Nationals brace for the Billings Bulls inside the Havre Ice Dome

It has been a long season for the Glacier Nationals, there can be no doubt about that. But, one way the Nationals can get some positive feelings going their way is by getting a win this weekend over the Billings Bulls.

The Nationals and the Bulls, who are at the bottom of the Frontier Division in the North American Tier 3 Hockey League, will meet for a back-to-back games Friday and Saturday in Billings.

At this point in the season, with six points and 10 points respectively, neither the Nationals nor the Bulls have any hope of making a mad dash for the playoffs. But both teams are badly in need of a win, especially Glacier, which has gone 22 games without a win, dating back to Oct. 10.

That last win also happened to come against the Bulls, which should give confidence to a Nationals team that is desperately in need of some. Another reason why the Nationals should have a chance to upend the Bulls is Tyler McMahon.

Despite the struggles of Glacier as a whole, McMahon has still developed into one of the top scoring options in the Frontier with 16 goals. He is the only National to score in double figures so far this season and also leads the team with 12 assists.

Generating offense consistently has been a major problem for the Nationals and two players that will need to aid McMahon's efforts this weekend will be Collin Schieman, who has eight goals and nine assists this season, as well as William Bostwick, who has seven goals and eight assists to his credit.

While the Nationals have lost 22 straight games coming in, Billings is right behind them with a 21-game losing streak entering Friday's game. The Bulls, who like the Nationals have struggled in the Frontier, got their last win on Oct. 11, against Glacier.

Like Glacier, the Bulls also rely heavily on three players for the majority of their offensive production and that comes from Connor Melton, who leads the Bulls with 12 goals, as well as Tristian Henrichs, who has nine and Mason Graves, who has seven.

The Bulls also have multiple players who could see time between the pipes against Glacier, as both Gage Overby (1-12-1) and Brandon Brown (3-11) have been the primary goaltenders for Billings. The Nationals have also used a committee approach, which has produced mixed results.

At one point or another this season, Glacier has used Mikhail Pahrebets, Ben Perone, Kevin Hale and Raymond Smith in net, with none of them able to produce consistent success. The only one with a win this season is Perone, who defeated Billings more than three months ago.

Glacier and Billings will open their two-game Friday in Billings at 8 p.m., with the second game to follow on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Nationals are back on the road next weekend.