Latest winter storm disrupts area sports

Turn back the calendar one full year and you would almost have the same exact scenario.

For the second straight December, the first full weekend of the Montana high school winter sports season was rudely interrupted by Mother Nature.

The brutal winter storm which ravaged the Hi-Line and many other parts of Montana on Friday morning had a profound effect on sports this weekend.

The Havre High boys and girls season-opening basketball games at Malta were called off due to extremely poor travel conditions along Highway 2 East on Friday. The Ponies also had to reschedule games with Malta due to a similar storm last season.

For teams like the Blue Ponies, not getting to play on Friday night was disappointing. But HHS teams did get some work in this weekend. The HHS boys held a live scrimmage over the weekend.

"We are ready for a game, but we didn't get one," HHS boys coach Andy Mith said. "There is nothing we can do about it with the weather. It only makes us more excited for the next game. We are due and ready to go.

"We tried to make it as close to a game type situation on Friday," he added. "The kids were ready to go and were bummed out that our game was canceled and they didn't want to just come in and drill. We scrimmaged and I though the attitude was great and the kids competed really well. I have to give credit to the kids. They've maintained a good positive attitude and positive work ethic."

Basketball tournaments around the area were affected by Friday's storm.

As a result of those same bad travel conditions, the Harlem High boys and girls teams weren't able to make the 40-mile drive west to Havre for the first day of the Native American Classic. The Harlem boys and girls teams were set to take on Heart Butte Friday at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse, but because the Wildcats couldn't make the trip, the tournament was reshuffled. Harlem did make it to Havre for its Saturday games.

Games involving teams participating in the Big Sandy Tournament on Friday, as well as Turner's game with Saco/Whitewater were also impacted by the one-day blizzard.

Friday's bad weather also forced the cancellation of the Havre Ice Hawks high school hockey games with Glasgow which were scheduled for the Havre Ice Dome.