Back on the road after claiming first place in the three-day Christmas Round Robin at Big Lake last weekend, the Homer Mariners hockey team found the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears to be doing anything but hibernating.

Playing at Juneau’s Treadwell Arena, the Crimson Bears claimed a 4-1 victory over the Mariners on Friday.

“I felt like we were coming off a bit of a road trip and came out on the first game a little flat,” said Mariner Head Coach John Carlin. “The conditions were not the most conducive to skating well. We had a lot of sick people, tight quarters and we were sleeping on hard floors. We were out of our element.”

Saturday was a repeat of the Friday game, with the Crimson Bears claiming a second 4-1 victory.

“Our goaltender faced a real strong team, and we took some tough penalties I didn’t quite agree with and we had one goal that was disallowed. That all took the wind out of our sails,” said Carlin.

Those losses put the pressure on the Mariners for the rest of the season,

“We’re going to be in a dog fight for the rest of the year,” said Carlin. “It’s going to take a big effort every night and three periods straight of good quality to get the wins.”

Friday, the Mariners face the alumni at the Kevin Bell Arena at 7 p.m.

“Come on out. We’d love to see the support and it’s a lot of fun,” said Carlin. 

A donation box will be at available to help support the team, but there is no admission.

The Mariners get a break for the rest of the holidays, returning to the Kevin Bell Arena when they face Soldotna High on Jan. 14. It should be an exciting re-match after Homer beat the SoHi Stars in Soldotna 2-1 in November.

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.