Nationals fall to Helena in return to the ice

While it wasn't a busy weekend for local sports along the Hi-Line, hockey did return to the ice.

The Glacier Nationals, who are a member of the North American Tier 3 Hockey League, brought in the New Year with a New Year's Day game in Helena, against their Frontier Divisional rival, the Helena Big Horns.

The Big Horns opened the game on fire, scoring four goals in the opening period of action, with the goals coming from four different players, which gave Helena a 4-0 lead after the first 20 minutes. In the second period, Helena added two more goals and extended the lead to 7-0 early in the third period, before the Nationals finally got on the board as William Bostwick scored to help Glacier avoid a shutout.

Yet, following the goal by the Nationals, Helena scored two more goals before the game was over to make the final score 9-1. Alex Kruger stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced in the win for the Big Horns, while Kevin Hale notched 27 saves and allowed nine goals in the loss for Glacier.

The Nationals will be back in action Friday when they will host the Great Falls Americans inside the Havre Ice Dome.