Hawks win Division II state hockey title

WASILLA — For most of two decades, the Houston Hawks were the team to beat in Alaska small schools hockey. Houston played in a state championship game 14 times and won eight titles.

But the last handful of seasons have been more of a struggle for the team. Now the Hawks are back on top.

Houston scored a 4-2 win over Palmer in the ASAA/First National Cup Division II State Hockey Championships Feb. 5 at the Menard arena in Wasilla.

“It feels good. We’ve been down for a few years,” Houston head coach Lane Styers said after the win. “I knew this time was going to come. I knew we had some kids in the pipeline coming up. We knew it was going to come. It feels good.”

Houston’s return to the top comes after a remarkable turnaround after a difficult 2020-2021 campaign. Regardless of the number of losses that piled up last season, Styers said he saw the potential.

“Even last year, we had a losing season. But we were right there,” Styers said. “Especially with the guys getting older and a few new freshmen that came in, I knew we could do it.”

Defenseman Eric Preboski, one of only five seniors on the team, was there during the struggles.

“It’s been rough the past couple of years. It’s great to be where we are right now,” Preboski said.

Anfim Konev led Houston with a pair of goals, Daniel Matveev scored in the third and Brody Richard cemented the win with a late empty-netter. Houston led 3-1 with less than two minutes in regulation, but Palmer made things interesting.

With the Moose skating with the extra attacker, Palmer freshman Elijah Von Gunten tapped in his own rebound after a short breakaway to cut the deficit to 3-2.

“They made it very close. They’re a good team,” Matveev said.

Matveev snapped a wrister from the top of the right wing circle with 2:04 left to give Houston the 3-1 lead. Matveev said the Hawks knew the game was not over.

“We had to keep working,” Matveev said.

Some relief came when Richard found the back of the empty net with 50 seconds left.

“A lot of weight off the shoulders once that went in because Palmer’s not going to quit, not going to give up until the last second,” Styers said.

Senior Carter Greco also scored for Palmer, giving the Moose a 1-0 lead early in the first. Houston outshot the Moose 32-12. Sophomore Ari Burnside made 10 saves in the Houston win. Palmer senior Joshua Horacek stopped 28 shots.

Saturday marked the second time in Alaska history that featured two Valley temas in a state hockey title game.

“The crowd was awesome,” Styers said. “It was exciting.”

Palmer edged Wasilla to win the 1989 state championship. Palmer also won a state title in 2019. This is Palmer’s second straight-runner up finish.

This is Houston’s first trip to a state title game since 2018 and first state championship since 2015. The Hawks played in the championship game in eight straight seasons, from 2000-2007. During that span, Houston won back-to-back in 2001 and 2002, and four straight from 2004 to 2007. The Hawks were also in six straight championship games from 2013 to 2018. Houston won it all in 2014 and 2015.

“It’s the best feeling for sure,” Matveev said of Houston’s late championship.

Houston is losing only five seniors and there are 15 underclassmen on the roster.

“It feels good to bring back the dynasty. It’s going to be great for the next couple of years,” Preboski said.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersmaqn.com.