Ice Hawks ready to skate

The weather is turning colder here in Havre and that's always a sign that hockey season is right around the corner and, soon enough, the Havre Ice Hawks will be back on the ice.

In fact, they will be back in action this weekend, inside the Havre Ice Dome against Missoula Saturday night at 8 and again Sunday morning at 10:30.

And once again, the Ice Hawks will be led by head coach Barry Brownlee, who said he was encouraged by having 20 players come out for the team.

"Anytime you have more numbers, it's better," Brownlee said. "We actually have the ability to practice and it's nice to have some more depth. We actually have four different lines this year. We still don't have the numbers of the bigger teams and that makes it tough because you get worn down, but it's exciting."

One thing that is particularly exciting for the Ice Hawks is that they return every player on their team from last season, highlighted by Ethan Roberts, a dynamic goal scorer who leads the Ice Hawks' first line. Roberts, a senior, is coming off an impressive season a year ago in which he accounted for 40 points, thanks to a team-high 32 goals and eight assists. Cole Hanson and August Eacker were each right behind Roberts with 10 goals each, while Trent Shettel led the team in assists with 10.

Donovan McLain and Dexter Beck were the other returning players to reach double digits in points and both players finished with four goals last season. Additionally, Rhoda Peterson will be back in the fold for the Ice Hawks, along with Noah Kirsch, Jace Butcher and Joseph Bender. Kinzee Peterson will be back between the pipes as the goalie too.

While the Ice Hawks roster will feature many of the same faces it did a season ago, there will be a small change in some of the teams they will play. The biggest difference is that Miles City and Whitefish will no longer be competing this season. That has also reduced the overall number of teams in the state, so instead of having two divisions and two state tournaments, this year there will be one and Havre will compete with Missoula, Helena, Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Glasgow and Great Falls for the state title. The Ice Hawks will also host the state tournament.

"Our biggest goal for this season is just to stick together as a team," Brownlee said. "It can be hard, especially against the bigger teams, and when you are shorthanded that is when you make mistakes. So I just really want the team to play well together. We shouldn't have one player standing out, we should have a bunch of players on the team doing well."

The Montana High School state tournament will be held in Havre at the Havre Ice Dome March 1-3. The Ice Hawks will also open their season at the Ice Dome Saturday against Missoula at 8 p.m.

Editor's Note: The full Havre Ice Hawk's high school roster was not made available to the Havre Daily News by press time.