Hawks cruise past Moose

It all starts with defense. In almost every sport, defense is the foundation on which teams are built. Hockey is no exception, as the Houston Hawks proved when they met up with Palmer Friday in an intra-Valley matchup at Brett Memorial Ice Arena.

In a game filled with plenty of action during and after periods, Houston jumped out and secured a 6-0 win in its home opener of the season.

"The defense played phenomenal tonight," said Houston coach Jamie Smith. "They weren't able to get many shots on us."

Not getting many shots is an understatement. Palmer tallied only 14 shots on goal throughout the entire game, a low number for hockey and indicative of how well the Hawks' defense played.

The start of the game was dominated by defense as both teams struggled to establish themselves inside to get shots on goal. Defenses covered well to get the puck out of their zone.

Late in the first period, Houston began to press hard inside the Palmer zone until it scored with 2:30 remaining. Jimmy Estes swept down the middle to receive a nice pass from Rick Morlock, who was positioned behind the net. Estes chipped the puck in to give Houston the 1-0 lead. Morlock and Jared Cizek were credited with assists.

The Houston attack struck again with 1:22 left in the first period when Wade Williams hit a shot that deflected off Palmer goaltender Morgan Jett and slid just inside the goal, giving Houston a 2-0 lead. Brandon Boehm picked up the assist on the goal.

Not content with taking the 2-0 lead into the first intermission, Houston scored again when Jake Williams won a scramble for the loose puck in front of the Palmer crease and knocked it in to move Houston up 3-0. The goal came with 49 seconds remaining in the first period, with Boehm and Wade Williams earning assists on the score.

Eighteen seconds before intermission, Houston came calling again when defenseman Lucas VanBuskirk took control of the puck after a face-off scramble, skated in and scored on the stick-side top shelf of the Palmer goal.

Assists came from Morlock and Cizek.

The final 18 seconds ticked off mercifully for the Moose without further incident to end a devastating first period.

Houston had scored in a flurry to rack up four goals in the final 2:30 of what had been a defensive first period to that point. The wheels suddenly came off for Palmer as Houston was allowed to penetrate deep into the Moose zone unabated, for quick scores directly in front of the goal.

The nightmare for Palmer would not end with a change of periods as Houston opened the second by immediately scoring its fifth goal 44 seconds into the period. Nathan Englund scored the goal, with assists going to Devon Styers and Emery Boehm.

Houston stretched the lead 6-0 at 10:45 in the second period when defenseman Matt Jacob ripped a shot from the point that found the Palmer net before Jett could react. Jake Williams assisted the goal following a face-off in the Palmer zone.

The second period ended without further scoring but not without incident.

As the buzzer sounded ending the second period, a brawl ensued next to the Palmer bench that included several players on the ice from both teams and players in the Palmer bench.

The scene lasted for about a minute before calm was restored and players picked up pieces of their equipment and headed to the locker rooms for intermission.

The referees sorted through the issue during intermission and levied stiff penalties before the start of the third period.

Five Palmer players and four Houston players were given five-minute major penalties for fighting and a game disqualification. The game disqualification ejects the players from the game and makes them ineligible for their next game, along with possible disciplinary actions from their respective schools.

In addition, one Palmer player was given a two-minute roughing penalty and a 10-minute major penalty for misconduct.

"This is the first time I've seen something like this in 10 years," said Smith. "These two teams get along well, I think it just sparked in the heat of battle."

Calm was restored and the third period began with little indication of the previous incident, except for the additional room in each bench.

Three double penalties occurred in the period but didn't seem to be a carry-over of the previous brawl.

Houston's defense covered well to turn away a few Palmer attempts on goal and finish out the period with no further scoring to give Houston the 6-0 win.

Although Houston is a 3A school, it is not intimidated by playing the larger 4A schools, matching up well to gain experience and confidence.

"Our game plan coming in was to stop Palmer's first line and get shots in," said Smith. "We did that tonight."