Prep hockey: Stars storm past Moose in North Star semifinals

HOMER — Nothing went Palmer's way Friday night. The same could not be said for the Soldotna Stars.

The Stars scored early and often in their 8-1 North Star Conference Tournament semifinal win, turning a much-anticipated match-up of teams that split during the regular season into a blowout.

The Stars got on the board early in the first period when freshman forward Brad Duwe beat Palmer goalie Jonas Naegele just 18 seconds into the game.

Senior forward Ben Christianson had a hat trick for the Stars, which also got two goals each from Duwe and Daniel Markstrom, and another from Clayton Glick.

Junior forward Kevin Garske was the night's big playmaker, racking up five assists for the Stars.

SoHi coach Kyle Howell said he felt the Stars needed to get an early goal to keep the Moose from hanging around and gaining confidence — a strategy the Moose used to pull off a 4-3 upset last month in the Valley

“I think it was real big,” Howell said. “Naegele had played in net last time we played them and we outshot them real bad, but he was a wall. I thought it was a big thing to get on the board quick and maybe get him out of his game.”

Palmer coach Brad Hanson said Soldotna did a good job of capitalizing on any mistakes his team made.

“We didn't get any bounces, and they converted just right and left,” Hanson said of the Stars, a team that lost just two conference games during the regular season.

Trailing 2-0 after one period, Palmer looked to be on the verge of coming to life in the second period before a disastrous series of events that turned the tide heavily in SoHi's favor.

With the Moose on a 5-on-3 power play, senior defenseman Jeremy Wright nearly pulled Palmer to within a single goal with a hard slap shot from the point that cleanly beat SoHi goalie Mike McGrath. But instead of rippling the net, Wright's shot rang off the post and bounced clear.

Seconds later, the Moose turned the puck over to Garske as the SoHi player left the penalty box. Palmer forward Zack Richards had to haul Garske down from behind to prevent a breakaway goal, earning a penalty and ending Palmer's power play.

The untimely turn of events seemed to rattle the Moose, which gave up two goals over the next 53 seconds, a 4-on-4 tally by Glick and a power-play score by Christianson.

“After that third goal, we didn't play very smart and it just got out of hand,” Hanson said. “It just snowballed.”

Markstrom and Christianson also added goals in the second period as the Stars went up 6-0.

Marksrom and Duwe each scored in the third to help SoHi push its lead to 8-0.

Palmer broke up McGrath's shutout bid with just 19.5 seconds left in the game on a put-back by Richards, who nicely cleaned up Wright's hard slap shot from the blue line.

Palmer, which beat Homer Thursday to advance to the semifinals, was looking to reach the state tournament for the first time since 1996. Instead, the Stars advanced to the big dance for the first time since 2003.

“That was our biggest goal this season,” Howell said.

Hanson said he was disappointed in his team's rough final game, but said the season overall was a positive one for the Moose, which will lose just five seniors — goalie Sam McQuillan, Wright, a defenseman, and forwards Jesse Cassidy, Justin Perkins and C.J. Watson — to graduation.

“I’m proud of the season that we had,” Hanson said. “The kids did everything we asked them to do. We got beat up a little bit in this game, but that

happens.”

STARS 8, MOOSE 1

North Star Conference semifinals

Friday, Homer Ice Arena

Soldotna 2 4 2 - 8

Palmer 0 0 1 - 1

First period — 1. Soldotna- Duwe (Garske, Glick), :18; 2. Christianson (Olson, Garske), 2:39

Second period — 3. Soldotna- Glick (Duwe), 6:42; 4. Christianson (Glick, Garske), pp, 7:34; 5. Soldotna- Markstrom (Garske, Duwe), 10:54; 6. Soldotna- Christianson (Garske), 14:48

Third period — 7. Soldotna- Markstrom (Duwe, Glick), 9:34; 8. Duwe (Markstrom), 11:50; 9. Palmer- Richards (Wright), 14:41

Penalties: Soldotna 10 for 20 minutes, Palmer 10 for 20 minutes. Shots: Soldotna 16-14-10 - 40, Palmer 8-8-6 - 22. Saves: Soldotna- McGrath 8-8-5 - 21, Palmer- Naegele 14-10-x - 24, McQuillan x-x-8 - 8.