Hawks down Nikiski

WASILLA -- As soon as Wade Williams hit the ice on Friday, the Houston High forward immediately retrieved a loose puck in transition, drove it down the ice, weaved through the Nikiski defense and delivered a quick wrist shot on the Bulldog net that nearly slipped past Nikiski netminder Luke Hardesty.

Though Wiliams did not score on the shot, the talented junior was a thorn in the side of the Bulldogs throughout, registering a goal and four assists in the contest to help the Hawks notch a 7-2 victory over the Bulldogs in Greatland Conference hockey action at the Brett Arena.

Williams, and fellow Hawk Devin Styers, were nearly unstoppable in the contest. The only way Nikiski could stop Williams was to put him on the ice.

Late in the third period, Nikiski defenseman Louie Olivia clobbered Williams in the head with his stick, right in front of the Bulldog net. The act of goonery left Williams on the ice and sent Olivia to the box with a 10-minute misconduct.

"It was a brutal hit," Houston head coach Jamie Smith said.

Williams, who suffered a concussion last season, was held out of Saturday's 10-0 victory over Nikiski. He is currently day-to-day, and it is uncertain whether he will play in tomorrow's game against Wasilla.

The Olivia misconduct came in a third period in which 11 penalties were called. The referees sent players to the penalty box 20 times in the game.

"I hate these games that get so chippy," Smith said.

Houston jumped to a 3-0 lead midway through the third period.

The Hawks scored a pair of power-play goals within a 30-second span to take the three-goal lead.

With a two-man advantage, Styers took a pass from Larry Kincaid and scored upper shelf. Roy Stull followed with a goal off a rebound at the doorstep.

Styers notched a hat trick in the contest. In addition to his power play tally, the winger scored early in the second and added an unassisted goal in the third.

Henry Orth and James Hundley also added goals in the third period.

Paul Sutton-Jones and Joe Current split time in net for the Hawks.

Sutton-Jones faced just four shots in the first period and play the first eight minutes of the second. Current played the final 23 minutes of the contest. He faced only one shot in the third period.

The duo combined for 12 saves in the second period.

Houston was 3-7 on the power play in the game, while Nikiski was 1-7 with the man advantage.

Houston 10, Nikiski 0

The Hawks improved to 2-0 in Greatland Conference play and 4-1 overall with a 10-0 shutout over the Bulldogs Saturday.

Freshman Kaleb Westfall registered a hat trick to lead Houston.

Westfall took a pass from Roy Stull and put the puck in the Nikiski net five minutes into the first period to give Houston a 2-0 lead.

Westfall added a shorthanded goal and an even-strength tally in the second period.

Styers and Larry Kincaid each scored twice for the Hawks.

Rick Morlock, Chad Lipse and Jason Hundley also scored in the game.

Stull led the Hawks with five assists in the game.

Current and Sutton-Jones split time in net. Current earned the start and stopped 13 shots, while Sutton-Jones registered six saves in relief.

West 6, Colony 3

West scored three second- period goals en route to a 6-3 win over the Colony Knights at Brett Ice Arena on Friday.

Chase Allington, Chris Arentz and Alex Smith scored for the Knights.

Austin Manelick tallied three assists.

Logan Huppert, in his first career start as a Colony goaltender, stopped 36 shots.