Nationals host tough Bighorns

In sports, every game is an opportunity, a chance to prove something. And when the Glacier Nationals play host to the Helena Bighorns, they will be looking to prove they can compete with the best the Frontier Division of the North American Tier 3 Hockey League has to offer, while also trying to put an end to their seven-game winless streak.

The Nationals (1-9-3) and the Bighorns (7-2) will meet for the third time this season tonight, and Glacier will look for its first victory over Helena inside Havre Ice Dome, in the second game of a four-game home stand. The first puck will drop at 8.

The two teams met in the opening game of the 2014-15 season Helena and the Bighorns rolled to a 10-0 victory Sept. 19. However, when the two teams again met in Helena Oct. 11 it took overtime for the Bighorns to notch a 3-2 victory over Glacier in a shootout.

So even though the Bighorns are the superior team, which has 14 points in nine games compared to five points in 14 games for the Nationals, Glacier has to feel confident that it can at least hang with the team currently fourth in the Frontier standings.

If the Nationals are going to come away with the upset win, they will need to play much better defensively. In the two previous contests, the Bighorns have outshot the Nationals 92-40, which is a big reason why Helena has outscored Glacier by 10 goals in two games.

The Bighorns have a talented offensive attack that is led by forward Matt Mohar, who leads Helena with seven goals and has a total of 11 points thanks to four assists. Forward Kendall Bolen-Porter is another key player and even though he has just two goals, he has a team-high 15 points due to 13 assists through nine games.

Yet, the Helena attack goes beyond those two. Defenseman Nick Trefry is another facilitator for the offense with four goals and 10 assists. The Nationals will also need to pay attention to Brandt Miller, who has two goals and nine assists, as well as Brandon Mills, who has three goals and seven assists.

When the Nationals have the puck, they will look to get it to Joshua Larson, who has four goals in five games for Glacier. Karson Frisk and Sam Shaheen are two other key contributors offensively for the Nationals and each come into Friday with three goals apiece. Another key matchup will be between the pipes. Both teams boast a pair of solid goalies but few have been better in the Frontier this season than Grant Martens, who has a 5-1 record with a goals against average of just 1.2 and a save percentage of over 96 percent. Mac Alboreo has also been solid for Helena with a 1-0 record and a goals against average of 1.89.

The Nationals will also depend on a couple of goalies, including Ryan Lund, who has been solid this season despite a record of 0-6-2. Lund has a goals-against average of 4.23 and a save percentage of over 92 percent. Nolan Slager has also seen time in net for Glacier this season and has a 1-3-1 record with a goals-against average of 4.75.

The Nationals and Bighorns will get the action underway tonight at 8 inside the Havre Ice Dome.