Local prep pucksters hit the road

The four local prep hockey squads embark on their first major conference road trips of the season this weekend.

Colony, Palmer and Wasilla head south to take on Region III foes Kenai, Skyview and Soldotna, while Houston travels north to face 3A rivals Delta and Kenny Lake.

The season is still young and with only two conference games under their belts Colony, Palmer and Wasilla are each looking to make a move in the Region III standings. During the three-game road trip, the three Valley schools will face each of the three Peninsula schools that round out Region III.

Kenai is currently the team to beat in the region at 7-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Wasilla stands just a game shy of the Kards at 2-0 in region action. Palmer is locked in a third-place tie with Skyview at 1-1, while Colony (0-2) is a game ahead of 0-3 Soldotna.

"It's a good opportunity to separate the top three from the bottom three," Palmer head coach Brian Fish said.

The Valley schools have had mixed results playing on the Peninsula in recent memory.

"In recent years we have done pretty well," Dale Mattson said of his Colony squad. "Until last year Colony usually finished one or two."

Palmer and Wasilla have struggled against Kenai and Soldotna, but have fared well against Skyview.

The local coaches predict that the standings are no lie and Kenai will be the team to beat in the region.

"My impression is we can pick up some wins against Soldotna and Skyview and Kenai will be a challenge," Mattson said.

"I anticipate Kenai to be the tough one," Fish said. "They have taken it to us in the past, and I don't anticipate it to be any easier."

This weekend will also mark the Valley squads' only trip to the Peninsula before the Region III tournament in February.

The Kenai Sports Center is the site of both the 2004 Region III tournament and this season's state tourney.

Playing in the Sports Center will also call for an adjustment in style for the local teams.

"With the bigger sheet of ice, there is more room to move," Fish said. "There are a few players that will enjoy that extra room. On defense we will need more discipline, something that we need to work on."

Houston, 2-0 in Great Land Conference action, will travel to Delta Junction for a two-game set with the Huskies before heading south on the Richardson Highway for a Saturday matinee with Kenny Lake.

The Huskies are fresh off a 7-6 win over defending small school champ Monroe Catholic, while Kenny Lake was shut out twice last weekend by the Rams.

The 6-2 Hawks are on the road for the next two weekends. Next weekend, Houston will head south for a pair of games at Kenai and date at Homer.

Houston 6, Colony 2

Wade Williams notched a hat trick to lead the Houston Hawks past the Colony Knights 6-2 in non-conference hockey action at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena last Friday.

After a scoreless first period Williams took a pass from Matt Bertling and put the puck past Colony netminder Tyrel Henkel 58 seconds into the second period to give the Hawks the 1-0 advantage. Williams followed with a pair of power play tallies within a three minute span late to extend Houston's lead to

3-2.

Houston scored three unanswered goals in the third period to seal the win.

Devin Styers, Chad McClurg and James Hundley scored in the final frame for the Hawks.

Styers, a junior forward, assisted on three goals in the game and Hundley, a senior defenseman, registered a pair of assists.

Paul Sutton-Jones stopped 25 of 27 shots.

Justin Grey and Patrick Geary each scored for Colony. Henkel recorded 29 saves.

Service 13, Colony 1

Colony ran into the state's top hockey power and Henkel saw a storm of pucks as the Service Cougars defeated Colony 13-1 at Ben Boeke Arena Tuesday.

Henkel stopped 30 shots in the contest and recorded double-digit saves in two of the three periods.

Colony was held scoreless until the 10:15 mark of the third period when Austin Manelick shattered Service's shutout hopes.

The Knights managed just eight shots against the stingy Cougar defense.