Stalemate

WASILLA -- Colony used an attacking, physical brand of hockey to hold control of its contest with Houston for almost the entire game Friday.

The key word is almost.

The Knights held a 3-0 lead and a clear advantage in the physical aspect of the game for two-and-a-half periods, but Houston scored a trio of goals in the final 7 minutes and 15 seconds of regulation.

Colony owned the first 37 minutes of the game, and Houston controlled play for the final seven minutes of regulation and an eight minute overtime.

The result?

A 3-3 stalemate.

Austin Manelick, Teemu Maki and Garrett Wilkins each scored for Colony as the Knights built a 3-0 lead, but Houston forward Rick Morlock scored a pair of within a two-minute span to spark the Hawks.

"We started off really tough; we had the momentum going," said Ryan Pauling, who assisted on two of Colony's three goals. "Once they got that first goal, they got the momentum. They took it from us."

Midway through the third period, with the Hawks trailing 3-0 and Wade Williams screening Colony goaltender Tyrel Henkel, Morlock threw the puck toward the goal and slipped it into the Colony net.

"We were putting everything on net, trying to get that first goal," Morlock said.

And less than two minutes later Morlock threw the puck toward the net again and found a hole.

"We knew we had to come back -- we had a lot to come back from, but for us three goals is nothing. I don't think we've ever been shut out since I've been playing," the senior said.

With just less than four minutes remaining in regulation Devin Styers took a Williams pass and slipped the puck between the right pipe and Henkel's skate to tie the game at

3-3.

Houston head coach Jamie Smith said his club was busy trying to put together the perfect play and got trapped playing in a dump-and-chase game. In the intermission before the third period, Smith told his team to play hard in the corners and put the puck on the net.

"The third period, I said 'Here it is, you need to come out, show some character, some integrity or fold up and go home'," Smith said. "We got some leadership -- Rick Morlock, Wade, Larry (Kincaid). They stepped up and worked their butt off."

Houston was not only able to put the puck in the net in the final seven minutes of the third period, but kept Colony out of the Hawks' defensive zone for nearly that entire span.

Following Morlock's first goal the Knights didn't register a shot until the 1:50 mark of the third period when Chase Allington put a wrister on goal. The Knights had four 2-on-1 chances in the final five minutes of the third period, but weren't able to convert. Houston blueliner Nathan Englund made arguably the save of the game as he broke up a Chris Arentz one-timer on a 2-on-1 right in front of the Houston net with five minutes remaining.

Houston continued to put pressure on the net in the overtime period, but was not able to chip another brick away from the wall known as Henkel.

"We had seven primo shots in that overtime," Smith said. "Henkel played great, that's the best I've ever seen him play."

Henkel stopped 36 shots in the game, including back-to-back shots from Williams and Chad Lipse at the doorstep in the overtime frame.

"We had that win -- we had six, seven, eight chances in overtime -- we had that win," Morlock said. "They're goalie playedoutstanding."

Houston, the defending 3A state champions, continues its stretch against large school foes tonight. The Hawks host Dimond, possibly the top team in the state, at 7:30 p.m. at the Menard Arena.

Colony faces Wasilla tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Menard Rink.

Chugiak 8, Wasilla 1

The Wasilla Warriors out-shot Chugiak 24-21, but the Warriors fell to the Mustangs 8-1 at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena on Saturday.

The Mustangs led by just a 1-0 score in the first period, but scored seven times in the final two frames.

Spencer Galvin scored the lone goal for Wasilla. The score, assisted by Alex Gittlein, came midway through the second period.

Wasilla dropped to 2-2 overall with the loss.

The Warriors return to action Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Menard Ice Arena as they host the Colony Knights.