Nationals look to rebound on home ice

The Glacier Nationals have had a rough go of it lately. Playing two games in a week against Frontier Division power Great Falls is rough on any team.

And even though the Nationals are back on their home ice this weekend, things won't get any easier.

Glacier (2-16-2) is home tonight and Saturday night to host the Yellowstone Quake. The Quake (12-5-3) currently sit in second place in the Frontier standings, and they already have a pair of wins over the Nationals this season.

Yellowstone has been led all season by the talents of Max Doner, one of the leading scorers in the Frontier. He has 11 goals and 11 assists on the season, while the high-scoring Quake also have 10 goals from Curtis Greenbush and nine each by Tony Dalberg and Nick Greene.

Yellowstone has also been outstanding defensively, as they allow less than three goals per outing. Goalie Lance Knudson has made 14 starts for the Quake and is saving 93 percent of shots on goal.

So, Glacier's offense will be just as tested as its defense this weekend. The Nationals are averaging less than two goals per game, though Tyler McMahon is having an outstanding year. He's put in 15 goals to go along with nine assists, and he's one of the leading scorers in the Frontier. But, the Nationals need more production from the rest of their first line, and the second line as well. After McMahon's 15 goals, Collin Scheiman has just six and Marvin Simmons has five.

Defensively, the Nationals have been back-and-forth with goal tenders this season, thought in recent weeks, Ben Perone has been getting the majority of minutes between the pipes.

And though this weekend's games will be tough, as the Quake look to be a definitely playoff contender, the Nationals have played well on their home ice, and getting points this weekend would be good momentum as Glacier heads towards the halfway point of the season.

Tonight's game between the Nationals and Quake will start at 8, and the puck will drop at 7:30 p.m. for Saturday's rematch.