WHS grad member of national runner-up

WASILLA — The North Iowa Bulls, a Junior A Tier III team that includes former Wasilla High standout Chancie Hanson, fell just short of its bid for a second straight national title.

The Boston-based Junior Bruins of the United States Premier Hockey League beat North Iowa 4-1 Monday afternoon during the title game of the USA Hockey Junior A Tier III National Championships in Simsbury, Conn. Hanson and the Bulls, of the North American 3 Hockey League, won the Tier III national title last season.

North Iowa scored midway through the first period to take the first lead, but the Junior Bruins, a team that includes eight players who have committed to NCAA Division I programs, tallied four unanswered goals to win the title. Hanson, a defenseman, did not record a point, and plus-minus rating was not included on the box score on the tournament’s official website.

Hanson, 20, recorded a pair of assists as he helped lead the Bulls to a 5-1 semifinal win over the Northern Cyclones of Hudson, N.H., on Sunday. Hanson tallied assists on his team’s first and fifth goals.

North Iowa finished 3-0 in pool play. The Bulls beat the Boston Bandits 11-2, skated past the Wisconsin Dells Ducks 5-1 and blanked the Florida Junior Blades 5-0.

Hanson played in four of his team’s five games, and finished the tournament with two assists.

Hanson recently helped North Iowa win its second straight Silver Cup, the prize given to the top team in the NA3HL. He finished with an assist and a plus-2 rating to help lead the Bulls to a 3-0 win over the Flint Junior Generals March 30 in the NA3HL championship game at the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Ill. Hanson, a 2012 graduate of Wasilla High School, finished with four assists in eight playoff games and sported a plus-2 rating. In four games during the league’s Silver Cup tournament, Hanson finished with three assists and a plus-4 rating.

The Bulls finished 45-3-0 during a regular season in which Hanson bagged three goals, 30 assists and a plus-57 rating. Hanson, 20, capped his two-year junior hockey career during the loss Monday. A number of college programs are interested in the 6-foot defenseman. Hanson is expected to commit to a school in the coming weeks.