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The South Anchorage hockey team celebrates its victory over West Valley in the championship game of the Division I Hockey Tournament at Sullivan Arena on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Chris Bieri \/ ADN) <\/p>\nThe South Anchorage hockey team celebrates its victory over West Valley in the championship game of the Division I Hockey Tournament at Sullivan Arena on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Chris Bieri \/ ADN) <\/p>\n
In sports, the heroes on championship teams who make the pivotal or ultimately game-winning play to put the team in position to achieve greatness sometimes come from the most unsuspecting players.<\/p>\n
On the car ride to Sullivan Arena on Saturday night for the 2025-26 ASAA state championship game, South Anchorage high school hockey coach Daniel Ramsey pondered who that person might be for the top-seeded Wolverines as they prepared to take on West Valley for the second time this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs coaches you think it\u2019s going to be someone who maybe not really has contributed on the scoresheet as much,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With the team on the cusp of completing an undefeated season, the answer wound up being junior Oliver Zuber.<\/p>\n
Zuber broke what was a scoreless defensive stalemate by scoring the lone goal of the game in the opening seconds of a power play in the third period, leading South to a 1-0 win.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got Devin Berg and Thomas Gularte (on his line), they kind of light the lamp all the time but then Zuber gets the credit on that one,\u201d Ramsey said. \u201cIt\u2019s just so rewarding for him and for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The moment felt even more like destiny when Zuber admitted he just happened to be at the right place at the right time to make the most of his opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were playing strong defensively, we couldn\u2019t break through but knew eventually we would, so we just kept going,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t supposed to be there but the puck fell right to me, I got lucky (and) buried it.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the puck went into the back of the net, Zuber briefly thought about going to the glass in front of the fans to celebrate but realized it wasn\u2019t his alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team has been there the entire time,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are the boys I did it with, so they deserved to be celebrated with.\u201d<\/p>\n
That score came with more than nine minutes left in the game, so the job was far from done as the Wolfpack were merely one goal away from tying the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe belief never faltered,\u201d Zuber said. \u201cIn the locker room after every period, we knew we had it in us. We went undefeated in the regular season, but this isn\u2019t the regular season. Coming in, everybody was equal and we proved we\u2019re the best team.\u201d<\/p>\n
A huge factor that ensured West Valley was kept scoreless for all three periods was the incredible play of South junior goalie Jaeger Huelskoetter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been lights-out all year,\u201d Zuber said. \u201cAll the credit to him. We couldn\u2019t have done it without him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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West Valley’s Levi Gagnon tries to avoid South Anchorage skater during the Alaska Division I State Hockey Tournament championship game on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026 at Sullivan Arena. (Chris Bieri \/ ADN) <\/p>\n
Huelskoetter finished with 22 saves to secure his sixth shutout of the season and the program\u2019s first state title since 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s awesome and you always want to get the shutout and it\u2019s really easy when all the guys in front of me are battling for me and trying to clear the net front,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This season was Huelskoetter\u2019s first playing for a high school, having played for Team Alaska for his freshman and sophomore years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one of my favorite teams that I\u2019ve ever played on,\u201d he said. \u201cWith high school hockey, you always have a crowd, you feel like your team is more together and you have school with them and everybody is a little more like a team.\u201d<\/p>\n