Bruins maul Nationals

The Glacier Nationals spent the Thanksgiving weekend playing at home, playing host to the Missoula Junior Bruins in back-to-back games inside the Havre Ice Dome.

Unfortunately, for the Nationals, their 11-game winless streaks was extended to 13 as Glacier fell to Missoula by the scores of 7-2 and 9-3. The Nationals are now 1-19-1 and remains in last place with three points. Missoula is now 12-7-1 on the season and is fifth place in the Frontier Division of the North American Tier 3 Hockey League with a total of 25 points, just one point out of the playoffs.

In the first game of the weekend, the game got away quickly from the Nationals as the Jr. Bruins scored four times in the first period, including 10 seconds into the game as Justin Barnes beat Nationals goaltender Brendan Schultz for a goal.

Missoula added three others before the end of the opening stanza as Josh Chamberlain, who finished the game with a hat trick, added a third goal in the second period. Leading 4-0, the Jr. Bruins pushed their lead to 7-0 midway through the second before the Nationals finally go the on the board with a goal from Brendan Echelbarger. In the third period, Kevin Bird added another goal for Glacier, but it was not enough as the Nationals lost by five.

The Nationals were out shot by the Jr. Bruins 60-30. Tanner Loucks got the win for Missoula after stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced. Schultz got the loss for Glacier after allowing seven goals on 41 shots on goal.

Saturday night was similar to Friday, as Missoula jumped out to a 5-1 advantage in the first period after giving up a goal to the Jr. Bruins and Chamberlain 26 seconds in. Glacier tied the game later in the opening stanza with a goal by Matt Baerg, but Missoula scored four more goals to grab a 5-1 lead after one.

The Jr. Bruins added two more goals in the second period to go ahead 7-1 with 20 minutes remaining in the game. Missoula made it 8-1 early in the third, before the Nationals added two more scores to make it respectable as Gavin Cline and Riggs Zeidler both scored to make the final 9-3.

Missoula outshot Glacier 65-24, and Nationals goaltender Will Langstaff allowed nine goals, despite stopping 56 saves. He got the loss, while Jeremiah Clark got the win for Missoula after stopping 21 of 24 shots.

The Nationals will have two games upcoming this week. They will travel to Great Falls Thursday night to take on the Americans, before returning home for a rematch against the same team the next night at the Havre Ice Dome.