PeeWee Ice Dawgs Have A 'Grind' Old Time At State

The Glasgow PeeWee Ice Dawgs will hang another championship banner from the rafters in the Valley Event Center. The team concluded a successful season with the biggest success of all - claiming a MAHA Treasure State League State Championship in Missoula this past weekend, March 6-8.

The PeeWees hit the ice hard, facing off against the Havre Ice Hawks in Glasgow's first game of the tournament. "They played really well," said head coach Michael Hunter. The Dawgs clipped the Ice Hawks' wings, taking a decisive 8-3 victory Friday morning.

That afternoon the Dawgs hit the ice again, this time to douse the Flathead Inferno. Glasgow put up 10 goals in the game while holding Flathead to three.

Game three for the Ice Dawgs was Saturday morning, when they faced off against the Great Falls Americans. Glasgow hit their only road block of the tournament, falling to Great Falls 5-3, despite having beat the Americans a few times in the regular season. Hunter said, "They outplayed us, I'll give them that." The loss ended up being the only league loss the Dawgs faced all season.

Hunter told the Courier that despite the disappointment and the "long faces in the locker room" taking that loss showed a lot about the team. He gave the players 10 minutes to reflect and gather themselves. "There was no finger pointing," he said praising the kids' ability to come together and learn from the experience.

Drawing from his own experience as a lifelong hockey player, Hunter gathered up his team for an outing away from the rink. "We battled it out on the go-carts," he laughed as he described the kids enjoying their friendships off the ice. "It makes you realize who you are coaching, why you are there."

That evening the Dawgs laced up their skates again for what the head coach called "a pivotal game" against the Glacier Avalanche. The Avalanche, with a bench 15 deep including goalies against Glasgow's 10 players, came into the tournament as the top seed in their division.

With the coaches' lessons in their heads, the Dawgs hit the ice to play beside each other, playing together, again. "The kids came out," marveled Hunter, pride evident in his voice. "They rediscovered their identity. They're a blue collar, grinder team."

The first period went back and forth between the two teams, with the period ending in a 3-3 tie. The back and forth continued in the second period, with Glacier taking a 5-4 lead with under five minutes before intermission. "A timely goal" from Gryffen Collins tied it up and "fired this team up" according to Hunter. A Glasgow goal with less than a minute left in the second gave the Dawgs the lead, 6-5.

"From there on out, they put it down!" Glasgow put up four unanswered goals in the third period, going on to win the game 10-5. Back checking, blocked shots, timely saves, corner battles, the team gave it their all, according to the coach. "They got stronger as the game went on."

The win put the Ice Dawgs in the championship game on Sunday. Hunter said he knew the team would win it all if they played like they had in game four. And play they did.

Glasgow jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the Butte Copper Kings in the first on goals from Brody Hansen and Bode Barnett. The Dawgs controlled the puck, outshooting the Copper Kings by a devastating 17 to four, perhaps leaving Glasgow goalie Jacob Potter slightly bored in the crease.

The Dawgs' domination continued well into the second, as they added three goals to their side of the scoreboard before Butte found their way past Potter. JP Cornwell netted a power-play goal on an assist from Hansen with 6:59 left before intermission. A Barnett power-play goal at 5:21 took the Dawgs to a 4-0 lead. Only 11 seconds later, Tavin Boland, with help from Charlie Cornwell, made it 5-0.

Butte, sensing the trophy was rapidly moving out of their reach, waged an attempted comeback. The Copper Kings put up a short-handed goal and an even-strength goal to put the score at 5-2 going into the third period.

"They got a little careless," Hunter explained, "but they battled through." Hansen served Glasgow's only penalty of the period, sitting two minutes for tripping. Potter saw only five shots on his net and his teammates continued their offensive onslaught, throwing 15 attempts at the Kings' netminder.

Barnett put the Dawgs on the scoreboard again in the third period, netting a hat trick on assists from Hansen and JP Cornwell. Butte got a shot past Potter with just over eight minutes left in the game, making it 6-3. Hansen added another goal to Glasgow's side of the big board with help from C. Cornwell. The 7-3 Glasgow lead would hold for the final 2:04 of play, securing an Ice Dawgs championship.

Glasgow sent a few players to the penalty box in the third period as JP Cornwell was called for hooking, Barnett for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Hansen for tripping. Collins was called for a matching 2-10 for head contact and misconduct. Potter turned away four of five attempts on his net and the Dawgs offense added 15 third-period shots to bring their total attempts to 47.

"The Ice Dawgs success is based off each other," Hunter said. He credited his team's win to each and every member of the team, stressing "All 10 players won this." Referencing Michael Hoyer's hockey comeback and love for the game, Hunter said it isn't just that that hockey players love the game, they love playing beside each other.

"They trusted one another, believed in each other," he continued. "They're an unbelievable team."