Hawks skate by Palmer

The Houston Hawks defeated the Palmer Moose at the Palmer Ice Arena 6-2 on Wednesday night.

The Hawks were helped by strong performances from forwards Afanasy Efimov, Anfim Konev, and Daniel Matveev, who had two goals, one goal and two assists, and two goals and an assist respectively. Goaltender Ari Burnside also played well, backstopping the Houston victory by making 15 saves on 17 shots.

The Hawks scored two quick goals to open the first period, with Efimov beating Palmer goaltender Joshua Horacek twice before the halfway point of the frame. Palmer’s Gavin Gore would get the Moose back within one, scoring on the powerplay, but Matveev was quick to respond. The Houston forward beat Horacek short side to give the Hawks a two-goal lead going into the second.

Gore would score the only goal of the period for Palmer, shrinking Houston’s lead to one. Horacek stood tall in the middle frame stopping all nine shots he faced. Conversely, Burnside made five saves on six shots in the second.

Houston went on the kill early in the third, but that did little to stop their offense. The Hawks would score two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill, as Brody Richard and Konev, scored to back-to-back goals to put the game out of reach for the Moose. A late period goal from Matveev made the final 6-2, with the Hawks winning in decisive fashion.

Both teams have a just a few more games before the Division II state tournament at the Curtis Menard Sports Complex in Wasilla from Feb. 3-5.

Houston and Palmer are both expected to be competitors in the tournament, with Houston’s record currently sitting at 11-4 and Palmer’s at 9-6-1.

Moose sweep Crimson Bears

Palmer swept a pair of games against the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears earlier this week in Juneau.

Gavin Gore scored twice to lead Palmer to a 4-2 win on Jan. 25. Rhys Allen also scored.

Joshua Horacek made 20 saves in the Moose net.

Four different Palmer players scored during a 4-2 win on Jan. 24. Elijah Von Gunten, Carter Greco, Bryce Armstrong and Kinan Greco each found the back of the net,

Horacek made 17 saves.