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FAIRBANKS — “A good test,’’ is how West Valley High School head coach Wayne Sawchuk described Saturday’s runner-up finish in the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournament in Wasilla.

The Wolfpack lost 3-1 to the Service Cougars in the championship game of the season-opening and three-day competition in the Menard Memorial Arena.

Left wing Ben Henne, who with defenseman teammate Andrew Johnson was named to the all-tournament team, cut Service’s lead to 2-1 at 4:28 of the third period with a rebound goal. Sam Bratten blasted a shot from the blue line at Cougars goaltender Cody Gongoria, creating a long rebound that Henne collected and fired from the right circle.

Service sealed the win with Braydon Lehti’s goal at the 12:30 mark.

“They were a little quicker team than us, and we definitely had our opportunities,’’ Sawchuk said from Wasilla. “They had a power-play goal in the first period and a power-play goal 24 seconds into the second period. But, I’m happy with the way our guys responded in the game.’’

Joe Brady had the other assist on Henne’s goal and Casey Wilfer registered 33 saves for the Wolfpack, who are off to a 2-1 start and second place in an eight-team tournament.

“It definitely helps with our confidence,’’ Sawchuk said. “Even though the guys were disappointed with the loss, we saw some room for improvement. We got beat by a Service team that’s among the top three to four teams in Anchorage, but it showed that we can compete anybody in the state.’’

Trace Strahle and Tyler Matthews also scored for Service and Gongoria finished with 20 saves.

Delta places eighth

During the first two days of the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournamenrt, the Houston Hawks and Delta Huskies combined for a grand total of one goal.

But on Saturday, both teams escaped from their offensive rut.

Houston needed four third-period scores to thwart a Delta comeback and earn a 7-5 win over the Huskies during the tourney’s seventh-place game at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

Delta scored three times in the third period Saturday, despite being held to just six shots in the period and 16 for the game.

Delta forward Caleb Brown sparked the Huskies during the wild third period, scoring a game-tying power-play goal just 1 minute and 35 seconds into the third. Sophomore Matt Pinkelman and senior Junior Joe also scored for the Huskies in the third, but the Hawks were able to answer each Delta score with a goal of their own.

Houston senior Brendan Weimer, one of two Hawks to notch a hat trick, scored twice in the third. Sophomore Micah Ranum, who also had three goals, and sophomore Rye Humphreys also scored for Houston in the third.

Houston posted 14 shots in the first period, but was only able to beat Delta freshman netminder Harold Probert twice.

Weimer scored 33 seconds into regulation to give the Hawks the early lead, and Ranum scored the first of three goals late in the period.

Jake Gebauer scored midway through the second for Delta, and Trevor Gilbertson also scored for the Huskies in the second period.

Delta finished the game 3-for-4 on the power play.

Houston and Delta — former rivals in the Greatland Conference — were outsored a combined 41-1 during the first two rounds of the tourney. West Anchorage blasted Houston 14-1 in the first round and the Hawks were pushed into the seventh-place game with a 13-0 loss to Palmer. Delta was shut out twice in two days, losing 6-0 to Colony and 8-0 to Wasilla.

Tri-Valley falls

The Tri-Valley Warriors used a third-period goal by Caz Cizmowski to tie the score, but then dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Homer Mariners in the final game of the End of the Road Tournament.

Cizmowski scored with about three minutes left in regulation off assists from Sterling Shreeve and Evan Venechuk.

Brady Quinn netted the game-winning goal with 4:18 remaining in the 8-minute overtime session. Kyle Wisner scored Homer’s first goal in the first period.

Tri-Valley goalie Dakota Maciver stopped 24 shots.

It was the third straight tough loss for the Warriors, who dropped a 4-3 decision to Glennallen in the opener and suffered a 4-2 loss to Juneau-Douglas in the second game of the round-robin tournament. Juneau-Douglas defeated Glennallen 4-3 on Saturday to win the tournament. The game-winning goal came with .7 seconds left on the clock.

Tri-Valley returns to action on Friday when the Warriors host the Nikiski Bulldogs.

Jeremiah Bartz of The Frontiersman and News-Miner sports editor Bob Eley contributed to this story. Contact the News-Miner sports department at sports@newsminer.com.