Nationals take improved play to games at Gillette

The Glacier Nationals have been a much improved team of late and this weekend's two-game set against the Gillette Wild gives them the perfect opportunity to show just how far they have come.

Glacier, which plays in the Frontier Division of the North American Tier 3 Hockey League, is set to take on Gillette, a division rival in back-to-back games inside the Centennial Arena in Gillette. The first game is tonight with the second to follow on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Glacier traveled to Gillette earlier in the season and lost both games, so they will be looking to exact some revenge on one of the Frontier's top teams. The Wild currently boast an 18-9-1 record which is enough for 37 points and a second-place position in the standings. The Nationals, who are 4-18-4 and have 12 points, are tied for last with Bozeman.

Yet, the Nationals have been a much more competitive team and scored a 3-2 win over Bozeman last Saturday before falling 7-3 Sunday. One reason for the Nationals strong play has been the goaltending of Ryan Lund, who has a goals against average of 4.13 and a save percentage of over 91 percent.

Offensively, Joshua Larson been a top threat since joining the Nationals after 11 games. In the 15 games he has played, Larson has scored a team-high nine goals, while adding five assists for a total of 14 points. Tyler McMahon is second on the team with 15 points. He has five goals and 10 assists on the season.

Karson Frisk and Matt Gamblin are the only other players who have double digit points for Glacier this season. Frisk is the Nationals' third leading scorer with seven goals. He also has five assists.

Gamblin has scored just three times but is tied with McMahon for the team lead in assists with 10, despite playing in only 10 games.

On the defensive end, the Nationals will need to be concerned about stopping the potent Wild attack that features four players with 10 goals or more this season. The Wild's leading scorer, Cade Behring, has an impressive 16 goals this season. TJ McMinn has added 13 goals for Gillette, while Bryce Mitzel and Alex King each have 10.

The Wild also have two very talented goaltenders in Alex Feese and Sean Kelley. Feese has an 11-7 record this season and a stellar goals against average of 2.36. His save percentage is just over 91 percent. Kelley has been even better than his counterpart and has a 6-2-1 record in nine starts. His goals against average is 2.16 and his save percentage is better than 93 percent.

After heading to Gillette for two games, the Nationals will have a week off for the holidays before getting back on the ice and taking a two-game road trip to Bozeman Jan. 2-3.