WASILLA — Trent Burnham has developed a routine of sorts this season on the morning of an important hockey game — Eagle River High's sophomore goaltender likes to get in a skate, work some drills and take some shots.
Thursday, with a 2:30 p.m. opening-round game looming in the First National Cup state championships, Burnham awoke at 4:45 a.m., drove the 20 minutes or so to the McDonald Center in Eagle River and was on the ice at 6 a.m. to run through his ritual. He's not sure whether it benefits him more physically or emotionally, just that good things seem to happen in the games he prefaces with a morning workout.
"It just feels right,'' Burnham said.
There's a lot of that going on around the Wolves and their feel-good, breakthrough season these days.
Burnham stopped 30 shots at the Menard Center on Thursday in Eagle River's 2-1 upset of defending runner-up West Valley that marked the Wolves' debut at the state tournament.
The Wolves of the Cook Inlet Conference advanced to Friday's semifinals in the eight-team tournament on the strength of Burnham's stinginess, Joshua Lind's game-winning strike early in the third period, Ben Rinckey's first-period power-play marker and, well, belief in themselves.
"We're making history, everywhere we go,'' Burnham said. "We have a great group of kids.''
And a young group too — the Wolves' 16-player roster features just three seniors and four juniors, with six sophomores and three freshmen.
Eagle River and West Valley delivered the only competitive game among the four quarterfinals.
The semifinals will basically reprise last week's CIC tournament. Also advancing were Dimond, West and Chugiak of the CIC. Dimond dispatched Juneau, 9-1, to give long-time coach Dennis Sorenson his 500th career victory. West handled Colony, 4-0, and Chugiak dispatched Soldotna, 9-2.
Burnham is among Eagle River's six sophomores. Wednesday night, he texted Reid McDonald, the general manager of the McDonald Center, which is named after McDonald's late father, hockey coach and rink rat Harry McDonald, and asked if McDonald would shoot pucks on him in the morning. McDonald, a former Michigan Tech forward whose son Sutton is a sophomore winger for the Wolves, reported for duty.
"He's really focused and dedicated,'' McDonald said of Burnham. "You don't see many kids like him.''
Come game-time, Burnham quickly showed he was dialed in. He flashed his right pad to rob Gabe Rankin 10 minutes into the game and later in the first period used that same pad to stone Dylan Brabham's point-blank redirection.
Burnham made six saves during a Wolfpack power play, when his most startling denial came as he shuffled left-to-right across his crease and got that right pad on Stoshie Skorulski's bomb of a one-timer from the left circle. Burnham again denied Rankin point-blank two minutes into the third period.
West Valley's Lane Wood was no slouch either. The senior goalie made 19 saves. His best work included going into the splits just two minutes into the game to get the toe of his left skate on Dagan Mullins' bid.
Rinckey generated a 1-0 lead for Eagle River six minutes into the game when he snapped a shot past Wood after taking a power-play feed from Sutton McDonald.
Skorulski forged a 1-1 tie three minutes into the second period when he blew down the right wing and cranked a shot between Burnham's pads.
Linn delivered the game-winner less than four minutes into the third period after getting the puck from Rinckey. Linn had the puck behind the goal line near the left corner when he tried to deliver a centering pass to Rinckey, who was posted up at the top of the crease. The puck ricocheted off Wood's skate and inside the left post.
"I was just pumped,'' Rinckey said.
So was Linn, once he figured out he had scored – he didn't actually see the puck go in.
"I went to pass it to Ben Rinckey and I didn't see it go in,'' Linn said. "I just saw the referee point at the net and I thought, 'I guess I scored because I was the last one to touch the puck.' ''
Linn said the Wolves' season has been a magical ride, and he and his teammates do not want it to end.
"We're in do-or-die mode right now,'' Linn said. "After making state for the first time, we're trying to win this.''
Dimond 9, Juneau 1
After surrendering the game's first goal, the Lynx made easy work of Juneau-Douglas and delivered Sorenson his state-record 500th prep victory.
Ryan Perius scored two goals for Dimond, and David Knightes, Tanner Rath and Cody Dearning each furnished one goal and two assists.
Sean Carey added one goal and one helper, and Jaiden Gibson, Blaine Orton and Kyler Mack each scored one goal. Chris Gardeline stopped 22 shots for Dimond and also bagged an assist.
Sorenson has racked those 500 wins in his 25 seasons behind the Dimond bench.
"It doesn't mean as much as it probably will (later),'' Sorenson said. "We've been stuck in a rut – and we've had two tough first-round (losses) at state – and the kids should be concentrating on winning three games.''
West 4, Colony 0
Freshman Max Helgeson scored two goals, and Tanner Edwards scored a goal and set up two others to lead defending state champion West to a shutout win.
Isaiah Saville earned the shutout for the Eagles with 10 saves. Dimitri Hamm started the scoring with his short-handed strike off an Edwards feed in the first period.
Helgeson showed a good sense of humor about his celebration of his first goal, when he jumped into the glass and promptly knocked himself to the ice. Helgeson said he and Edwards saw UAA defenseman Wyatt Ege do the glass-jump recently and he told Edwards he was going to do it next time he scored.
"I thought (the glass) would cushion me, but it flattened me,'' Helgeson said with a laugh.
No worries, he said. The important thing was earning victory.
"We'll be a little more sure of ourselves for the next game,'' Helgeson said.
Chugiak 9, Soldotna 2
Spearheaded by scoring outburst from Zachary Krajnik and John Hammer, Chugiak jumped to a four-goal lead in the opening nine minutes and never needed to check the rearview mirror.
Krajnik and Hammer each merely furnished two goals and four assists. Andrew Beckett, the third member of that line, added two goals and one assist. Kaden Yockey, Zachary Plucinski and Rhys Cottle also scored for the Mustangs.
Corey Hanson scored both Stars goals and Emily Werner assisted on both third-period strikes.
For what it's worth
The semifinals — Chugiak vs. Eagle River at 5 p.m. and West vs. Dimond at 7:30 p.m. — pit familiar foes.
Chugiak and Eagle River split their regular-season meetings, with Eagle River winning 3-2 and Chugiak 4-1.
West swept Dimond in a pair of squeakers, 1-0 and 3-2.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr