Crimson Bears shine in state tournament loss to Stars
- Klas Stolpe
- 17 hours ago
- 6 min read
JDHS falls to Soldotna in double overtime to open 2026 ASAA state championships
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Hockey can be an unlucky sport for one team and a wonderfully timed happenstance outing for another.
For the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé and the Soldotna lines the luck flew sideways, lengthways and both ways along the ice as the Crimson Bears and Stars played like state champions through a double-overtime thriller at Thursday’s 2026 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska D2 Hockey State quarterfinal.
“A puck is six ounces of frozen vulcanized rubber,” JDHS coach Matt Boline said. “It is meant to bounce at times. Hockey is a game of bounces and you have to create your own puck luck. We got some at times, but in the end they got the bounce that ended it.”
With 3:49 remaining in the second eight-minute overtime period the puck came out of a faceoff won by Stars junior Draiden Mullican to the right of the JDHS net. Soldotna sophomore Paul Wertanen tipped the puck to classmate Keegan Myrick who put a shot through traffic, ending the game between the Northern Lights Conference rivals 2-1 in favor of the Stars.
It was just an unlucky bounce of the puck as JDHS junior goalie Jed Davis had smothered 27 shots on the night and the Crimson Bears' lines had bumped many opposing players off pucks to aid his cause.
“Jed was awesome, he held us in the game at times when we were letting SoHi take the game to us,” Boline said. “I think he faced something like 75 shots from the three games this season against Soldotna and only let two in. Both of their goals were great plays and he did everything he could.”
On the other side of the ice Soldotna senior goalie Brycen Clyde also stopped 27 shots and his team also did the dirty work needed to keep the scoring light.
It would be a talent-laden game between two evenly matched sides that could only be decided by luck.
Soldotna the fourth seed in the state tournament, had controlled most of the first period despite two power plays by JDHS, the fifth seed.
The Crimson Bears held most of the possession in the first six minutes of the game and JDHS senior Elliot Welch put the first hard shot against the Stars’ net minder with a blast that went high two minutes into action.
Soldotna slowly built into strong ice play as the period ended, but JDHS had put nine shots on goal and Soldotna just five.
JDHS’ Welch and classmates Hunter Lingle, Paxton Mertl, Nolan Cruz, Elias Schane, Isaac Phelps, Emerson Newell, juniors Tricen Headings, Drew Cadigan-McAdoo, Caden Morris and Bryden Roberts, sophomores Ryker Nelson, Summit Bos and Dylan Miller, and freshmen Paxton Willoughby and Manu Adams would all be noted for their performances through the game.
“Defensively, we blocked a lot of shots and kept the stars to the outside so Jed did not have to make as many saves,” Boline said. “And the saves he had to make early in the game were from outside-lower percentage shots to score from.”
Soldotna controlled the puck for roughly five of the seven opening minutes of play in the second period despite JDHS’ Welch putting the first shot of the period just over the Stars net 15 seconds into action.
Soldotna followed with a two-minute possession and in the back-and-forth play the Stars had two good shots with nine minutes left. JDHS’ Davis had three saves that could have been goals if not for the junior’s quick glove and kick. Soldotna would outshoot JDHS 12-6 in the second period, but the Crimson Bears had the biggest shot.
JDHS’ Welch seemed to have saved the Crimson Bears state hockey championship dreams with a one-on-one slapshot past Soldotna’s Clyde with 16 seconds remaining in the second period for a 1-0 lead that seemed, given the way both sides’ defenses were playing, would carry into the night.
Welch took the puck away from a SOHI player at the blue line off a face-off and kicked up some shaved ice, sped down the left side of the MTA Events Center and struck a slapshot to his near high corner in full stride past the Stars’ Clyde with 14 minutes and 44 seconds elapsed in second-period play.
Soldotna’s Clyde saved 17 shots through two periods and JDHS’ Davis 14.
The third period opened with JDHS’ Headings putting a hard shot just off the Soldotna net, but saw the Stars playing in desperation as one goal in a defensive match could be hard to find.
Soldotna found theirs when a JDHS penalty gave the Stars a power play with 7:26 left in the period.
JDHS’ Davis buckled down in the pipes and stopped a wrist shot, then had a glove save, then deflected a shot and JDHS’ Schane, Bos, and Adams were among the players noted for killing penalty time.
Three more Soldotna shots were altered by the JDHS defensive lines, but with 6:11 left in the period Soldotna sophomore Luke Larsen hit a shot top shelf to tie the game 1-1, assisted by sophomore Sylis Hughes.
Soldotna had momentum and would put three more quality shots against JDHS’ Davis, but all were deflected away and regulation time ended.
In the first eight-minute overtime JDHS’ Mertl and Soldotna’s Mullicen had the draw and JDHS controlled the puck with Welch getting the first look at a shot, but it went wide.
Soldotna’s Larsen had a shot but was bumped off the puck by the JDHS defense, and Crimson Bears Morris and Welch had shots deflected on the other end.
JDHS’ Davis would face seven shots in the next minutes, kicking a few away, having defenders deflected them, and putting a glove on two.
Soldotna’s Larsen had a good look and fired a shot, but Davis gloved the save and Welch hit a rocket on the other end with 3:51 left in the overtime.
JDHS’ Mertl followed with a shot and Welch another. Soldotna would be whistled for a penalty with 2:43 remaining for a Crimson Bears power play.
JDHS’ Adams, Schane, Headings, Cadigan-McAdoo, Welch and Morris all had touches on the puck during the penalty, but Soldotna survived.
JDHS’ Welch put an exclamation slapshot off chest protector of Soldotna’s Clyde as time expired.
The second overtime started with JDHS’ Welch getting the puck off the drop and Schane having a shot covered by Soldotna.
Soldotna seniors Chase Willis and Peter Perez-Bailon and Hughes would put shot attempts up on the JDHS zone. An icing penalty on the Crimson Bears brought the fateful puck back to the JDHS zone for the final puck drop of the game that saw the Stars score to advance to Friday’s 4 p.m. semifinal against the North Pole Patriots, an 11-0 winner over the Kodiak Bears earlier Thursday.
JDHS will play Kodiak at 11 a.m. Friday in a consolation game to stay alive and advance into Saturday’s fourth-place game.
“SoHi has been a perennial power for the last 5-6 years and I don’t expect that to change too much,” Boline said. “They have got talent and they work hard. If they stay disciplined they are a tough out for anyone.”
In other Thursday action third seed Houston defeated sixth seed Monroe 3-2 and two seed Palmer defeated seventh seed Delta 2-1. Palmer will play Houston in a 6:30 p.m. Friday semifinal, Monroe faces Delta in a 1:30 p.m. Friday consolation game to earn a berth in the Saturday fourth place game.
Palmer is the defending state champion and Soldotna is looking to make their fourth state championship game in a row.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
