Hawks soar over Glacier
The Glacier Avalanche midget-league ice hockey team dropped two games Nov. 21-22 to the Ice Hawks from Havre to extend the Avs winless streak.
Glacier was out manned by Havre's roster 11 to 22 in the weekend series — making it tough to keep up with the Hawks' speed of play.
In Saturday's game, Havre posted two goals early in the first frame to steal the momentum.
Glacier chipped into the deficit when Steven Olbert found the net off an assist from Maxl Smith at the 3:08 mark to cut Havre's lead in half.
A grudge match ensued at the start of the second period as the Avs held Havre scoreless for the first 11 minutes. Sean O'Connell displayed some defensive prowess when he easily fended off a three-on-one break from the Hawks' offensive line.
At the 10-minute mark, Glacier's Remington Barnes was called for hooking, which put Havre in a power-play situation. Playing a man down, the Avs held their ground with scrappy hits along the boards and sharp play from goalie Taylor Hulslander.
Havre finally broke trough with their fourth goal when Daniel Roe hit a wrister past Hulslander to the upper right corner. The Hawks tacked on another two goals in the period to take a commanding 1-6 lead into the final frame.
Glacier, undeterred by the scoreboard, found the net in the third period on the prettiest play of the afternoon. Olbert beat his defender deep in Hawks' territory and passed the puck behind the goal to Smith on the opposite side of the ice.
Smith made a great first-touch and served up a perfect one-timer for Michael Noe in front of the net. Noe buried his shot in the right corner for Glacier's second score of the game.
The Hawks went on to score four more goals in the final period to take the first game 10-2.
On Sunday, it was evident that Havre's deep roster was physically wearing on Glacier. The Hawks skated away with the game, scoring five goals in the opening period and another two in the second for a 0-7 victory.
The bright spot for Glacier was their ability to keep Havre off the board in the final period behind solid play in front of the net from Hulslander. Havre outshot Glacier 45-14 in the shutout win.
The Avs are idle this weekend and next play at Helena on Dec. 5-6.
Glacier 1 0 1
Havre 3 3 4
First period — Havre, Miller, 17:15; Havre, unknown, 8:58; Glacier, Olbert (Smith), 3:08; Havre, Austin.
Second period — Havre, Roe, 6:54; Havre, Roe, 1:37; Havre, Miller, 1:13.
Third period — Glacier, Noe (Smith), 7:39; Havre, Miller, 6:19; Havre, Miller, 6:07; Havre, Sun Child, 3:56; Havre, unknown, 1:26.