Go North Pole!!!!

FAIRBANKS — State hockey championship berths are up for grabs at the Mid Alaska Conference tournament beginning today at the Polar Ice Center in North Pole.

In the four-team, single-elimination tournament, the top two teams will earn a trip to Wasilla to compete for the state title. The MAC tourney champion will receive a higher seed at state.

The first puck drops at 5 tonight as the North Pole Patriots face the West Valley Wolfpack. At 7:30 p.m., the Lathrop Malemutes will take on the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears.

The championship game will begin at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Lathrop

Toting an unblemished conference record, the top-seeded Malemutes (20-2, 8-0 MAC) enter the tournament as the undeniable favorite.

But Lathrop coach Shawn Lundgren is leaving the team’s regular-season MAC championship in the past, referring to the postseason as the “second season.”

“We’re happy with the first season, but we realize it’s a new season,” he said.

Lathrop’s biggest challenge could be rust, since Lathrop has not played since a Jan. 27 win over North Pole.

Lundgren said he gave the team four days of rest before implementing practices with game-like situations to keep the Malemutes on their toes.

The Malemutes will be without forwards Kyle Olson, who recently had surgery to repair torn ligaments in his ankle, and Alex Timchack, who suffered a broken collarbone against Dimond on Jan. 24. Lundgren said he’s confident the Malemutes’ younger players can fill the void left by the injured forwards.

North Pole

As the only other team above .500 in conference play, second-seed North Pole is the most likely team to challenge Lathrop for the tournament crown.

The Patriots (15-5, 6-2 MAC) first must take on West Valley, whom North Pole defeated twice, 5-1 and 7-2, in the regular season.

North Pole center Jared Linnell, who’s amassed the most points for the Patriots with 53, said his team is wary of a hungry Wolfpack.

“Everybody wants to go against Lathrop, but we’ve go to get through West Valley first,” Linnell said. “... They’re going to be ready for us.”

Junior Phoenix Copley has backstopped every game for North Pole this season, compiling a 2.05 goals against average and an .890 saves percentage.

West Valley

The Wolfpack have a losing record (3-4, 9-10 MAC), but they have shown they can hang with the conference top dog.

West Valley nearly forced Lathrop into overtime before a last-second shot spoiled their upset bid in a 3-2 loss Jan. 13.

Wolfpack coach Wayne Sawchuk said that although West Valley hasn’t defeated North Pole or the Malemutes, his team is capable.

“That’s why they play the game, because upsets can happen,” Sawchuk said. “... We’ve got a young team and the emotions run high and low. We need to keep it high this weekend.”