Valley squads enter region tournament

Three local prep hockey clubs will battle this weekend for a spot in the state tournament. Colony, Palmer and Wasilla are in Kenai this weekend to compete in the annual Region III hockey tournament.

The bracket also features Peninsula programs Kenai, Soldotna and Skyview. The top three teams in the tournament advance to the 4A state championships which is also held in Kenai, next week.

Wasilla enters the tournament as the region's second seed. The Warriors' 8-2-0 record ensured Wasilla a first-round bye and the squad will face either Colony or Skyview in the second round.

"For us to get to state, we must win that first game," Wasila head coach Eric Troisi said. "That has been our goal the whole year."

Troisi feels the Warriors are now playing their best hockey of the season.

"We are really moving the puck well," Troisi said. "That should help on the big sheet. We just need to put together 45 minutes of good hockey."

Wasilla has won three straight and five of its last six.

The Warriors have been aided by a surge by their young talent.

Freshman goaltender Ronnie Walker has won 10 games in net this season, posting an .886 saves percentage and 3.53 goals against average.

Wasilla has also received great production from its young forwards. Freshman Jeremiah Dargis is second on the squad in scoring with eight goals and 12 assists and sophomore Tanner Dutcher has three goals and 12 helpers.

Troisi said players such as Dargis could really prosper on the big sheet of ice.

"Dargis is a really talented player," Troisi said. "He's got hands and speed, he's good all around."

The big sheet of ice at the Kenai Sports Center is the international regulation size, which is longer and wider than the ice at the Brett Arena.

Colony, seeded third in the region, has lost two straight, but the Knight losses came to the region's top teams. Prior to a 4-2 loss to Wasilla and 5-1 loss to Kenai, Colony had won four straight region contests.

The 5-5 Knights face Skyview in the opening round of the tourney. Colony is 2-0 this season in the Panthers, defeating Skyview 8-3 on the Peninsula and 3-0 two weeks ago in Wasilla.

Palmer is the fifth seed in the region with a 2-7-1 league record. Despite just two wins in region play, Moose head coach Brian Fish feels his squad is playing its best hockey of the year right now.

"Last weekend we really started to get that we can't have one or two guys doing it all," Fish said.

With 18 goals and 18 assists, freshman phenom Spencer Galvin has been the center of much of Palmer's offensive production for much of the season. As the season continued, Palmer began to get consistent production from several players and now the Moose have four athletes with 14 or more points.

The Moose face Soldotna in the first round with the winner taking on Kenai.

The Kardinals hold the top seed with a 9-1-0 record, but have shown in recent weeks they can be beaten. Palmer nearly upended the region power two weeks ago, losing by a slim 7-5 margin and Soldotna upset Kenai 5-4 last week.