Former Hawks flying high in Dubuque

For most athletes, a college career is the next step after high school. For most hockey players there is an extra step between the high school and collegiate ranks.

To be recognized by collegiate recruiters, a young hockey player must have success on the junior level, a division of amateur hockey that develops players for the collegiate and professional ranks.

A pair of local athletes are now paying their dues at that level in hopes of attracting attention from college programs and earning a college scholarship.

Jamie Bennett and Jake Williams are each in their first season with the Dubuque Thunderbirds of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League.

Bennett and Williams, both 2003 graduates of Houston High School, completed their high school careers last spring and are now working toward earning a collegiate scholarship.

The pair helped lead the Houston Hawks to a second-place finish in the 3A state tournament last season and are currently helping Dubuque skate toward a MJHL crown. At 11-3-1, the Thunderbirds are the top team in one of the top leagues in junior hockey.

"The league is the best in Junior B in the nation," Bennett said.

Junior B is one of the two levels of junior amateur hockey. Junior A is the next step and where most NCAA Division I hockey players are found by the collegiate programs.

Both players received interest from Junior A clubs prior to this season and hope to skate at that level next season.

"Both got bites," Jamie Smith, Williams and Bennett's high school coach at Houston, said. "The situations would not be conducive. They need playing time to develop."

Williams and Bennett are getting the playing time needed to develop their skills. Williams has skated in all 15 of the Thunderhawk games and Bennett has appeared in all but one.

Williams and Bennett each got looks from Junior A clubs in Western Canada and also had a tryout with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the North American Hockey League. Williams was the final player cut in the Ice Dog tryouts. The former Hawks impressed Ice Dog head coach Rob Proffitt so much, Proffit contacted the Dubuque staff on behalf of Williams and Bennett.

Bennett said after the Proffit phone call to Dubuque head coach Josh Hauge, he and Williams did not even have to tryout.

"They just sent us our contracts," Bennett said. "We showed up and played."

Once the players received a spot on the Thunderbird roster, their next task was to make the transition to a faster, more physical game of junior hockey.

Smith said that maturity is the biggest factor in the transition.

"Not a lot of kids can make the transition," Smith said.

Bennett and Williams also go from playing hockey as an extracurricular activity in high school to where hockey is more like a full-time job.

"It's a grind," Smith said.

Smith added playing junior B will ease Williams' and Bennett's adaptation to the upper level of amateur hockey.

In addition to a schedule of more than 50 games, which is more than two high school seasons, players have to get used to a more rigorous practice schedule.

"There is a huge difference in conditioning between here and Alaska," Bennett said. "In Alaska you skate 15 minutes, here you skate an hour and a half. Just skating, no sticks. Then you have dry land training right after."

The players also have more opportunity to hit the ice.

"There's definitely a lot of ice time," Williams said.

Williams added that rather than the hour of ice time the Hawks were allotted in the busy Brett Memorial Arena, the Thunderbirds practice a minimum of 90 minutes each day on the ice.

The biggest transition for Bennett and Williams has been in game situations, on the ice.

"The guys are faster and a lot more physical," Williams said. "We had been playing with guys 16 and 17, now we are playing with guys 18,19 and 20. That is a huge difference."

Last season Williams and Bennett were two of the top players in the state of Alaska. Now they are they are in a league bursting with skill.

"In Alaska in high school we dominated the league," Bennett said. "Here everyone is tough."

"The team has 18 high school all-stars," Smith said. "That's a big difference."

For Williams, a natural goal scorer with incredible skill, there was an adjustment to the new level of skill in the opposition.

"(At Houston) Jake could take the puck for 20 to 30 seconds," Smith said. "He has great skills. At that level you have to move the puck. That transition is tough."

"The biggest change from playing in high school is not scoring in every game," Williams said. "It is frustrating and you have to get over it mentally. I don't score in every game. Maybe every four."

If you are just referring to the scoresheet, Williams had a much slower start than he is used to, with two goals and four assists in his first 11 games of junior hockey. In the last four games Williams has been on fire. On Nov. 21 Williams notched a hat trick in a Dubuque 11-2 win.

Willams has six goals and four assists and is one of eight Thunderbirds with 10 or more points.

Both Williams and Bennett have seen a great amount of ice time. Williams is on the Thunderbirds' top line, Bennett is one of Dubuque's top six defensemen and both are regulars on the penalty kill.

"Me and Jamie get a lot of time on the penalty kill," Williams said. "Both of us are pretty smart players. I would like to see less of it, since we are getting penalties."

While both players have adapted to the physical aspect of the game, it is Bennett who has found his niche.

"He's a big kid and always played physical," Smith said. "It's opened up his game. He is able to throw his body around. It's been a simple transition."

In addition to just throwing the checks, Bennett has mixed it up and threw his fists.

"I have been in a couple fights, they're pretty tough," Bennett said. "I like to hit, fight."

Fighting has always been a big part of junior and professional hockey and the rules have changed in junior hockey to keep the brawls to just those directly involved. Now if a player wants an opponent to drop his gloves, the opponent has to be called out. Once this is done, the ice is cleared and the stage is set.

"My first time when I dropped the gloves I was really nervous," Bennett said. "I came out and did good and kept fighting."

On the night of Williams' hat trick, Bennett scored a goal in the first minute of the contest and also had a five-minute fighting minor. Bennett now has two goals, an assist and a team-high 51 penalty minutes.

For each player playing with Dubuque is like a season-long audition for the next level. Each has the goal of playing junior A in possibly the United States Junior Hockey League or the NAHL, and eventually playing Division I hockey.

Smith, who played collegiately for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said that Bennett and Williams are both good enough to play Division I hockey and each player is making the needed improvements with each step to the next level in their hockey careers.

"Get a college scholarship," Williams said. "That's the main goal."