Houston skaters fall in Juneau

JUNEAU — Three Crimson Bears netted two goals apiece to help the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears defeat the Houston Hawks 7-3 Friday night in Juneau. Cole Cheeseman, Corey Box, and Ryan Liebelt each scored twice to secure the victory for Juneau-Douglas.

Juneau found the back of the net early, before two minutes had passed by in the game. Cheeseman added a ridiculous backhand goal, deflecting advantageously off of a Houston defensemen and just outside the right skate of the Houston keeper, ringing the post as it went in.

“We generated our offense that we wanted. That was a big highlight for us. We think we are a lot like Houston in a lot of ways. They’re quality team, they fought hard, and it’s all about how you finish the season,” said JDHS head coach Luke Adams.

Houston cut the lead to one on a hard fought goal by Isaac Smoldon before the end of the first period.

The Crimson Bears relaxed after scoring their second goal so quickly, but Houston did not. The Hawks spent much of their time attacking on the Juneau end of the ice. Houston hit hard, skated with purpose and made sure they got their opportunities to tie the game. Houston’s offense was its best defense, keeping the Crimson Bears out of the net for 15 minutes worth of game time between the end of the first period and beginning of the second.

“Mike Spidal played an outstanding game,” said Houston head coach Mike Styers. “He worked hard, he played smart, and moved the puck well.”

With just less than three minutes gone by in the second, a Houston attacker sent a shot flying off the pads of JDHS goalie Nick Parise. The rebound lay still a few feet in front of Parise, sprawled out on his stomach, but there were no Hawks trailing the shot to score on the open net. A minute later, Houston’s shifty defenseman was able to poke the puck away from behind the net, creating an opportunity to score, but not capitalizing.

“I thought all our guys worked really hard, they put a lot of pressure on with our forecheck,” said Styers.

The Crimson Bears finished hibernating and put the game away in the second period. Liebelt scored when chaos broke out in front of the net. Houston’s keeper Aaron Allred returned from injury for the game, and made a number of acrobatic saves, diving from one side of the net to the other, but unable to stop Liebelt, JDHS extended their lead to 3-1 with 9:46 left in the second. Liebelt was not done, flipping the puck into the back of the net once more on the break with 7:56 left in the second.

Houston continually created scoring opportunities, not letting the inevitable outcome of the game dictate the character of their play. Cheeseman scored his second of the game with 2:43 left in the second for JDHS. Freshman Jacob Dale went 5-hole a minute and a half later, making it 6-1.

Houston scored their second goal in as many periods when Sam Fonov netted the puck off of a missed shot just inside of one minute to play in the second. The Crimson Bears were not satisfied. Corey Box struck with 11.5 seconds left in the second, the Crimson Bears’ fifth goal of the period.

Tristan Hracha scored before thirty seconds had passed in the third, going top shelf to beat Parise. Houston goalkeeper Caleb Beauvais kept the Crimson Bears out of the net for the third period. The Hawks did not have a penalty for the duration of the game.

“If we can get three periods where we work hard and get consistent goaltending, I think we have a great shot,” Styers said of postseason aspirations for his team. Houston will play Valley rival Wasilla on Thursday night at the Brett Ice Arena.

Juneau-Douglas 7, Houston 3

Friday, Treadwell Ice Arena

First period – 1. Juneau-Douglas – Box; 2. Juneau-Douglas - Cheeseman (Tseu) 10:01; 3. Houston- Smoldon 3:07.

Second period – 4. Juneau-Douglas Liebelt- (Box, Gist) 9:46; 5. Juneau-Douglas- Liebelt (Box) 7:56; 6. Juneau-Douglas- Cheeseman 2:43; 7. Juneau-Douglas- Dale 1:20; 8. Houston- Fonov (Smoldon) 50.9; 9. Juneau-Douglas- Box 11.5.

Third period – 10. Houston- Hracha 14:34.

Shots on goal: Juneau-Douglas 24, Houston 19.