1 win over North Pole in the state semifinals Friday.

Mariners goalie Keegan Strong made 29 saves in the victory. Four different players — Fiona Hatten, Haylee Owen, Matfey Reutov and Casey Otis — scored for Homer.

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