Schedule set for North Star Conference hockey tourney

WASILLA — The use of the word parity is popular in sports, maybe too popular. But it may be the only word that can describe the North Star Conference this season, and could become a theme when the conference championships start Thursday evening in Homer.

“It’s anybody’s game,” Wasilla head coach Trent Schachle said after his team closed its regular season conference schedule with a 5-0 win over Palmer last week. “It’s whoever shows up and plays.”

Schachle’s Warriors (7-2-1) and Colony (7-2-1) are the top 2 seeds in the conference. Soldotna (6-4) and Kenai (5-5) are seeded third and fourth. Homer (3-6-1) and Palmer (0-9-1) are seeded fifth and sixth.

Wasilla and Colony both earned first-round byes with their top seeds.

The tournament opens Thursday with third-seeded Soldotna facing sixth seed Palmer at 5 p.m. Kenai and host Homer follow at 7:30 p.m. Wasilla plays the Kenai-Homer winner at 5 p.m. Friday. Colony faces the Palmer-Soldotna winner Friday at 7:30 p.m. The winners of Friday’s semifinals meet Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The top four seeds in the tournament were not decided until the final two days of the regular season. Wasilla needed a 5-0 win over Palmer last Friday to force a tie with the Knights. The Warriors are the top seed thanks to their 1-0-1 regular-season record against the Knights.

Soldotna used a 3-2 overtime win over Kenai last Saturday to improve to 6-4 overall and earn the No. 3 seed. Kenai (5-5) and Soldotna both entered the game with identical 5-4 records.

Soldotna’s overtime was just another example of the parity seen throughout the conference this season. Every team in the conference has skated in at least one overtime game this season, and four of the six teams have at least one tie.

Wasilla has skated in overtime twice. During the regular season, the Warriors swept the two-game series against Palmer, Homer and Kenai, but were swept by Soldotna. The Stars swept Wasilla, Palmer and Kenai, but was swept by Homer and Colony.

Palmer and Soldotna meet in Thursday’s first round after playing in a pair of one-goal games during the regular season. Soldotna edged Palmer 3-2 in overtime in Soldotna, and 3-2 in regulation time in Palmer later in the season.

This weekend, Wasilla will be in search of its fifth straight trip to the state tournament. Colony is hoping to snap its eight-year streak without a bid to state. Palmer is eying a return to the state tournament after falling short last season.