Division II champion Soldotna wants to keep peaking with another state hockey title on the line
Feb. 8—In just his second year at the helm of the Soldotna High School boys hockey program, Anthony Zurfluh was able to lead the team to its first-ever Division II state championship last weekend.
As a result, the Stars will have a chance to build off that momentum and contend for the Division I title as well this week as the state tournament for Alaska's larger schools will be held at the Menard Sports & Events Center in Wasilla starting Thursday and running through Saturday.
"We've kind of hit our peak at just the right time and to roll into Fairbanks and be able to battle through that tournament was definitely no gimme," Zurfluh said.
He admitted that his team was fortunate to not have to face top-ranked Houston as the Hawks were upset in the semifinals by Juneau-Douglas.
After the Crimson Bears "slayed the dragon," he said it "set the stage for something special" to unfold.
"The stars aligned for us," Zurfluh said.
His team anticipated seeing Houston, the defending Division II state champions in the title game if they made it that far.
"It didn't really matter," Zurfluh said. "We pretty much had our sights set on Houston. If we could make it to that final game we knew they were gonna be there. For them not to be, we just kind of viewed it like 'holy smokes' it really could happen."
An aspect of their title run that made it especially significant for him was that he got to share it with his son, who is a sophomore on the team.
"It's a group that I've been coaching through (youth hockey) and to see them have success finally at the high school level is cool," Zurfluh said. "I'm still floating on a cloud. It seems unreal."
The Stars were selected as the No. 2 seed in the Division I state tournament, which stirred some controversy. While they boast a losing record against higher level teams at 2-3-2 on the year, they won their last two by multiple goals.
"We got our hands full, that's for sure," Zurfluh said. "Let's face it, that's a step up of hockey over there. We were able to knock Colony off and knock Wasilla off and we feel confident but those guys are good hockey clubs and for us to be ranked second, we kind of smile at that."
Last year when Houston won the Division II state title, the Hawks entered the Division I tournament the following week at the bottom of the bracket as the No. 8 seed. Zurfluh thought they'd get a similar ranking this year and was just as surprised as anybody when the brackets were revealed.
"Now we're catching some flak for it," he said. "I don't make the rankings, I just coach the team."
His team and coaching staff have been completely unfazed with all the questioning of their seeding and opt to make light of the situation instead.
"All we can do is laugh, we're stirring the pot a little bit so somebody's interested," Zurfluh said. "It seems like we always kind of get the bottom end of the stick here on the Peninsula. We get our butts kicked by Anchorage (teams) all our whole lives. I'm sure they've got lots to say about the seeding. That's just the way it goes. All we can do is smile about it and show up and play."
For the second straight tournament in a row, Soldotna is on the opposite side of the bracket as the No. 1 seed. This time the top seed is unbeaten Chugiak. But Soldotna's first priority is making it past No. 7 seeded West, which they will play at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
"We're going to just take this tournament one shift at a time," Zurfluh said. "If we could get past West, that would be huge so West is in our sights right now. We're not even looking at any other team in those brackets. We're just going to take them one shift at a time and see where the cards lay."
'Dangerous' Eagles are ready to spread their wings
West, the team that Soldotna will be playing in the opening round, believes that it can make some noise and go far because of its high scoring potential.
"I think we're probably the most dangerous team in the state that can turn it on at any time," West coach Rob Larkey said. "I think a lot of teams are saying 'We don't want to be playing West.' "
The last time the Eagles won it all was the year before he took over the program at his alma mater. In the years since, the farthest they've reached is the semifinal round last season. The 2021 state tournament was canceled due to COVID.
West was on the wrong end of the most exciting game of the Cook Inlet Conference Regional tournament this past week when they went to seven overtime periods with South in the semifinal round before ultimately falling 4-3.
"We outshot them 69-to-23 and they kind of stole that game away from us," Larkey said. "That's the way the puck bounced that night but we're consistently in every game that we play."
While they failed to do what Chugiak's other eight opponents couldn't on 18 different occasions in handing them their first loss of the season, the Eagles have played the Mustangs tough in both of their matchups. They lost 3-1 in the season opener and suffered a 5-3 defeat on Jan. 17.
"Offensively, we move the puck up the ice really nice with good passes," Larkey said. "We're just not capitalizing on our shots but eventually they're going to start going in and hopefully this is the weekend they start falling for us. If that happens, we're going to be really rolling."
They're also trying to limit their mistakes, which in turn will reduce the amount of scoring opportunities for their opponents.
"We want to be improving and plateauing at the right time," Larkey said.
He and his team aren't among the contingent of Anchorage teams upset with the seeding of Soldotna in the Division I tournament bracket. They'd rather be dialed in on working on the area they need to get better to ensure they give themselves the best chance to go far.
"You have to just stay focused on your team and understanding your personnel," Larkey said.
To be able to bring a title back to West as a coach after he starred for the Eagles as a player decades ago would mean the world to him and more importantly, the current players.
"It's not about me, it's all about the kids," Larkey said. "To see how hard they work, how dedicated they are, and the effort they put and the fun that we have, it's a great bunch of kids ... It'd be nice to see them hoist the big trophy in the end."
Division I State Hockey Tournament
Thursday-Friday-Saturday
At Menard Sports Center in Wasilla
Thursday's first round
No. 2 Soldotna vs. No. 7 West High, 11 a.m.
No. 4 Colony vs. No. 5 South High, 1:30 p.m.
No. 1 Chugiak vs. No. 8 Dimond, 4 p.m.
No. 3 Wasilla vs. No. 6 West Valley, 7 p.m.
