Ice Hawks split home games with Flathead Fusion

After a weekend off, the Havre Ice Hawks returned to the ice for the first time in nearly two weeks when they faced the Flathead Fusion this past weekend at the Havre Ice Dome. The weekend started well for Havre with a 5-4 win over the Fusion Friday night but Saturday morning saw the Ice Hawks lose to the Fusion, 5-1.

"It was alright. I'd give them 79-80 percent on the weekend," Havre head coach Chase Hanson said about his team's performance. "We were very emotionally filled Friday night and on Saturday we were low. We showed what we can do on Friday and Saturday morning, we didn't prove it, so we were a little disappointed in that but, overall, they overcame some good adversity this weekend."

In their first game in two weeks, the Ice Hawks started Friday night strong against the Fusion. Just over a minute into the game, Trayden Riley scored a goal to give Havre an early 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Stephen Preputin scored to make the lead 2-0. Hanson credited the team's speed for the hot start to the game.

"Our speed is a strong point on this team and that's what we did," Hanson said. "It was two quick rushes and it put us in a good spot."

But the Fusion did not go away as Jesse Burrough scored a goal on a power play with just under 11 minutes left in the opening period. Neither team scored over the rest of the period and less than a minute into the second period, Finn Davidson scored a goal on a power play to tie the game.

With just under six and a half minutes left in the period, Havre finally regained control when Austin Boyce scored. But Flathead responded less than a minute later with a goal from Isaac Jensen. Two minutes later, the Ice Hawks retook the lead with a goal from Decker Hanson. After allowing Flathead to come back to tie the game, Chase Hanson believes his team was able to bounce back because of their confidence.

"It's something we've been working on with these kids and this team and it's to believe in ourselves, the skill we have, the teamwork we have, it's there," Hanson said. "We focus a lot of attention on this bench, staying positive amongst the kids, letting the coaches do the doom and gloom and just go out there and have some fun."

Over three and a half minutes into the third period, Jacob Herring scored to make Havre's lead 5-3. But Flathead still did not go away as Jensen scored his second goal of the day to cut the deficit to one goal with six minutes left in the game. In the final moments of the game, the Fusion had a chance to tie the game but the Havre defense held strong to hold on for the win.

"We played survival there for the last minute and a half. We just kind of stopped our responsibilities and started chasing the puck," Hanson said. "It was an all-out effort. Our kids were going what we call full tilt and full speed and we weren't giving them the middle of the ice where they wanted to shoot from."

But the Ice Hawks could not carry that defensive momentum into Saturday's game as they lost 5-1. Both teams started the game slow on offense but nearly 10 minutes into the opening period, Flathead took the lead with a goal from Darby McCarthy.

In the second period, the Fusion continued to build their lead. Nearly seven minutes into the period, Davidson scored off a ricochet from a teammate's shot. A few minutes later, Seth Roskos scored to make it 3-0. After a strong performance the previous night, Hanson believes they allowed the Fusion to get into the rhythm on offense Saturday.

"We gave them the middle of the ice," Hanson said. "They were able to establish in our slot and that's where we let them put them in."

With just under six and a half minutes left in the second period, the Ice Hawks finally got on the scoreboard with a goal from Decker Hanson on a power play. However, that would be the Ice Hawks' only goal of the game despite their 24 shots on goal. While the Ice Hawks took many shots, Chase Hanson thought their shot selection could have been better.

"A lot of our shots came from what we call low-percentage shots. They were outside, they were wide, there wasn't a lot of puck movement before the shot," Hanson said. "We kind of gave their goalie a favor by not giving quality shots."

The Fusion scored another pair of goals over the rest of the second and third periods to pull away for the win. In her two games against the Fusion, Havre goalie Clara Holland recorded a save percentage of 86.6 percent against 67 shots on goal. Over the weekend, Decker Hanson led Havre with two goals and Ciaran Courtnage recorded two assists.

After splitting against the Fusion, Havre is now 3-3 on the season. While he has seen strong play from his team, Chase Hanson believes this past weekend against the Fusion demonstrates what they still need to work on moving forward.

"Controlling those emotions, playing a full game and a full weekend," Hanson said his team could learn from the weekend. "Just the basic fundamentals. We're going to preach real hard this weekend going into next."

The Ice Hawks will next play Friday at 8 p.m. against the Helena Big Horns at the Havre Ice Dome, and again Saturday at 10 a.m.