Havre 19U girls excited for state tourney on their home ice

After a couple weeks on hiatus, hockey finally returns to the Havre Ice Dome this weekend. But this time, it will be the MAHA 14U/19U girls state tournament that local hockey fans will get to watch. As the best teams in the state come to Havre to compete for a state championship, Havre Ice Hawks 19U girls head coach Amanda Hamilton is excited to host the tournament this weekend.

"It's pretty exciting. I think it's a good opportunity for the ice rink," Hamilton said. "Definitely a big weekend for Havre youth hockey and all the teams that we're bringing in and really for Havre as a community as a whole."

About seven teams will compete in the 19U tournament and three teams will compete in the 14U tournament. The 19U tournament will go through pool play. In the blue pool, the Ice Hawks will compete against the likes of the Flathead Flames, the Salmon Rapids and the Glasgow Ice Dawgs. In the red pool, the Bozeman Icedogs, the Missoula Bruins and the Butte Copper City Kings will play against each other. As they head into the tournament, Hamilton believes the field is wide open.

"It's actually been a really close season. We are pretty well matched throughout the whole state," Hamilton said. "I think it'll be a pretty good weekend for girls hockey in Havre so it should be exciting."

In the 14U tournament, the Flathead Flames, Butte Copper City Kings and Bozeman Icedogs will play one another. With only three teams competing in their tournament, they will all face each other again in the championship and third-place games.

The 19U tournament started this morning with a game between the Flathead Flames and the Glasgow Ice Dawgs. The Bozeman Icedogs and the Butte Copper City Kings then played right after. The 14U tournament will start with a game at noon between the Flathead Flames and Butte Copper City Kings. Back in 19U competition, the Havre Ice Hawks and Salmon Rapids will play at 1:30 p.m.

After the opening ceremonies later that afternoon, the 19U tournament will continue with a game between the Missoula Bruins and Butte Copper City Kings at 4:30 p.m. In the 14U tournament, the Butte Copper City Kings will play the Bozeman Icedogs at 6:30 p.m. The day will end with a 19U game between the Flathead Flames and Havre Ice Hawks at 8 p.m.

The 19U tournament will continue on Saturday at 8 a.m. with a game between the Bozeman Icedogs and Missoula Bruins. At 10 a.m., the Salmon Rapids will face the Glasgow Ice Dawgs. In the 14U tournament, the Flathead Flames and Bozeman Icedogs will face off.

The 19U seeding games will begin at 2 p.m. as the first-place team from the red pool faces the second-place team from the blue pool. At 4 p.m., the first-place blue pool team will play the second-place red pool team. The winners of these games will then face each other in the championship game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

In a 14U game, the second-place and third-place teams will play each other. The winner of that game will then face the first-place team in the championship game on Sunday at noon. Saturday will then end with a 19U game between the third-place team from the red pool and the fourth-place team from the blue pool.

Sunday will begin with a game between the losers of Saturday seeding games at 8 a.m. The winner of Saturday's last game will then face the third-place team from the blue pool at 10 a.m.

The Havre girls team is composed of Marki Benjamin, Olivia Albrecht, Paisley Branden, Sophie Kirkpatrick, Jersi Morse, Clara Holland, Natalie Hobbs, Kayla Hobbs, Frances Hanson, Mackenzie Kuhn, Tanya Ralph, Heather Herring and Maddie Conner.

Over the years, the Ice Hawks have been trying to build up their program. While they are still setting a foundation for the future, Hamilton wants her team to feel positive heading into this weekend.

"Just positive attitudes," Hamilton said. "Just playing together and playing hard. I tell my girls all the time to keep that positive attitude."

The 14U/19U girls state tournament runs today through Sunday at the Havre Ice Dome.