Ice Hawks excited to host 14U state tournament

Like every sports team in the country, the Havre Ice Hawks 14U team has had to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic in order to just play their hockey season. But not only have they made it through the season, they kept their composure on the ice as they went 13-3 this season.

The Hawks will now look to conclude their successful season this weekend as they participate in their 14U Bantam state tournament at the Havre Ice Dome. Havre head coach Jared Boyce believes his group of middle schoolers will perform well in the tournament, especially after splitting a two-game series this past weekend against Billings, a team he believes to be the best in the state.

"The Ice Hawks will do pretty well," Boyce said. "We're 1-1 against the best team in the state, which I think puts us in good position to compete."

The tournament will have teams compete in a pool play format Friday and Saturday morning. The Havre Ice Hawks will open up the tournament Friday when they compete against Helena at noon. The game will be followed by a matchup between Billings and Bozeman. At 4 p.m. Friday, Helena will play its second game of the day when they play Missoula.

Friday night will be capped off at 6 p.m. with a game between Great Falls and Bozeman. Pool play will continue Saturday morning at 9 a.m. as Havre will face Missoula. Pool play will then end later that morning with Billings and Great Falls going at it.

The tournament will then have a pair of crossover games between the pools on Saturday night. The winners of those games will head to the championship game. The tournament will end with three games on Sunday to determine placing. In order to get his team ready for the tournament, Royce has to focus on getting each of his individual players prepared.

"Just developing the individual because individuals are the ones that have to play together," Boyce said. "It comes down to making sure that each player knows that their responsibility is to be a good person overall and to be a great teammate, and then it will come together on the ice."

Havre holds first place in the 14U standings as they have 38 points on the season and have a record of 13-3. The Hawks will be led by Austin Boyce, who leads them with 52 goals and 30 assists for 82 points.

Havre's first opponent, Helena, is fourth in the 14U standings with 34 points and a record of 11-3-2. Pacer Lybert leads the team with 14 goals and Jaden Lilletvedt has recorded 10 assists on the season to lead the team. Warren Ryser leads Helena with 18 points. This will be the first matchup between Havre and Helena this season.

The blue pool is rounded out by Missoula, which has the lowest standing of the teams in the tournament as they hold seventh place thanks to recording 28 points and going 7-7-2 on the season. Alexander Clark leads Missoula with 15 goals and 9 assists for 24 points.

In the red pool is Great Falls, which is second in the standings with 35 points and a record of 11-1-2. Leading the team are Ryder Carper with 21 points and Jase Troyer with 22 assists and 37 points.

Billings comes into the tournament tied for third in the standings as they have 34 points and a record of 12-4 on the season. Seth Hanson leads the team with 22 goals and 32 points. Clint Isakson leads Billings with 17 assists on the season.

Bozeman has 32 points and a record of 8-7-1 on the season to hold fifth place in the standings coming into the tournament. Noah Shugart leads Bozeman with 19 goals and 22 assists for a total of 41 points on the season.

With the tournament in Havre, Jared Boyce is excited that these teams can bring in traffic to local businesses such as hotels and restaurants. He is also happy that the Hawks' passionate fans and family members will be able to watch their team compete over the weekend.

As the Hawks head into the tournament, Royce wants his team to win a title, but he also wants to help them become better players as they move into high school hockey.

"Over the next four years, they're going to be able to compete for high school championships, so we want them to develop as people," Royce said. "We're excited to hopefully move them along in that direction."

The 14U Ice Hawks are made up of Austin Boyce, Silas Belcourt, Kayla Hobbs, Tanya Ralph, Jerek Dees, David Emge, Trayden Riley, London Toldness, Gus Chase, Rogan Sayers, Isaac Middleton, Paisley Branden, Sam Nissen, Frances Hanson, Decker Hanson, Callen Stoner and Levi Benjamin. Coaches include Jared Boyce, Ryan Riley, Brian Lenhardt and Jeff Ralph.

The state tournament begins Friday at noon at the Havre Ice Dome.