News Photo by Leslianne Johns Lucas Weir charges toward a Petoskey player to steal the puck in Saturday’s quarterfinal game in Gaylord. The Wildcats defeated the Northmen 5-2 and will advance to the semifinals.

GAYLORD — For the first time since 2007, the Alpena Wildcats are heading to the Final Four after a decisive 5-2 victory over the Petoskey Northmen in the quarter-finals on Saturday night.

The game started with an early lead for Petoskey, as Lynus Cadarette found the back of the net with 10:56 left in the first period.

Alpena responded with a power-play goal by Trevor Worth, assisted by Gavin Winterstein and Clark Weir, with just 2:40 remaining in the period.

Petoskey quickly regained the lead when Madden Pateman scored on the power play with 1:20 left in the first, assisted by Cadarette and Chase Lafaive.

But Alpena wasted no time answering back, as Clark Weir scored a crucial goal with only 20.3 seconds left, tying the game at 2-2 by the end of the first period.

Alpena took control in the second period.

Winterstein put the Wildcats ahead at the 8:11 mark, assisted by Garrett Hamp.

Just minutes later, Ethan Walker extended the lead at 6:24, with assists from Hamp and Worth.

Winterstein struck again with 3:48 left in the period, this time with an assist from Michael Kreis, sending Alpena into the third period with a commanding 5-2 lead.

The third period remained scoreless, but tensions flared as both Hamp and Cadarette were disqualified with 9:13 left due to fighting.

Despite the heated exchanges, Alpena held firm defensively to secure the victory against the Northmen.

With the win, the Wildcats are set to face off in the Final Four at 11 a.m. on Friday in Plymouth against the Painesdale Jeffers Jets. The victory marks a historic moment for Alpena hockey, as the team looks to continue its championship pursuit.