Hawks conquer Viking Warriors

With the 3A state playoffs just a few weeks away, the Houston Hawks hockey team looks poised for another run at the state championship.

The Greatland Conference-leading Hawks met the second-place Tri-Valley Viking Warriors Thursday at Brett Memorial Ice arena in Wasilla, with Houston dominating the ice en route to a 7-4 victory.

"We were able to control the majority of the game," said Houston coach Jamie Smith. "We got contributions from everyone on the team."

With the exception of a few momentary lapses, the Hawks demonstrated a classic example of a team in control. Under Smith, the Hawks play an orderly, methodical game of hockey, with every move serving a purpose.

The Houston defense did a superb job of denying Tri-Valley an opportunity to set up on offense and get good shots on goal, forcing it to scrap for any shot they could get. The Hawks back checked well in their zone to tie up Warrior attackers and take the puck.

The Houston defense effectively made Tri-Valley star Alec Venechuk a non-factor in the game, smothering him in the Houston zone or riding him wide whenever he entered the zone with the puck.

Taking Venechuk out of scoring chances left Tri-Valley with little other possibilities.

"One guy can't do it for you, we know that," said Smith. "We played some of our younger players on defense tonight and they responded well."

The Houston offense continually created scoring opportunities by simply outhustling Tri-Valley on the ice. The constant forward motion of the Houston attackers overwhelmed the Warriors with crisp passing to breaking forwards that always seemed to be one step ahead of the Tri-Valley defense.

"Hustling is key for us," said Smith. "We're loaded up front with forwards who can push the puck up the ice."

The Hawks ignited from the first faceoff, scoring a goal from Wade Williams 22 seconds into the game. Houston defenseman Steve Spidal snapped a shot from the point that deflected off the Tri-Valley goaltender to Williams positioned at the Tri-Valley goal, who knocked in the deflection to give the Hawks the early 1-0 lead.

Williams struck again at 8:21 in the first when Spidal gathered the loose puck at the Houston blue line and fed the streaking Williams who skated in for a clean shot that sailed past the Warrior goaltender.

After two assists, Spidal took his turn at scoring with a powerful slap shot from the point at 5:20 in the first period. Matt Bertling picked up an assist on the goal.

Houston finished the first-period scoring festival with a backhanded chip-in by Roy Stull for a goal with 2:47 remaining in the quarter. Rick Morlock and Jimmy Estes were credited for assists on the goal.

Houston kept a strong pace through the remainder of the game, scoring three additional goals and allowing four to take the 7-4 win.

Mike Barrett, Chad McClurg and Jake Williams scored the Houston goals.

Houston repeated the success by defeating the Warriors 10-6 Friday.

Brandon Boehm delivered a hat trick with three goals in the game.

Jake Williams accrued five points from two goals and three assists.

Although pleased with the performance of the team, Smith commented that the Hawks are not quite where they should be at this point in the season.

"I wish we were healthy," he said. "When were are, we will be there."

Before the start of Thursday's game, a moment of silence was held to honor Bettina Williams, mother of Jake and Wade. Bettina lost a long battle with cancer Jan. 21.