Houston soars past Homer for region title

The Houston Hawks won the first region title after sinking the Homer Mariners 6-1 Saturday night in Wasilla.

The Hawks scored four goals in the second period, after a scoreless first period.

"It really was a great game. It was pretty tight, but we blew it open in the second period," said head coach Jamie Smith.

Kaleb Westfall, Jeremy Morlock, Rick Morlock and Chad Lipse all scored for the Hawks in the second period. Both Morlocks scored in the third period, and goaltender Paul Sutton-Jones recorded 25 saves to preserve the championship.

The Hawks advanced to the tournament's championship games with a victory over Monroe in the semifinal.

Houston tried to defend its state title at this weekend's state tournament. The Hawks open the tournament against Kenny Lake at 12:30 p.m. Friday. With a victory, they would advance to the championship game against the winner of the Homer/Tri Valley game. Great Land powers Delta and Monroe were upset, and didn't earn berths to state.