Defense catapults Comets into final

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Better known for its dynamic offense, the Crater High ice hockey team rode its goaltending and penalty killing into the Southern Oregon League championship game.

Freshman goaltender Lucas Paulsen made 25 saves and the Comets killed 8 of 9 power plays against them in a 3-1 victory over Churchill in the semifinals at The RRRink on Friday. It was Crater's first win in five meetings with the Lancers this season.

"Tonight was a representation of how we could have been playing all year," said Crater coach Richard Renfro. "They played awesome defense. Our back-checking was outstanding."

The fourth-seeded Comets (10-7-2) will meet top seed and defending champion Ashland (16-1-1) in tonight's championship game at 6. Ashland has won eight straight and is undefeated in the double-elimination tournament, meaning a Crater victory would force a decisive rematch on Wednesday, while an Ashland win secures a second straight league title for the Grizzlies.

The Comets will have to play without leading scorer Jake Randol. Randol, who had two goals and an assist on Friday, was given an automatic suspension for the third time this season after drawing five of the Comets' 10 minor penalties. Crater is 0-2 without Randol in the lineup this year.

"We're not dependent on one player," said senior captain Tate Stevens, who will be asked to take up some of the scoring slack in Randol's absence. "If we can beat Churchill, we can beat anyone."

After Randol and Bryce Crawford had staked the Comets to a 2-0 lead, Crater took six consecutive penalties in the second period. But with Crawford, Stevens and Daniel Gomez spearheading an aggressive penalty killing unit, Paulsen allowed just a single goal on 10 shots.

About a minute after the Lancers cut it to 2-1 with 3:24 left in the second, Randol collected a pass from Crawford on a 2-on-1 and scored his second goal, giving the Comets a 3-1 lead. Paulsen made 10 more saves in the final frame to secure the win.

Now the last two league champions will meet with the title hanging in the balance. Ashland won all three meetings between the two teams in the regular season, and center Casey Skolnik has 13 goals in the three games.

Churchill 0 1 0 — 1

Crater 2 1 0 — 3

Skiing

OREGON STATE SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS — At Bend, freshman Dylan Fisher blazed a trail for the Ashland boys ski team in the giant slalom to help place the Grizzlies third overall on Mount Bachelor.

St. Mary's Hannah Norton was the top local finisher for the girls.

Fisher grabbed fifth place in the giant slalom and teammate Tias Fitzpatrick secured 21st in a field of over 100. With the two-day total, Fisher landed in sixth place and Fitzpatrick nabbed 16th.

Phoenix's Charlie Legg took 19th individually in the giant slalom and was 16th overall.

The St. Mary's girls were led by a pair of juniors in the second day of the event.

Norton captured second place in the slalom and Morgan Martin followed with a fourth-place finish. Norton's two-day total was good for third in the state.

For Phoenix, Mackenzie Legg took 10th in the slalom and Ashland's Jasmine Terry-Schindelman finished 19th.

Bend High's Cole Timm was the state champion for the boys while Summit's boys and girls teams prevailed.

Boys Basketball

JESUIT 56, SOUTH EUGENE 56 — At Beaverton, a scoring tear in the third quarter helped top-ranked Jesuit separate from South Eugene in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

Spencer Coleman, a first-team all-Southwest Conference pick, led the Axemen with 13 points. Jack Grodahl had 14 for Jesuit, the Metro League champions.

SOUTH EUGENE (36) — Coleman 13, Rooke-Ley 7, Lindsey 2, Burgdorfer, Vanderkley, Lapite 2, McNulty 3, Ofner 5, Marshall 4.

JESUIT (56) — Grodahl 14, Wiltjer 13, Holt 12, Coburn 4, Elorriaga 2, Akwenuke 4, Yanzick 3, Knutson 1, Spickerman 3.

South Eugene 3 14 8 11 — 36

Jesuit 16 8 18 14 — 56

HIDDEN VALLEY 53, BAKER 50 — At Murphy, Jake Longo's layup with less than a minute left completed Hidden Valley's fourth-quarter comeback and launched the Mustangs into the Class 4A state tournament.

The fifth-ranked Mustangs (21-3) will face Elmira on Wednesday in the first round at Oregon State University.

Other than a one-possession lead in the second half, the Mustangs had trailed the entire game and by as many as 10 in the fourth period. Just before Longo's shot, Taylor Bars nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to tie it at 50-all for HV.

Brian Mahuna led the Mustangs with 13 points, Longo had 12 and Dylan Armanino added 10.

BAKER (50) — Blankenship 18, Smith 10, Brown 9, Kaseberg 7, Richards 6. Totals 22-50 2-5 50.

HIDDEN VALLEY (53) — Mahuna 13, Longo 12, Armanino 10, Maynard 7, Bars 6, Suthann 3, Frey 2. Totals 20-56 7-11 53.

Baker 19 9 12 10 — 50

Hidden Valley 11 6 6 20 — 53

3-point goals — Baker 4 (Blankenship 4), Hidden Valley 6 (Bars 2, Armanino 2, Longo 1, Mahuna 1).

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