Houston rebounds from 2-goal deficit, falls in OT

HOUSTON — Sometimes the game of hockey comes down to bounces. Saturday, a bounce of the puck off the back boards led to opportunity for Hutchison and heartbreak for Houston.

Holden McCullough fired a shot that bounced off the back boards to the right side of the Houston net, and Brandon Rustad tapped the puck in to give Hutchison a 4-3 overtime victory over Houston in the 2014 3A state championship game at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

“It’s a weird bounce there. They had a guy standing there. I didn’t see it as anybody’s fault,” Houston head coach Mike Styers said after the loss. “It’s just one of those things that happens.”

Hutchison won its first state title since 2012 with the win. Hutchison’s 2012 state title win also came in overtime. Houston, in just its second season back as a 3A program, finished as the 3A runner-up for the second straight year.

Houston, which trailed 3-1 at one point, had a number of quality opportunities late in the third period and overtime.

“I thought we were taking it to them,” Styers said. “In overtime, I thought we had more chances than they did. They just got that lucky break at the end. That happens.”

Houston rallied to tie the game twice. Hutchinson led 1-0 early, but Houston tied the game midway through the second with a Sam Fonov goal. Fonov redirected a rebound of a Jon Lovelace shot to tie the game at 1.

Both teams had stretches in the game in which they scored twice in less than a minute. With the score tied at 1, Hutchison jumped to a two-goal lead with a pair of goals within a 43-second span.

Rustad, who netted the hat trick in the win, caught Houston by surprise with a quick shot from the top of the left wing circle with 2:44 left in the second period. Moments later, Rustad led a 2-on-0 rush, and lifted a shot high into the Houston net.

Houston returned the favor in the third, posting a pair of power play goals within a 49-second pan.

With the 5-on-3 advantage, Patric Thistle back-handed a rebound of a Lovelace shot into the net. Less than a minute later, Lovelace ripped a shot from the right wing circle into the far side of the net.

Lovelace finished with a goal and two assists in the loss.

Hutchison jumped to a 1-0 lead, scoring on the power play just more than four minutes into the first period.

“Hutch came out fired up, came out harder than we thought,” Styers said. “It took us a little bit to get into the game, but got it tied up.”

Hutchison’s 4-3 win over the Hawks came after Delta Junction beat Monroe Catholic 5-3 in the third-place game earlier in the afternoon. Styers said the play of the four 3A teams in the bracket Saturday is indicative of the competitiveness of the conference.

“Look at the tournament here. Monroe played tough, barely lost to Delta, who barely lost to Hutch, who barely beat us,” Styers said. “That’s four teams who could have taken it on any given day.”

Hutchison 4, Houston 3 OT

3A state title game

Saturday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Hutchison- Messer (Lees, Marcos) pp 10:58.

Second period — 2. Houston- Fonov (Lovelace, Sears) 5:39, 3. Hutchison- Rustad (Lees) 2:44; 4. Hutchison- Rustad (Tanner) 2:01.

Third period — 5. Houston- Thistle (Lovelace, Spidal) 10:12, 6. Houston- Lovelace (Sears, Ball) 9:23.

Overtime — 7. Hutchison- Rustad (McCullough, Newman) 4:23.

Shots on goal: Hutchison 8-9-8-3—29, Houston 11-5-5-2—23; Saves: Hutchison- Slane 11-4-3-2—20, Houston- Allred 8-5-x-x—13, Jones x-2-8-2—12.