Hawks skate into season as 3A team to beat

HOUSTON — In recent years, the Houston Hawks knew, all too well, what it felt like to fall just short of hockey gold. But after back-to-back runner-up finishes in the 3A state tournament, the Hawks earned that elusive state championship last season.

Now things are a little different around the Houston program. The Hawks on a veteran laden roster know exactly what it takes to get the job done.

This year, the Hawks feature only three freshmen who were not part of the 2014-15 title winning team, and many of the returners entered the season with quality experience.

“All the juniors and seniors were getting good playing time (last year),” Houston head coach Mike Styers said recently.

And that should bode well for a program in search of its fourth straight appearance in the 3A state title game.

“I think it’s big,” Styers said of the experience. “I think overall we’re probably a little bit better of a team.”

Houston’s best attribute, currently, might be its depth up front.

“At forward, we’re as deep as we’ve been in a long time,” Styers said. “We have four lines of forwards.”

Seniors Sam Fonov and Tristan Hracha, and junior Isaac Smolden are among Houston’s leaders up front, said Styers, who also noted juniors Yuriy Natekin and Andrew Natekin.

“They’ve done a lot of work over the summer,” Styers said of the Natekin brothers. “Better shots, better puckhandling. We’re hoping to get more offense out of them.”

Styers said he expects Houston’s scoring to come by committee this season.

“We’re going to play a lot more as a team. This is a really hard working team,” Styers said.

The Hawks don’t have the same depth on the blue line, but have leaders at the position. Styers noted sophomores Reed Humphreys and Noah Gillespie as his top defenseman, with sophomores Hayden Chivers and Austin Fortin adding to the position.

Among Houston’s biggest challenges, Styers said, is replacing graduated goaltender Aaron Allred, who capped his senior season with a 3-0 shutout of Monroe in the 3A state title game last season. Styers said senior Caleb Beauvais has inherited the job, and is tasked with filling the void between the pipes left by Allred.

Beauvais has shown the ability to be the leader in net. Styers noted the goalie’s performance in a 2-1 win over Homer during the End of the Road Tournament in Homer in late November.

Beauvais made 32 saves in the win.

Houston tourney

The Houston Hawks return to the ice this weekend to host the Big Lake Lions Christmas Classic at the Big Lake Recreation Center. The eight-team tournament features all four Valley teams (Wasilla, Colony, Palmer and host Houston) and four teams from outside the Valley (Kenai, Soldotna, Lathrop and East Anchorage).

The tournament begins Thursday with Colony meeting East at 11 a.m. The bottom half of the bracket also features Soldotna and Lathrop meeting at 2 p.m.

On the top of the bracket, Palmer faces Kenai Thursday at 5 p.m.

In the nightcap, Wasilla skates against the host Hawks at 7:30 p.m.

Championship semifinals are scheduled for Friday at 5 and 7 p.m. The championship final is Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Games postponed

Houston’s first Greatland Conference games of the season were postponed. The Hawks were scheduled to host Delta Dec. 4 and 5 in Big Lake. Houston will now host the Huskies Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 19 at 10 a.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.