Prep hockey: Lathrop blanks Houston

WASILLA — With a a lineup already thinned by injuries and the departure of a top player to the junior ranks, the Houston Hawks needed to play mistake-free hockey Thursday night to have a shot against Lathrop, the top team in the Mid-Alaska Conference.

That didn’t happen.

The Hawks gave up three power-play goals in the first two periods, and the Malemutes rolled to a 9-0 decision at the Curtis C. Menard Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.

“They were definitely more prepared for us,” Houston coach Mike Styers said following the game.

Houston beat Lathrop 4-3 earlier this season, but that was before senior forward Jake Henkel left to play juniors in Oregon and defenseman Emily Hundley suffered a shoulder injury.

Hundley ended up skating Thursday, leaving the ice once after falling on the shoulder before returning to finish the game. But a gutsy performance from the senior wouldn’t be nearly enough for the Hawks.

“Our defense didn’t play as well as we should have,” Styers said. “We’re a team that’s going to give up more shots than we get, so we need to make sure we get shots from far out and outside.”

Lathrop forwards Phillip Clifton and Tayler Munson each scored two goals for the Malemutes, which got a 15-save shutout from goalie Trevor Evans.

Houston’s Will Rauchenstein made 15 saves in two periods for Houston before giving way to backup Daniel Munoz, who stopped seven of 10 shots in the third.

Lathrop’s Jacob Thayer opened the scoring with a backhanded goal less than four minutes into the contest. After getting whistled for the first penalty of the night, the Hawks conceded a second goal when Munson’s rebound attempt got past Rauchenstein, who made a nice stop on the initial Lathrop attack but couldn’t come across his own net in time to stop Munson’s put-back.

Houston had a good shot at getting on the scoreboard just before time expired in the first period. Evans gloved Dillon Styers’ point-blank wrist shot out of midair to preserve Lathrop’s 2-0 lead as the buzzer sounded.

Playing with a man in the box didn’t suit the Hawks much better in the second period, as the Malemutes picked up a second power-play goal midway through when Clifton took a perfect cross-ice feed from Bryan Gunderson on the doorstep and rammed the puck past Rauchenstein to go up 3-0.

Lathrop went up 4-0 on a Kyle Olson goal less than three minutes later, then took a 5-0 lead just four seconds into yet another power play on Gunderson’s second tally of the evening.

The goal gave the Malemutes three power-play goals in four tries with an extra skater.

Lathrop’s Alec Hajdukovich capped the Malemutes’ four-goal second period by putting in his own rebound to put his team up 6-0 after two periods.

Styers said his team’s early penalty troubles certainly didn’t help the cause.

“We kind-of fell apart in the second period,” he said.

Things didn’t get much better in the third period for the Hawks, as Lathrop got another goal from Clifton just seconds after the Hawks finally solved the Lathrop power play by killing off a two-minute, 5-on-3 opportunity by the Malemutes.

Clifton also had four assists for the Malemutes.

Munson’s second goal of the game midway through the third put Lathrop up 8-0, and Ian Jensen’s first score of the night near the end of the game provided the final margin of victory.

The loss dropped Houston to 1-3-0 (2 points) in conference play this season, while the first-place Malemutes improved to 6-1-0 (12 points). West Valley is second in the MAC with four points, while North Pole is tied for third with the Hawks with one win.

Despite the lopsided score, Styers said he doesn’t believe the Malemutes are out of the Hawks’ league.

“I think we can play with them,” he said.

Just two teams from the conference make the state tournament, meaning Houston needs to get hot over its final five conference games.

The Hawks will host MAC foe West Valley Saturday, then have a crucial four-game trip to Fairbanks to finish off the conference season.

Styers said the games up north will determine the Hawks’ fate. “If we don’t do good in Fairbanks, we’re done.”

Houston’s next game is a non-conference tilt tonight with the Colony Knights. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Menard.

Lathrop 9, Houston 0

Thursday, Menard Memorial Arena

Houston 0 0 0 - 0

Lathrop 2 4 3 - 9

First period — 1. Lathrop- Thayer (Olson, Shuttleworth), 3:57; 2. Munson (Shuttleworth, Hajdukovich), pp, 9:31.

Second period — 3. Lathrop- Clifton (Gunderson, Munson), pp, 7:59; 4. Lathrop- Olson (Hajdukovich), 10:09; 5. Lathrop- Gunderson (Clifton, Shuttleworth), pp, 3:34; 6. Lathrop- Hajdukovich (Thayer, Olson), 13:41

Third period — 7. Lathrop- Clifton (Munson, Olson), 5:51; 8. Lathrop- Munson (Hajdukovich, Clifton), 8:14; 9. Lathrop- Jensen (Clifton, Gunderson), 13:38.

Penalties: Houston 7 for 14 minutes, Lathrop 4 for 8.

Shots: Houston 6 3 7 - 16, Lathrop 11 10 10 - 31.

Saves: Houston- Rauchenstein 9 6 X - 15, Munoz x-x-7 - 7.Lathrop- Evans 6 3 7 - 16.