Ice Hawks ready for state hockey tournament

The Havre Ice Hawks high school hockey team is headed back to the state tournament this weekend and are hoping to return home with some hardware.

Today through Sunday the Ice Hawks will be skating in Billings. Also joining the Ice Hawks this weekend will be No. 1 Great Falls, No. 2 Helena, No. 3 Bozeman, No. 4 Billings, No. 5 Missoula, No. 7 Glasgow and No. 8 Flathead. The Ice Hawks enter the tournament as the sixth seed, and will have a tough first game waiting for them. Havre’s first game will be Friday at 7:30 a.m. when they face a tough Billings team. Havre will also play Friday at 1:30 p.m. when the Ice Hawks play Great Falls. Havre wraps up pool play Saturday morning against Flathead.

Consolation action is set for Sunday at 10 a.m., while the championship is set for Sunday at 12:15 p.m.

Havre and Great Falls faced off last weekend in the regular season finale for the Ice Hawks. Great Falls defeated the Ice Hawks by scores of 8-1 and 6-1. And in any matchup this weekend, it will take the best outing of the year for the Ice Hawks to push for a title.

Goalie Josh Emge turned in another solid season, but will need some help from his offense and defense. Emge has proven his ability to make saves, and lots of them, but the Ice Hawks will need to play well all around.

Justin Miller, Ned Malone, and Dustin Armstrong are three seniors who have carried the majority of scoring load this season. The attack typically runs through one of the three, but if the defense struggles, head coach Scott Gunderson may need Miller, Malone, or Armstrong to step their scoring as well. Dane Linquist, Nick Howell, Jon Stoner and Megan Kline have also played key roles this season, as have Brandon Huntington, Gavin Gunderson, Caleb McClain, Alex Hansen, and Kyle Konesky.

With a good group of seniors, this season still hasn’t been an easy one for the Ice Hawks. Wins have been hard to come by, but Havre will look to turn that all around this weekend in Billings, skating for a state title.

THURSDAY:

6:00 p.m. 2 vs 7  HELENA VS GLASGOW

8:15 p.m. 1 vs 8  GREAT FALLS VS FLATHEAD

FRIDAY:

7:30 a.m. 4 vs 6   BILLINGS VS HAVRE

9:45 a.m. 3 vs 5   BOZEMAN VS MISSOULA

1:30 p.m. 6 vs 1  GREAT FALLS VS HAVRE

3:45 p.m. 5 vs 2  HELENA  VS MISSOULA

6:00 p.m. 8 vs 4  BILLINGS VS FLATHEAD

8:15 p.m. 7 vs 3  BOZEMAN VS GLASGOW

SATURDAY:

6:00 a.m. 6 vs 8  HAVRE VS FLATHEAD

8:15 a.m. 5 vs 7  MISSOULA VS GLASGOW

10:30 a.m. 1 vs 4  GREAT FALLS VS BILLINGS

12:45 p.m. 2 vs 3  HELENA VS BOZEMAN

4:15 p.m. Crossover Game

9:45 p.m. Crossover Game

SUNDAY:

10:00 a.m. Consolation Game

12:15 p.m. Championship Game