Houston hockey preview: Hawks eye return to state title game

WASILLA — The Houston Hawks have made four straight trips to the 3A state title game. This season, the Hawks have their eyes on No. 5. But they’re not ready to settle for their fourth runner-up finish in five seasons.

“I think we are a better team overall than we were last year,” longtime Houston head coach Mike Styers said of his Hawks, who finished as the runner-up to Monroe last season.

The Hawks graduated only three seniors — forwards Sam Fonov and Tristan Hracha, and goalie Caleb Beauvais — and the bulk of the talent on this year’s squad was around when the Hawks won it all in 2015. Houston only has three seniors — forwards Isaac Smoldon, Andrew Natekin and Yuriy Natekin — again this season. But the Hawks have a half-dozen juniors, and have welcomed a group of newcomers to the squad. Styers said many of the newcomers have been a pleasant surprise.

Houston added a pair of players with ASAA’s co-op rule, which allows students to participate in a sport at a neighboring school if their own school does not feature that sport. Susitna Valley junior Kai Kingery has joined the team, and is making the commute from the Talkeetna area school. The Hawks also added a player from Redington, freshman Sam Pike.

Another addition is JP Nix, a defenseman, who can now add goalie to his hockey resume. With Houston’s other goalie injured, Styers said the Hawks stuck Nix, a sophomore, in net during the Peninsula Challenge tournament early in the season. After just a few stints in practice donning the goalie gear, Nix made 43 saves in his debut, a 3-0 loss to Soldotna.

Styers said the Hawks now plan to use both Nix and freshman Josh Smoldon in net.

Houston’s freshman class also includes forward Blake Rogers, who has been skating regularly on one of Houston’s top 2 lines. Styers said the Hawks have about a half-dozen freshmen on the team, which is about twice what the Hawks normally expect.

In addition to his senior captains — Isaac Smoldon and the Natekin borthers — Styers said junior defenseman Reed Humphreys is once again on of his team’s leaders.

“He’s one of those kinds of kids, if we really need something, he’s going to give it all he can,” Styers said.

Styers also noted junior Noah Gillespie, calling the defenseman, “probably the best overall skater we have.”

The Hawks also have forward Tyler Chivers and defenseman Hayden Chivers.

Houston has been busy during the first month of the season. The Hawks scored a win over Kenai Central during the Peninsula Challenge early in the month. Last week, Houston beat both Homer and Bartlett during the End of the Road Tournament in Homer.

Houston also opened its Greatland Conference schedule this month with a pair of wins over the Glennallen/Kenny Lake team.

Houston is also hosting its annual Big Lake Lions Classic Dec. 8-10. The 2016 field includes Monroe, Palmer, Soldotna, Wasilla, Kenai, Colony and Bartlett. Houston opens its tourney Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. against Monroe at the Big Lake Rec Center. The contest will also count as a Greatland Conference game.

Styers said Monroe, the defending state champion, is very strong again this year. Other first-round action includes Bartlett-Colony (Dec. 8, 11 a.m.), Kenai-Wasilla (Dec. 8, 2 p.m.) and Palmer-Soldotna (Dec. 8, 5 p.m.).

*** Editor’s note: See the Sunday edition of the Frontiersman for more about the Valley’s North Star Conference teams, Palmer, Colony and Wasilla. Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.