Nationals get a Havre Ice Dome win

For the second straight weekend, the Glacier Nationals got some production from their offense. And for the second straight weekend, that equated to a win.

The Nationals, which hosted the Gillette Wild in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday night inside the Havre Ice Dome, walked away with a well-deserved split after an 8-4 loss Friday, which was followed with a 6-4 win Saturday.

The two teams, which both play in the Frontier Division of the North American Tier 3 Hockey league, have now played four times already this season, with the Nationals winning just once.

On Friday night, the fans who turned out to the Ice Dome, saw an offensive explosion, especially in the first period when the two teams combined for six goals and the score was 3-3. Glacier hung around early especially thanks to a pair of goals by Collin Schieman.

The Wild got some separation early in the second when Cade Boring scored to give them a 4-3 lead, but Schieman answered with yet another goal, one that gave him a hat trick for the night. Yet, by the end of the second period, Gillette possessed a 5-4 advantage.

In the third period, the Wild poured in three insurance goals to salt away the victory. Stephen Wroe got the win between the pipes for Gillette, while Mikhail Pahrebets got the loss for Glacier after allowing seven of the 42 shots he faced to find the net.

Following their loss Friday, the Nationals came out determined Saturday night and no one played better than second-year forward Marvin Simmons.

The Wild and the Nationals each scored in the opening period with Glacier’s goal coming from Tyler McMahon with 15:05 left in the opening stanza. Yet, the Wild rallied and tied the game before back-to-back goals by Simmons in the second period made the score 3-1.

Ronald Robertson and Dustin Foran also found the net in the second for Glacier, which gave the team a 5-2 edge going into the third period.

Looking for their first home win of the season, the Nationals turned to Simmons, who scored to give Glacier fans a look at a hat trick for the second straight night. Gillette did manage to score twice in the final stanza, but it was too little, too late and the Nationals held on for the 6-4 triumph.

Ryall Purdy got the win for the Nationals after he stopped 33 of 37 shots in net. Wroe was given the loss for the Wild after surrendering six goals.

Glacier is now 2-5-1 on the season and will be back in action this Friday and Saturday in back-to-back home games against the Billings Bulls.