Wasilla came into the Homer Ice Arena heavily favored, having finished fourth in the 4A State tournament last year, and dominated Homer for the first 12 minutes.

Wasilla’s Jordan Ingalls bounced a puck off the post and past Homer goalie Ben Miller only 1:39 into the game and the Warriors outshot the Mariners 22 to 7 in the first period.

Homer connected on one of those shots in the first period, however, as Mariner junior Adam Trieweiler received a pass on Wasilla’s blue line, skated past a defender and beat Wasilla goalie Ronnie Walker for the tying score with 3:39 left in the period.

The first high school goal in the new building tied the game and gave the home crowd something to cheer about as the Mariners mobbed Trieweiler along the boards in celebration.

“I couldn’t hear anybody,” Trieweiler said. “I was just yelling so loud.”

With the game tied in the second period, Homer began to play through early jitters and made a game of it against the faster, bigger Wasilla team.

“We came out in first period a little tentative, but after we settled down, we stepped it up,” said Head Hockey Coach John Butcher. “We skated right with them. That made me pretty happy.”

Wasilla still found plenty of opportunities to score, however, and Track Palin scored on one of 10 Wasilla shots in the period on a pass from Alex Gittlein to take a 2-1 lead at the 5:52 mark.

Minutes later, Mariner defenseman Beau Greanwold took a scary hit along the boards and collapsed on the ice.

An ambulance came to take Greanwold to the hospital with a mild concussion and a strained neck.

Butcher said with rest, Greanwold could play again as early as this weekend.

When play resumed nearly an hour later, a shorthanded Mariner defense held off several Wasilla shots to keep the game close.

Miller looked strong in the net allowing only two of 33 shots past him in the first two periods.

Then, early in the third period, Trieweiler scored again, this time on a power play goal off a rebound to tie the game 2-2 with 12 minutes to play.

Aggravated by the upstart Mariners, Wasilla committed five of their 12 penalties for roughing, crosschecking and slashing in the third period.

Wasilla’s Jeremiah Dargis then broke free behind the Mariner defense to score an unassisted goal with 7:08 remaining.

Homer, playing with a man advantage for much of the period, got several more shots to score, but couldn’t connect.

And with 2:36 remaining, Wasilla’s Tanner Dutcher redirected a pass by Palin to give Wasilla a 4-2 victory.

Before the game, few gave Homer a shot at winning, but Miller’s goalie play kept them in it, Trieweiler said.

“It was amazing how good he did,” Trieweiler said.

Miller stopped 39 shots in the game, but said there is still room for improvement.

“I was really impressed with our defense,” Miller said. “They were working it behind the net, talking a lot. The only real defensive breakdown was that breakaway in the second period. Ninety-one percent (saves of shots) is a good ratio, but, honestly, four goals is too many.”

Both Miller and Trieweiler said the game was played at a higher level than games they played last year, but both seemed confident they belonged.

“That game gave us a lot of confidence,” Trieweiler said. “For the newcomers coming in, now they know they can play with other teams.”

Coach Butcher said there is plenty of work left to be done, but this first game against a quality opponent should help his squad.

“It was a good experience for us. It was the first time for a few of them, that’s why we came out so tentative, just kind of waiting to see what to expect,” Butcher said. “Eventually we realized they were just a bunch of high school kids on the other side and they showed a lot of heart. They showed we belong in that division.”

Homer plays Eagle River Thursday, North Pole Friday, and Dimond Saturday. All games are at the Soldotna Sports Arena.

Dimond will be an especially big test for Homer, as they made the final game of the 4A State Championships last year.