George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
After a slow start to the season, the Havre Ice Hawks high school hockey team is starting to hit its stride. And that couldn't come at a better time. The Ice Hawks are in the midst of 12-game homestand that includes hosting the Havre tournament this weekend at the Havre Ice Dome.
Last weekend the Ice Hawks began the homestand with a pair of victories over Missoula. The two wins pushed Havre's record to 10-4 heading into this weekend's games.
Last Friday night, the Ice Hawks came back from a 1-0 deficit to knock off Missoula 2-1. Missoula struck first, breaking a scoreless tie in the second period with a goal by Ethan Prather. It would be the only score of the night against Ice Hawks goalie David Zentmire, who racked up 37 saves on the night.
Havre answered Missoula's score later in the second period with an unassisted goal by Jarrett McLain, which knotted the game up at 1-1 heading into the final period. Then Todd Roe, who has been on a goal-scoring tear of late, scored the game winner on an assist from Mason Sheppard.
Saturday morning, the Ice Hawks had much less trouble with Missoula, as Zentmire was perfect in the net, guiding the Ice Hawks to a 3-0 victory.
Tyler Boyce scored twice in the first period. He also had an assist on a Sheppard goal in the second period. Zentmire finished the game with 26 saves.
Boyce and Roe now lead the Ice Hawks in scoring on the season.
With momentum building, Havre will play host to a very difficult tournament this weekend. Two games are scheduled for today, the first of which gets under way at 4 p.m. today when Great Falls takes on High River, Alberta. At 6:30 p.m., Havre will close out today's action against Idaho Falls.
Four games are scheduled for Saturday, starting with Great Falls and Idaho Falls at 10 a.m. Havre will take on High River at noon. High River will play Idaho Falls at 4 p.m. and the Ice Hawks will play Great Falls at 6:30 p.m.
The first two days of action at the Havre Ice Dome have a round robin format. The teams with the third and fourth best records will play at 9 a.m. on Sunday. The top two teams will square off in the championship game, which is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
