Moose stun Stars: Palmer advances to state hockey title game for first time in 30 years

WASILLA — As his teammates celebrated their overtime win over Soldotna Friday night, Palmer senior Darian Wilson was nearly speechless. The four-year varsity player had just watched as his linemate, Zach Nelius, knock in a shot from the slot early in the extra period to give the Moose a 4-3 overtime victory over the Stars during the ASAA First National Cup Division II semifinals at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

“I was so shocked it went in,” Wilson said after the game. “It was amazing. I gave him a big ole hug. I was so happy.”

With the win, Palmer advanced to a state hockey final for the first time in 1989. The Moose erased that 30-year drought a day after Palmer used a 4-2 win over North Pole to grab its first state hockey tournament victory in 10 years.

“I always hoped it would happen,” Wilson said of earning the chance to play for a high school hockey state title. “I can’t explain it.”

Nelius stepped up between the circles and hammered in the rebound of a Nathan Hooks shot with 5:29 left in overtime.

“I saw open ice, and the puck popped out,” Nelius said of the play. “People were going the opposite way, so I decided to shoot.”

The game marked the third meeting of the season between the Railbelt Conference rivals, and the third that went into overtime. But after falling to SoHi 3-2 in overtime twice during the regular season, the Moose finally had the chance to celebrate.

“It was intense,” Nelius said.

Palmer needed four unanswered goals to climb out of an early hole and reach the title game. SoHi led 3-0 after the first period.

“We didn’t walk out there ready to play (in the first period),” Wilson said. “Second period, we got it going out there.”

Wilson scored twice during regulation. The senior put the Moose on the scoreboard with a power play goal early in the second. Wilson helped force overtime with a game-tying goal with 28 seconds left in the third period. Palmer defenseman Easton Armstrong sent the puck up the ice to set up the goal.

“It was a great pass,” Wilson said.

Nathan Hooks skipped a shot over the shoulder of SoHi goalie Josh Tree to cut Soldotna’s lead to 3-2 midway through the second.

Palmer head coach Dean Wilson said Palmer’s power play goal minutes into the second period was key.

“We’ve got a deadly power play right now. We’ve been working on this all January,” Dean Wilson said.

The Palmer mentor also praised his team’s ability to play smarter down the stretch, and its work during even strength play.

“Once we started seeing we can play 5-on-5 and win, we told our team no more penalties. Keep your sticks down, don’t do anything stupid and you can win this game,” Dean Wilson said.

Wilson also lauded the work off his third-line forwards.

“Their goal was to get on the ice and not get scored on, and they were able to hold it and attack,” Wilson said. “It took everybody.”

TJ O’Rourke made 33 saves in the Moose net, and stopped all 25 shots he faced during the final two periods of regulation and overtime. Palmer outshot SoHi 41-36 in the win, and peppered Tree with 15 shots in the third period.

Palmer will face Homer in the DII state final Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Menard. The fourth-seeded Moose earned a spot in the tourney with an at-large bid after finishing fourth in the Railbelt with a 4-6 record in conference play. Soldotna was the top seed in the tourney. Third-seeded Homer upset second-seeded Juneau 3-0 in the other semifinal.

Railbelt teams were 4-0 in the quarterfinals Thursday.

The Moose will skate in a state hockey title game Saturday for the first time since the Moose won it all in 1989. Palmer edged rival Wasilla 4-3 in overtime at the Ben Boeke Arena in Anchorage.

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