Ice Hawks have fun at home

For the first time since November, the Havre Ice Hawks were at home this past weekend, hosting Bozeman inside the Havre Ice Dome last Friday and Saturday.

Unfortunately, the Ice Hawks were unable to gain any points in the MAHA standings. Havre lost both games to Bozeman, falling 10-3 in the first game Friday night and 6-1 in the second game of the back-to-back Saturday. The Ice Hawks are 3-10-1 on the season overall.

In the first matchup between the two teams Friday, the Ice Dogs flew out of the gates, scoring three goals in the first period to jump ahead 3-0. Bozeman added five more goals in the second period, but a goal by Ethan Roberts, which got the Ice Hawks on the board, made it 8-1 after two. In final stanza, Bozeman scored twice more, but the Ice Hawks also got goals from August Eacker. The first was unassisted, while the second was assisted by Trent Shettel and Donovan McLain. Kinzee Peterson was given the loss in net. She faced 53 shots and stopped 43.

"Our problem is that they are a Class A team," Ice Hawks head coach Barry Brownlee said. "So they have a lot of players. We don't even have enough to have two full lines. So we usually start off pretty well, then get tired in the second. But our kids were excited to play at home. They get to have a lot more people watch them, more friends and family."

Havre and Bozeman returned to the Havre Ice Dome Saturday morning for the second game of their weekend set and this time, Bozeman again grabbed an early lead. But after the first period was over, Havre was down just 1-0. However, the Ice Dogs scored three times in the second period, while the Ice Hawks managed just one goal. Eacker scored a power-play goal that was assisted by Roberts and Shettel. That made it 4-1 Bozeman heading into the final 20 minutes.

Havre was within striking distance in the third period, but the Ice Hawks were unable to get the score closer than three goals. Bozeman added two goals in the final eight minutes to make the final margin 6-1.

"The final score might not show it, but we played well," Brownlee said. "We were down 1-0 after the first period. And Friday, we played that team 2-2 in the third period. So when the kids are really able to focus and play their best, we can compete with those teams."

Havre will be back in the Ice Dome Feb. 2-3 when it will host Great Falls for back-to-back games.