Ice Hawks play two great games against Miles City

The Havre Ice Hawks high school hockey team was hoping the home ice advantage it had this weekend would net a couple of wins. And while the victories didn’t quite happen, the Ice Hawks skated hard and earned some points along the way.

Havre was inside the Havre Ice Dome this weekend to take on the Miles City Generals, and while the Ice Hawks lost a close one Saturday, they played a great game in a 1-1 tie with the Generals Sunday.

The Generals got on the board first with a late first-period goal, but the Ice Hawks knotted things up when Alex Stilger scored on a Clifford Lenhardt assist with 16:05 in the second. From there, the goalies took over the game. Havre’s offense got 61 shots on goal, but Miles City’s goalie was tough, as was Havre’s Nic Stump, who stopped 42 shots between the pipes.

Havre also played well Saturday, but in the end, fell to the Generals 7-5. Stump was strong in goal, stopping 26 shots, while the Ice Hawks were aggressive on offense, getting 67 shots on the Miles City tender.

The Ice Hawks started strong, too, with goals by Kade Friede and August Eacker in the first period. Cole Hanson assisted on both. Friede found the net again in the third period. The power-play goal was assisted by Bryce Denton, who also scored in the third. Havre added one more goal in the final stanza, as Jeffrey Ralph found the back of the net top shelf and unassisted.

The Ice Hawks will have this weekend off, while the Havre Ice Dome plays host to the annual Hell Freeze Adult Hockey Tournament, but Havre will be back in action Feb. 6-7 when the Ice Hawks host Bozeman.