Year Two: Nationals set to take the ice

The fall sports season has been underway for almost a month now along the Hi-Line. Yet, there is still one sport left to go and that's junior hockey, which starts this weekend for the Glacier Nationals.

The Nationals, who belong to the Frontier Division of the North American Tier 3 Hockey League, are getting ready for their second season in Havre, after calling the Havre Ice Dome home for the first time last season.

In their inaugural campaign in Havre and in the Frontier, the Nationals struggled, especially in the early going and at the end of the season, they found themselves finishing sixth out of seven teams. Glacier finished 10-31-6 overall, which was good enough for 26 points. Great Falls, the division champion ended with 71, one point ahead of second place Helena with 70. Gillette and Billings also made the NA3HL playoffs with 67 and 56 points respectively.

However, by the end of the 2014-15 campaign, the Nationals had put together a competitive club that challenged and even notched wins over both Great Falls and Helena. And under the leadership of general manager/head coach Butch Kowalka, the Nationals will look to build on that momentum and contend for a playoff spot this season.

Yet, one of the more difficult things in junior hockey is keeping the same players from year to year. A number of talented players have moved on for the Nationals including goalie Ryan Lund, who is playing at Buffalo State University, as well as Karson Frisk, who is playing at Slippery Rock, Tommy Kaddatz, who is playing at Robert Morris, Tyler Unekis, who is playing at Wagner College and Blake Evenou, who is playing for the Flint Firebirds of the OHL.

And while advancing so many players to colleges or other junior hockey leagues is a good thing for the Nationals, it means they will have plenty of talent to replace as they get set for the 2015-16 campaign.

Fortunately for Kowalka, the Nationals do have some players returning from a season ago including forwards Tyler McMahon, Marvin Simmons and Brendan Huntington as well as defenseman Wyatt Fretheim. McMahon is the top scorer returning for Glacier. Last season, he was third on the team in points with 11 goals to go along with 18 assists. He was one of just three players to reach double figures in both categories.

Having McMahon back in the lineup will definitely help, but perhaps no player on the Nationals has more potential coming into this season than Marvin Simmons, who notched five goals and seven assists in just seven games for Glacier a season ago. If Simmons can produce like that over the course of full season, he may prove to be one of the most proficient players in the Frontier.

The biggest question mark facing the Nationals this season is who will replace Lund, who was a standout for Glacier a season ago. Right now, there is no clear favorite but Mikhail Pahrebets, Ben Person and Ryall Purdy will all get a chance.

The remaining position players currently on the Nationals roster are Ronald Robertson, Collin Schieman, Trevor Jensen, Brett LeBeau, Josh Allan, Kevin Kittelson, William Bostwick, Logan Kraft, Alex Hanson, Blake Hanson, Tanner Poker, Dustin Foran and Brendan Echelbarger.

The Nationals will play a 47-game schedule again this season and in addition to competing against Helena, Great Falls, Billings, Gillette, Bozeman and Yellowstone in the Pioneer Division, they will also take part in the important NA3HL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota, which will run Dec. 16-19.

The Nationals will kick off their season Friday night on the road against the Great Falls, Americans before returning home to the Havre Ice Dome Saturday night, where they will host the Helena Bighorns. The puck drops on both games at 7:30 p.m.