Ice Hawks finish strong in Helena

The Havre Ice Hawks have been finding their stride as of late, and, they finished their regular season on a high note.

Last weekend, Havre was in Helena for a pair of season-ending games with the Helena Bighorns, and the Ice Hawks came away with a split.

The victory over the Bighorns came Sunday morning, as Havre skated to a 6-3 win. Havre took the lead late in the first period with an August Eacker goal, then upped its lead to 3-0 with back-to-back goals from Bridger Staples in the second. Eacker added a second goal to put Havre up 4-2 heading into the third. Ethan Roberts would then find the back of the net twice in the final period to put the game away for the Ice Hawks. Roberts finished with four points, including two assists, while Staples added an assist to his two goals. Eacker also had an assist in the game, as did Kaine Black, Bay Merker, Noah Kirsch and Cole Hanson. Kinzee Peterson was her brilliant self between the pipes, stopping 49 of 52 shots on goal.

The Ice Hawks nearly got out of Helena with a sweep, too. Saturday, they suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to the Bighorns in which Havre rallied from a 3-1 first-period deficit. Roberts scored a first-period goal for Havre on an assist from Tavish Mclean, while he and Staples each scored in the third period. Staples and Donovan McLain would add assists for the Ice Hawks, while Peterson saved 30 of 34 shots on goal.

Havre finished the regular season with a record of 9-8-3 and will now get ready for the 2019 MAHA State Tournament, which will be played on home ice March 1-3 in the Havre Ice Dome.