Icedogs Complete Weekend Sweep

By Merrick Parnell, Northern Hockey News

The Bozeman Icedogs completed the weekend sweep with wins against the Yellowstone Quake and the Butte Cobras on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, on home ice at the Hayes Pavilion, the Icedogs broke the 0-0 tie after Hayden Groth scored midway through the second period. Hazen McKay would add two more in the game (his second came in the third period) and the Icedogs defense held the Quake to a single goal in the 3-1 win. Yellowstone was limited to just 2 shots in the second period, and starting goalie AJ Ruskowski would stop 22 shots overall.

“I thought the team played well. Our D [defense] core did a good job of limiting Yellowstone's chances, which made my job a lot easier. Yellowstone is a hardworking team and they really tested us Friday night,” said Ruskowski. “It was not an easy win, and we had to battle for the two points. But in the end, it was a good all-around team win, and it’s was good to come out on top.”

The Icedogs would go on to top the Butte Cobras 8-3 in Butte on Saturday. The Icedogs opened the game with four goals in the first period, one in the second and three in the third.

Three different Icedogs had multiple-goal games, as Connor Fuchs, Nash Pine and Isaac Smoldon had two goals apiece. Brock Finn and Groth rounded out the score sheet with a goal each. Duncan Mcgarrah and Fin notched two assists and Groth added another.

“It feels good to get back in the win column. We still have some things to clean up, but we do have a lot of positives to take from it,” said Bozeman’s Head Coach, Elliot Bates. “We had a number of players step up this weekend which was great to see.”

The Icedogs would launch 60 shots on the Butte Cobra net. Tyson Stovin had two goals for the Cobras, and Bryce Gould would have the third goal for Butte.

After the two wins, Bozeman still remains in third place in the North American 3 Hockey League’s Frontier Division.