(Editor's note: Report by Merrick Parnell)
Bozeman improved to an 18-1 record after two wins this weekend in the North American 3 Hockey Leagues (NA3HL) Frontier Division.
Luke McKay led the charge with two goals and three assists in Friday’s 7-4 victory against the Butte Cobras. Will Kutch chipped in with two goals and one assist, while Luke Hartge notched a goal of his own and three assists.
Hartge would have another big game against the Missoula Bruins with a four-point night, netting two goals and two assists in the 5-2 win, while McKay would add another two goals. Defensively, the Icedogs shut the Bruins out in the first period and allowed only a goal each in the second and third frames. Hayton Conan would make 34 saves. Bozeman’s special teams fired on all cylinders, as they went 2-for-2 on the power play, while the penalty kill stifled the Bruins in not allowing any short-handed goals.
The Cobras, meanwhile, pushed the Great Falls Americans to the brink, but Great Falls ended up winning 3-2 in an instant classic.
In the contest, Butte goalie Casey Mattfeldt made 41 saves, shutting out the high-scoring Great Falls Americans for a whole period. Offensively, Ty Stovin and Carsten Quam scored a goal and an assist each for the Cobras.
“Saturday night we showed a little bit of what we can do as a team,” Mattfeldt said. “Since the first game of the year, we haven’t been able to come together, but for the last couple of games we’ve gotten closer as a team and as a family, and that has been showing on the ice.”
