Warriors rally to OT win over Service

WASILLA — Another slow start. Another 3-1 deficit. And another huge win for the Wasilla Warriors.

Wasilla scored four unanswered goals to stun Service 4-3 in overtime during the first round of the ASAA First National Cup Division I State Championships Thursday night at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

Junior Alex Engan scored the game-tying goal late in the third and the game-winner 35 seconds into the tiebreaker to help the Warriors move forward where they will face West Anchorage Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the state semifinals.

“We worked (hard), kept putting pucks to the net and didn’t let our heads go down,” Engan said moments after the victory.

Late in regulation, as Wasilla skated with the extra-attacker, Engan hammered a rebound over Service goalie Kevin Trenton to tie the score at 3 with 1:22 left in the third. Early in overtime, senior Hayden Masterson fired a shot that was tipped by junior Porter Schachle right to Engan, who provided the game winner. Engan now has 27 goals in 22 games this season.

“He’s been playing really good for us, all year,” Wasilla head coach Trent Schachle said after the win.

The effort was part of another rally for the better-late-than-never Warriors. Last week during the North Star Conference championship game, Wasilla trailed rival Colony 3-1 and scored three unanswered en route to a 4-3 win and the NSC title. Wasilla also scored three goals during the final two periods of a 4-2 NSC semifinal win over Homer and three third-period goals in a 4-1 quarterfinal victory over Soldotna. While happy about his team’s win, Schachle said the coaches have been trying to find a way for the Warriors to avoid the slow starts.

“We have to be ready to play in the first period, so we can play a full game,” Schachle said.

Wasilla trailed 2-0 after the first and 3-1 after two.

“We’re trying to do whatever we can to prepare them,” Schachle said.

But the Warriors improved as the game progressed. After only five shots in the first, Wasilla had eight in the second and 12 in the third. Porter Schachle put the Warriors on the scoreboard midway through the second. With Wasilla on the power play, Schachle brought the puck from the right side of the ice and snapped a shot to the back of the net. Masterson gave Wasilla another lift with a power play goal of his own. Early in the third, Masterson brought the puck up the right side of the ice, and slipped a backhander inside the left post.

“I think it’s just we play a lot better with a smile on our face. As soon as we score a goal, we flip a switch and think, oh we can do this,” Trent Schachle said.

And the Warriors did it, using the win to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2015. Wasilla will face West, which it blanked 4-0 in December.

“It’s going to be a great battle. They’re good team, smart, they play hard,” Schachle said “We’ve got to come to play.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla 4, Service 3 OT

ASAA First National Cup quarterfinals

Thursday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Service- L. Martensen (Gaskov) 12:42, 2. Service- Roberts (Hill) pp 7:25.

Second period — 3. Service- B. Martensen (Harris) 11:56; 4. Wasilla- P. Schachle (Engan, D. Carney) pp 7:52.

Third period — 5. Wasilla- Masterson (Moore, Campbell) pp 11:00; 6. Wasilla- Engan (Moore, Gudz) 1:22.

Overtime ¬— 7. Wasilla- Engan (P. Schachle, Masterson) 7:25.

Shots on goal: Service 8-3-5-0—16, Wasilla 5-8-12-3—28; Saves: Service- Trenton 5-7-10-2—24, Wasilla- Campbell 6-2-5-0—13.