Prep hockey: Houston nets ugly win

Nov. 12, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - On Thursday, the Houston Hawks watched a young Colony Knights squad suffer a 15-2 loss to West Valley in the first round of the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournament.

On Friday, Houston head coach Mike Styers worried that watching Colony's loss might have had a negative effect, as his Hawks skated onto the ice of Menard Arena to face the Knights.

The Hawks won, but the win was ugly. Houston had to overcome 14 penalties and numerous Colony power-play opportunities to earn the 4-0 win over the Knights in the second round of the Menard Memorial Tourney.

&#8220There was no intensity on the ice,” Styers said. &#8220I think we're a much better team than what we showed.”

Houston was able to prosper on the power play, converting three of seven opportunities with the man advantage. Aaron Burleson, Brandon Weimer and Kaleb Westfall each scored on the power play. Burleson also added a shorthanded tally.

Burleson's shorthanded goal was just part of a very long afternoon for the HHS penalty kill units. Houston was forced to put the kibosh on 13 Colony power-play chances. The Knights skated with the two-man advantage on five occasions. There was a three-minute stretch during the second period where Colony had the continuous 5-on-3 advantage.

&#8220We actually skated better 5-on-3 than we did 5-on-5,” Styers joked.

Styers was pleased with his team's work on special teams, not that he wants his team to have to kill 13 penalties on a regular basis. When Houston was on the power play, Styers said the passing stood out. Juniors Jake Henkel and Dillon Styers each had three assists in the game.

Burleson and Weimer scored their power-play tallies 1 minute and 17 seconds apart, late in the first period. With 3:31 remaining in the opening frame, Burleson buried a wrist shot in the upper shelf of Colony net. On the next power-play chance, Weimer won a battle in front of the Knights' net, and slipped the puck past CHS goaltender Joe Nyberg.

Sitting at the doorstep of the Colony net midway through the third, Burleson took a pass from Henkel and scored his second goal of the game. Henkel swiped the puck from a Colony blueliner behind the net, and sent a quick pass to Burelson to set up the goal.

Early in the third, Westfall sent a slapshot from the point into the upper part of the CHS net.

While Houston improved to 2-1, Colony fell to 0-2.

Many of the Colony regulars are seeing significant action for the first time in their varsity careers, as the Knights attempt to fill large losses from last season's squad. Gone are graduated seniors Ryan Pauling, Austin Manelick, Alex Lund and Tyrel Henkel. Pauling and Manelick accounted for a large percentage of Colony's points last year. Lund was the captain on defense. And Henkel stood out

in net.

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