Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News
cpeterson@havredailynews.com
Last weekend the Havre Ice Hawks took their show on the road and fell to Great Falls by scores of 4-2 and 6-2. The losses dropped the Ice Hawks' overall record to 2-2 on the season.
The Ice Hawks, who traveled to Bozeman the weekend before, had to make a second straight road trip and, to top it off, had to face off against the top team in their division.
“Great Falls is the team to beat in our league,” Ice Hawks head coach Gabe Musson said. “Even though we lost both games, we competed well against them, especially in the first game. The score did not really reflect the way we played because that game could have easily gone either way.”
Great Falls took an early 1-0 lead in the first period of Friday night's game, but the Ice Hawks quickly answered with a Todd Roe goal to tie the game up at 1-1 after the first period. Trailing in the second period, the Ice Hawks again got an equalizing goal, this time by Jarrett McLain. However, Great Falls would reclaim the lead just minutes later with a goal by Dayton Jackson. Early in the third period, Colter Schilling sealed the victory with a goal to extend the lead to 4-2.
“Defensively we played pretty well,” Musson said. “We just need to find a way to score some more goals.”
Saturday's rematch was all Great Falls as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. Mark Larson tried to keep the Ice Hawks in the game with a goal in the first period to cut the lead to one. However, Great Falls' Lillian Carroll answered shortly after that with a goal to make it 3-1 after the first period. With the score at 4-1 in the second period, the Ice Hawks' Tyler Boyce tried to ignite a comeback when he scored to cut the lead to 4-2, but it was too little too late, and Great Falls would add two third-period goals to knock off the Ice Hawks 6-2.
“Right now, we are just trying to fill some of the holes left from last season,” Musson said. “This senior class has been a part of two state championship teams, so we have the talent and the experience. We just need to keep improving.”
Musson also thinks his team has struggled because of a tough road schedule, and that when his players get a chance to play those teams at home, the outcome will be different.
“The way the schedule is set up, we are on the road on lot early on,” Musson said. “It's good to play this tough schedule because after we get through these games, we will be a better team, and when we play at home it is going to be a different story.”
