Houston starts season with state title in sights

HOUSTON — The Houston Hawks have some unfinished business.

Last year, in their grand return to the 3A Greatland Conference, the Hawks (who had ruled that class prior to a recent five-year stint as part of the 4A Mid-Alaska Conference) had their sights set on snagging another championship trophy. But with a 3-0 win over Houston in the 3A title game last February, Monroe Catholic spoiled the Hawks’ hopes of skating across the ice with the top hardware.

This year, the Hawks expect to be even more motivated to play for the championship.

“I sure hope so,” Houston head coach Mike Styers said. “I know the coaching staff is. Definitely, the seniors. They know this is their last shot.”

Seven seniors lead Houston into the 2013-14 season to push a squad Styers expects to be comparable to the team the Hawks’ put on the ice last season.

“We’ll be as strong as last year, maybe a little bit stronger,” Styers said.

Senior forwards Jonathon Lovelace and Patrick Thistle are among the top returns on the squad, alongside senior defenseman Jaden Sears.

Styers said he expects to have a solid top two lines and two pairings on defense. Lovelace and Thistle have been penciled in on the first line, alongside newcomer Chase Ball.

Ball, who scored Houston’s lone goal during a 3-1 season-opening loss to Colony last Friday, is new to the school. Styers said Ball has experience playing hockey in Anchorage.

Styers said his team’s second line (senior Ahanu Kinney, junior Sam Fonov and junior Brad Fortin) will also be important.

“That second line for us will really be key to our success. We can’t do it with one group,” Styers said.

Other notables include defensemen Mike Spidal, Max Natekin and Kyle Quincy.

The Hawks also return a pair of upperclassmen in net, senior starter Rhys Jones and junior Aaron Allred. Styers said he expects Houston to have success with both goaltenders.

“With Aaron being a junior, you don’t lose a lot when you put him in. He should see quite a bit of time this year,” Styers said of Allred.

Styers said the Hawks were shorthanded against the Knights, missing about four players from the lineup. When everyone is healthy, he said, Houston hopes to skate three lines and four defensemen.

The Hawks also officially have a new home, the Big Lake Rec Center. The Hawks will play all of their home games at the Big Lake facility, which initially opened in 2010. The 26,000-square-foot facility has been significantly upgraded since. The upgrades included a locker room for the Hawks hockey players.

Styers said the Hawks are excited to have a true home ice, and it’s a positive for the program, school and community. Houston will have additional chance to show off its new home, hosting the first Big Lake Lions Classic in December. The four-team tournament will include Colony, North Pole and Homer.

Not on the schedule is the Curtis C. Menard Memorial. The tournament’s nine-year run came to an end last November. Houston had hosted the event since its birth nearly a decade ago. Styers said hosting the tournament simply became a difficult and costly endeavor.

“Basically for us, it was an awful lot of work for a small team,” Styers said. “We put a lot of time and effort into it. It was a great tournament. We loved the tournament. We hated to see it go, but it was too much toll on team and booster club.”

Styers said the Hawks are excited about the new invitational, an event that could be pushed to eight teams in upcoming years.

“This way we can bring an event to our community. That’s what we really wanted,” Styers said.

** This is part of a four-part series previewing the seasons of the Valley’s four prep hockey teams. For the Wasilla and Colony previews, visit frontiersman.com/sports. For a story previewing the season of the Palmer Moose, see an upcoming edition of the Frontiersman.