Nationals home to face the Quake

The Glacier Nationals have had a lot of close games recently. In fact, last weekend, they played two overtime games against the Bozeman Ice Dogs.

Now the Nationals will get ready to take on another familiar foe in the Yellowstone Quake, a team that has squared off against Glacier four times so far this season, with three of the contests going to overtime.

The Nationals, who compete in the Frontier Division of the North American Tier 3 Hockey League, currently sit tied for last place with Bozeman as both teams have 15 points. Yellowstone on the other hand, is in fifth place with a total of 19. But, if the Nationals can beat the Quake in back-to-back games tonight and Saturday at the Havre Ice Dome, they can pull even for fifth in the Frontier standings.

Early in the season, the idea of the Nationals, who are 5-20-5, winning back-to-back games may have seemed like wishful thinking. But now, four months into the 2014-15 season, the Nationals are playing with more confidence than they have all year, earning three points in their last two games.

A big reason for Glacier's recent success has been the emergence of Joshua Larson and Karson Frisk on the offensive end of the ice. The Nationals have still scored just 55 goals this season, which is an average of less than two goals per game. Yet, Frisk scored in both games last weekend in Bozeman and he and Larson are tied for the team lead with 10 scores each. Frisk and Larson also are tied for the team-lead in overall points with 17 as each player has seven assists to their credit to go along with their 10 goals. Tyler McMahon has also been a key figure on the Nationals’ offense, scoring five goals and leading the team with 11 assists.

Another reason for the Nationals increased competitiveness is the goaltending of Ryan Lund. Despite a less then stellar 4-13-4 record, Lund has put up solid numbers. He possess a goals against average of 3.80 and a save percentage of 91. Across the ice in the other net will likely be Sean Leahy, who averages 4.08 goals allowed per game and has a save percentage of 90 for the Quake.

Like Glacier, Yellowstone also has issues scoring the puck, which has been a big contributor to its 8-21-3 record. The Quake's goals scored per game average is just over two, slightly ahead of the Nationals but not by much. Yet, the Quake do boast three double-digit goal scorers in Max Doner with 12, Scanian Sawyer with 11 and Sean Pilet with 10 that Glacier will need to pay close attention to.

Both teams may be out of the playoff hunt in the Frontier, but you can bet each team is thirsting for a strong finish to the 2014-15 season. The first game between the Nationals and the Quake will take place tonight at 8. Then Saturday, the first puck will drop at 7:30 p.m. Both games are at the Havre Ice Dome.