Nationals play Wild on the road

After going more than three months without tasting victory, the Glacier Nationals came very close to finding the win column last weekend against Billings, only to fall short.

Following the two losses to the Bulls last weekend, the Nationals' winless streak has reached 25 games. And with two games on the road against the Gillette Wild, who are right in the thick of the Frontier Division playoff race, the task doesn't get easier anytime soon. The Nationals and the Wild will play both Friday and Saturday night in Gillette, with the first puck dropping on both nights at 7 p.m.

One big positive that Glacier can take away from its play against Billings last weekend is the fact that the team held the lead in both games and actually outshot the Bulls on back-to-back nights.

Generating shots on goal has been a problem all year for the Nationals, who have generally been outshot by opponents by large margins. Yet, the Nationals did more than just fire shots on net, they actually got some into the net and a greater frequency than they have in quite some time. In the two losses to Billings, Glacier netted 10 goals, which is more than the nine combined goals the Nationals scored in the previous eight games.

The offense for Glaicer has had potential all season, especially with Tyler McMahon being one of the top scorers in the Frontier and though 31 games, the second-year National is leading the team with 17 goals and 16 assists. However, McMahon has been getting some help recently and in particular he has been getting it from Collin Schieman, who as 11 goals and 12 assists and William Bostwick, who has nine goals and nine assists on the season.

While the offense started to figure things out, if the Nationals are going to end their losing streak, they will need to play better on the defensive end of the ice and need a much improved effort from their rotation of goalies that includes Mikhail Pahrebets, Kevin Hale, Raymond Smith and Ben Perone.

While the Nationals are cold as ice right now, the Wild aren't are the greatest hot streak either, after winning just twice in their last nine contests. However, Gillette is still within range of the fourth and final playoff spot offered by the Frontier and after winning three of four against Glacier earlier in the season, the Wild have to come in feeling confident.

Another reason the Wild should have confidence against Glacier or any team in the Frontier, is the fact that they have a trio of outstanding goal scorers. Alex King leads the team with 17 goals, but Kyle Traux and Cade Boreing are right behind him with 16 apiece. And in net, Gillette boasts both Alex Freese and Stephen Wroe, who each have eight wins to their credit this season.

Glacier and Gillette will square off in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday nights. Both games will be in Gillette and will start at 7 p.m.