Warriors beat Kards in hockey semis; SoHi gets by Colony in 2OT

HOMER — Even when the Wasilla Warriors weren’t scoring goals, head coach Trent Schachle still liked his team’s opportunities. And once Wasilla managed to put away it’s first puck, the Warriors simply could not be stopped.

Wasilla scored eight unanswered goals, including six in the final period, and raced to an 8-1 win over Kenai during the North Star Conference Championships semifinals at Kevin Bell Arena in Homer Friday night.

“In the first period we had a few opportunities we didn’t bury. The kids were pretty nervous. This was a must-win game. And then we started burying opportunities,” Schachle said by cellphone from Homer after the win.

Junior Tanner Schachle netted the hat trick and six different Warriors scored to help Wasilla advance to the finals and earn its fifth straight trip to the state tournament. Wasilla, the defending NSC champion, met Soldotna Saturday for the 2014 conference title.

Soldotna edged No. 2 seed Colony 3-2 in double-overtime, and also earned a trip to state.

Cooper Hanson, Adam Apangalook, Olaf Jensen, Austin Cook and Cody Butcher also scored for the Warriors, who outshot Kenai 29-11 in the game.

Kenai took a 1-0 lead into the second period, but Tanner Schachle tied the score with just less than nine minutes left in the middle frame. The forward raced up the left wing and put a quick shot past Kenai goalie Justin Alvey. Less than two minutes later, Hanson took a centering pass from Jack Reeves and snapped the puck into the net.

“We were working harder, moving the puck quicker,” Trent Schachle said.

Wasilla blew the game open early in the third with a pair of rebound goals. Schachle knocked in a third rebound, the last off a Reeves shot, to give Wasilla the 3-1 lead. After a flurry of action in front of the Kenai net, Apangalook knocked in a loose puck with 9:59 left.

Jensen snapped a shot from the top of the left circle to give Wasilla the 5-1 lead.

Schachle, Cook and Butcher added goals during the final three minutes of play.

Jensen, Reeves, Garrett Conroy and Blake Carricaburu finished with two assists each for Wasilla. Freshman Wyatt Monear stopped 10 Kenai shots to earn the win in the Wasilla net.

Stars edge Knights

HOMER — The Soldotna Stars stunned No. 2 seed Colony with a 3-2 double-overtime win over the Knights in the North Star Conference semifinals Friday night in Homer.

Preston Weeks scored 13 seconds into the second overtime period to give Soldotna the win, and kill Colony’s hopes of ending an eight-year state tournament draught. SoHi earned the conference’s final state tourney bid with the victory.

CHS freshman Gunner Stadem scored midway through the final period to force overtime. Curtis Foster and Mark Thygeson recorded assists on the play. The goal marked the second time the Knights tied the score in the game. Logan Sanders scored early in the second period to tie the game at 1.

Weeks gave SoHi an early lead wit a goal late in the first period. Ty Fenton scored for the Stars about a minute after the Sanders goal to give Soldotna the 2-1 advantage.

Colony outshot Soldotna 24-20 in the game. Colton Beebe made 17 saves for the Knights.

Wasilla 8, Kenai 1

NSC semifinals

Friday, Homer

First period — 1. Kenai- Eubank (unassisted) 2:57.

Second period — 2. Wasilla- Schachle (Hanson, Carricaburu) 8:55; 3. Wasilla- Hanson (Reeves, Carricaburu) 6:56.

Third period — 4. Wasilla- Schachle (Reeves, Cooley) 13:53; 5. Wasilla- Apangalook (unassisted) 9:59; 6. Wasilla- Jensen (Butcher, Conroy) 4:34; 7. Wasilla- Schachle (unassisted) 2:53; 8. Wasilla- Cook (Jensen) 2:06; 9. Wasilla- Butcher (Jensen, Conroy) 1:45.

Shots on goal: Kenai 6-3-2—11, Wasilla 7-9-13—29; Saves: Kenai- Alvey 7-7-7—21, Wasilla- Monear 5-3-2—10.

Soldotna 3, Colony 2 2OT

NSC semifinals

Friday, Homer

First period — 1. Soldotna- Weeks (Wrobel, Miller) 12:44.

Second period — 2. Colony- Sanders (Bloemer) 2:12, 3. Soldotna- Fenton (Wrobel, Griffin) 3:09.

Third period — 4. Colony- Stadem (Foster, Thygeson) 8:17.

First overtime — no scoring.

Second overtime — 5. Soldotna- Weeks (Wrobel, Fenton) 0:13.

Shots on goal: Colony 24, Soldotna 20; Saves: Colony- Beebe- 17, Soldotna- Harvey 22.