HELENA– The Missoula Jr. Bruins got the Helena Bighorns to sweat early in the second period when the Bruins tied it at two goals apiece, but fell apart in the third as the Bighorns won 7-2 in the opener of their best-of-three playoff series on Thursday night.
Helena controlled the puck for much of the first period, with Elliot Plourde and Ricards Groskops pocketing goals to give the Bighorns a lead after the first 20 minutes, though just under a minute into the second period Misha Akatnov cut the Bighorns lead to one, and six minutes later Trevor Prince tied it up.
The Bighorns ran away with the game, scoring five unanswered goals to cap off the 7-2 win over the Bruins.
Both teams will meet again in Missoula at the Glacier Ice Rink for the second game of the series on March 15 at 7:05 p.m.
