Prep hockey: Bears edge Hawks

Nov. 10, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - On Wednesday night, the Bartlett hockey squad was like a smart-aleck kid. The Golden Bears had an answer for everything.

&#8220Every time we'd score, we'd relax, and they came back within a minute or two of every goal,” Houston head coach Mike Styers said after his team's 4-3 loss to Bartlett during the opening round of the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournament in Wasilla.

Dillon Styers gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the first.

Bartlett's Joe Sutter scored 33 seconds later.

Brendan Weimer gave Houston the 2-1 advantage in the second.

Then Bartlett's Thomas Johnson scored a few minutes later.

Aaron Burelson broke the tie late in the second period.

And, once again, Bartlett answered right back.

&#8220You score and you think you're up, and you let down,” Styers said. &#8220You let down a little bit, and they take advantage of that.”

In the third period, Bartlett had the final word. Sutter scored his second goal of the game to give the Bears the 4-3 lead early in the period.

Houston was able to control play in most areas of the game, for the first two periods. The Hawks out-shot the Hawks 22-11 in the first two periods, but Bartlett was able to put 14 shots on the Houston goal in the third.

&#8220They came out strong and we came out flat in the third period,” Styers said. &#8220They definitely out-played us in the third period.

&#8220We played a strong two periods, but you've got to play three.”

Dillon Styers posted an unassisted tally to give the Hawks the early 1-0 lead, and the junior earned an assist on Houston's second goal.

Houston broke the 1-1 tie when Weimer tapped in a rebound in the second period. Hawks' blueliner Kaleb Westfall created the play with a slapshot from the point. Westfall's shot deflected off the pads of Bartlett's goaltender, and stopped right in front of a nearly open net.

Bureleson broke another tie in the second with a power-play goal. With the man advantage, the Houston senior skated in front of the Bartlett net and slipped a backhanded shot into the goal.

Houston allowed only 11 shots through the first 30 minutes of play, and freshman netminder Will Rauchenstein recorded 22 saves in his second career start.

The loss to Bartlett pushed Houston onto the backside of the Menard Tourney bracket. Today Houston faces Valley-rival Colony at 3:45 p.m.

The Knights suffered a 15-2 loss to West Valley on Thursday.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.