Warriors rally to win over Knights in NSC title game

WASILLA — Trailing by a pair of goals late in the second period, the Wasilla Warriors were looking for a spark.

And that moment came with 3 minutes and 24 seconds left in the middle frame. Junior Porter Schachle buried a penalty shot, the first of three unanswered goals that allowed Wasilla to rally to a 4-3 victory over rival Colony in the North Star Conference championship game Saturday at the Soldotna Sports Complex.

“That gave us a boost to come back,” Wasilla head coach Trent Schachle said by cellphone Saturday night.

Senior Hayden Masterson notched the game-tying and game-winning goals to help third-seeded Wasilla upset top-ranked Colony and prevent the Knights from scoring their fourth straight region title.

“It was a huge accomplishment for the kids just to come back and not let down, and keep on playing,” Trent Schachle said. “They kept on playing, battled back.”

Schachle said getting that game-tying goal late in the second was particularly key. Masterson scored with 2:30 left in the third, just more than a minute after the penalty shot, to knot the score at 3. Wasilla was able to tie the game late in the first period as well. Soon after Jake Hessinger gave Colony the 1-0 lead, Alex Engan tied the game for Wasilla with a goal at the 1:18 mark of the first.

“That was huge,” Schachle said.

Masteron led Wasilla with the two goals. Porter Schachle factored into all four goals, with the penalty shot and three assists. Engan had a goal and two assists. Aaron Campbell made 27 saves for the Warriors.

“Campbell made some big saves for us,” Schachle said.

Schachle said the Warriors battled against three tough teams en route to the NSC title. Wasilla also scored three unanswered goals during a 4-1 win over sixth-seeded Soldotna Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Warriors followed with a 4-2 win over second-seeded Homer Friday in the semifinals.

Colony led twice in the loss. Hessinger scored late in the first to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. Early in the second, Cooper Smith and Ethan Korynta each scored within a 12-second span to give the Knights the 3-1 advantage. Tae’jean Evans finished with a pair of assists in the loss. Goalie Cole Doss made 17 saves.

Colony entered the tournament as the top seed after finishing 9-1-0 in conference play during the regular season.

Both Wasilla and Colony now look ahead to the ASAA Division I First National Cup, which starts Thursday at the Menard Arena in Wasilla. Wasilla will open against Service, which finished third in the Cook Inlet Conference over the weekend, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.. Colony draws CIC champion South Anchorage, the 2017 state runner-up, and plays Thursday at 5 p.m.

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

Wasilla 4, Colony 3

North Star Conference championship game

Saturday, Soldotna Sports Center

First period — 1. Colony- Hessinger (Evans) 3:49; 2. Wasilla- Engan (P. Schachle, Gudz) 1:18.

Second period — 3. Colony- Smith (Evans) 13:14; 4. Colony- Korynta (Monaco, Holman) 13:02; 5. Wasilla- P. Schachle (ps) 3:24; 6. Wasilla- Masterson (P. Schachle, Engan) 2:30.

Third period — 7. Wasilla- Masterson (Engan, Schachle) 12:23.

Shots on goal: Wasilla 5-5-11—21, Colony 12-12-6—30; Saves: Wasilla- Campbell 11-10-6—27, Colony- Doss 4-3-10—17.