No headline
Whitefish Wolverine forward Tyler Latimer attempts to coral a loose puck in front of an open goal against the Butte Cobras in this file photo. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
Junior hockey has left the Stumptown Ice Den, again.
The Whitefish Wolverines will not return for a third season in the Western States Hockey League, ending their tenure at the building just two years after the Glacier Nationals relocated to Havre following four seasons in Whitefish.
Ice Den rink manager Greg Harms said the Wolverines were in good financial standing with the facility and the team owed the rink only “nominal” amounts. He added, however, that the Wolverines and owner Josh Steel faced financial struggles not uncommon in junior hockey.
Steel did not respond to requests for comment.
“I think, basically, (Steel) ran out of money and didn’t have the money to get the team going again,” Harms said. “It’s hard to break even in this league, the travel is so expensive for them.”
Last season, the Northwest Division of the WSHL included Whitefish and teams from as far away as Medford, Oregon (809 miles from Whitefish) and South Lake Tahoe California (1,097 miles). The WSHL is a tier-II Junior hockey league, and the rosters are filled out by players from around the world.
According to the WSHL website, the Wolverines were slated to open the season on Sept. 30 and play their first home game last Friday.
Harms said he was notified only last month that the team would not be returning. The Wolverines had initially reserved ice time for practices in August, but those practices never took place and the team’s last appearance on the Stumptown ice was in March.
“Ideally, I would have liked to have known last June but (Steel) wasn’t sure,” Harms said.
“I got along really well with (Steel),” he added. “I was hoping it would come together.”
According to Harms, the rink has already fielded interest from groups looking to operate a junior or similar-level team at the Ice Den in future seasons. Options include the WSHL bringing a team back to Whitefish next season or a hockey academy for elite prep players.
“(Having a junior-level team) is nice,” Harms said. “It’s just an extra draw. I’m all about getting people into the rink and getting awareness that the rink is here.
“We don’t live and die by junior hockey, though. They’re our smallest user group of all of our user groups. Youth hockey, adult hockey and figure skating are our three largest users, with junior hockey a distant fourth.”
The Glacier Nationals junior hockey team played at the Ice Den for three seasons from 2011-2014 before relocating to Havre. The Nationals competed in both the North Pacific Hockey League and the America West Hockey League.
Steel, a goaltending coach for the Nationals, started the Wolverines immediately following Glacier’s departure for the Hi-Line.
The Ice Den remained open for the summer for the first time this past year and is now, according to Harms, the only year-round rink in the state of Montana.
“(The summer) went really well,” Harms said. “We had a lot of hockey camps, hockey tournaments and figure skating camps.
“It was exciting and we’ll just keep building on that for next year. We’re adding two more hockey camps for next year and a lot more figure skating events, too. We’re growing the ice sports community.”
In the Wolverines absence, this season the Ice Den will host the Flathead Fusion, a team of high school students from throughout the Flathead Valley that competes in the Montana Amateur Hockey Association. The Fusion will play its first home game at the Ice Den on Nov. 5.
More information on the Stumptown Ice Den, including a schedule of upcoming events, is available at www.stumptowniceden.org.