WENATCHEE, Wash. - For the fourth straight year, the USA Hockey Pacific District championship tournament will include the Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy.

The Wild Hockey Academy's 18-and-Under team swept the Seattle Jr. Kraken in a best-of-three series at the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association's state tournament this past weekend in Wenatchee, taking victories by 4-3 and 7-2 scores. Benjamin Mikan and Sean Strasser each had three points in Friday's one-goal victory, while Strasser cranked out two goals and two assists in Saturday's runaway. Aidan Yu picked up three assists after potting a goal in Friday's win.

"I'm really proud of our guys. It's been a roller-coaster year for the 18s," said Wenatchee Wild Hockey Academy director Troy Mick. "When they want to play, and they stay structured and work hard and do the little things, we get rewarded. We got up a couple of goals each time, and give credit to the Kraken - they kept coming back with us. I thought that (Saturday) game was one of our better games all season long, where in the d-zone, neutral zone, and offensive zone, the vibe was back."

The Wenatchee 16U team put a scare into the Jr. Kraken as well, grabbing a 3-2 overtime win Friday on a goal from Keagan Nussbaum 3:29 into the extra period. Nussbaum scored the opening goal the next day, but the Jr. Kraken scored three straight on the way to a 4-3 win to force a decisive third game. Kayden Fried scored the only Wenatchee goal in a 5-1 defeat in the final game of the series Saturday evening.

The Wild Hockey Academy's 14U team finished on a strong note, taking a 4-3 loss to eventual state champion STAR Academy. Wenatchee struck first on a goal from Caden Bailey less than three minutes into the game.

"It was heartbreaking," said Mick. "They came back and won in overtime the first game and lost the second game when it was 3-3 late, and there were lots of penalties. Game three, you're playing twice in a day and three in a 24-hour period, I'll give a lot of credit to the coaches and the guys - they never quit, they kept battling hard. They're playing really good hockey right now, going into our tournament."

This week will see both the 16U and 18U teams end their home schedules with the Wenatchee Cup - five teams at the 18U level and four 16U teams will join the Academy groups for a three-day tournament at Town Toyota Center, with finals scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The Academy's 15O team finishes Northwest Amateur Hockey League play with two games at the Tacoma Rockets Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.