Williams' 7 sparks Hawks

WASILLA -- Wade Williams said it would be nice to get a hat trick in the 3A state hockey championship -- a legitimate goal for some, but very difficult to achieve for most. Difficult even for a player, such as Williams, who lit the lamp 36 times during the regular season.

But in Williams' case, at least on Saturday night, he could have set his sights a little higher. The Houston junior forward had his hat trick four minutes into the second period and scored three goals within a 57 second span in the second frame.

Williams continued to burn Delta High School for seven scores as he swiftly skated past an individual goal and helped the Hawks achieve their ultimate goal, a state title, with a 9-5 win over the Huskies at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena.

Williams notched five straight goals at one point as he helped bring the 3A state hockey trophy back to Houston.

"He was on fire," Houston head coach Jamie Smith said. "He made it happen for us tonight."

"He definitely provided a spark," Houston senior defenseman Roy Stull said.

Houston needed a spark as the Hawks found themselves trailing 1-0 early in the contest.

"We have got a bullseye on our chest, they are shooting for us," Smith said. "They want the champions to fall."

The heavily favored Hawks found themselves in the same position as a year ago, trailing in the championship game after coasting through the regular season.

Last season Monroe Catholic defeated Houston 2-1 in the title game after the Hawks skated through the regular season unbeatan.

"It was a little wake-up call," Smith said. "We know we get goals in bunches. We played these guys and knew we could get rubber past them."

After Emery Boehm tied the score at 1-1 with a shorthanded tally -- a slapshot from the point -- Williams began to work his magic. He scored a pair of goals during a 57-second span in the first period to give Houston a 3-1 lead and two more in a four-second span early in the second and a third 53 seconds later to extend the Houston lead to 6-1.

"I am still amazed by it," Williams said following the game. "I was shooting for a hat trick and as the game went on I kept shooting the puck. It kept finding its way in.

"My teammates were making plays for me, the defense stood behind."

With the 3-1 lead, Williams broke free on a breakaway and beat Delta netminder Grant Geiss stickside. On the ensuing faceoff, Williams took a Rick Morlock pass after his linemate won the draw, sped past the Delta defense and beat Geiss once again. Williams blasted in a shot from the point 53 seconds later on the powerplay to give himself a hat trick during a 57-

second span.

Williams scored a pair of goals in the third to complete his seven-goal performance.

"That was his 74th point of the season," Smith said. "Not bad for 21 games."

Williams missed three games early in the season.

"I told him he should be able to score 80 points this season, (Williams) said 'coach make it 60'", Smith said.

Houston needed every one of the seven goals as Delta continued to stay in the game and keep pressure on the Hawks even as they were watching its opponent's performance as the human highlight reel.

The Huskies, a team that was outscored by the Hawks 17-6 in a two game series in Delta Junction earlier this season, put on a late rally with three goals in the third.

Jared Creviston scored twice, and Ben Blaise added a score for Delta in the third period.

"They were a better team than what we saw earlier in the year," Stull said.

Random shots … The state title was Houston's third and the Hawks made their fifth-straight appearance in the 3A state championship game … The Hawks outshot the Huskies 34-27 … Seven special teams goals were scored in the contest … Delta notched three powerplay goals and a shorthanded tally, while Houston scored twice with the advantage and once shorthanded … Chad McClurg, in his final game as a Hawk, scored a third-period goal … Stull, also in his final game, registered two assists … Morlock had a game-high four assists.