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Squirts Host Rough Season Opener

Don't judge the Glasgow Ice Dawgs Squirts team on their opening weekend performance. After all, they played more games their opening weekend than they'd had practices.

Going in to the opening weekend at home, Nov. 1 through 3, the Squirts had only been on the ice three times prior to their four-game weekend. And, well, it showed. Head coach Landon Holte told the Courier, "Tough weekend. We only had three practices before these games!" Assistant Coach Austin Svingen echoed the sentiment, "It was hard going up against teams that had been practicing for weeks."

Friday night at 7 p.m., the young Dawgs faced off against the Havre Ice Hawks. The Dawgs got off to a slow start, allowing the Hawks to take a 4-0 lead after the first period of play. Brock Ciafardone put the Dawgs on the board in the second, but the home team couldn't match the four goals scored by the Ice Hawks, and Havre entered the intermission with an 8-1 lead. Reilly Llewllyn added an even-handed goal for the Ice Dawgs in the third, but it didn't put a dent in Havre's lead, and the Dawgs fell 13-2. Goalie Carter Holte faced 25 shots in the game. Two Dawgs, Elleroy DeDobbeleer and Jacob Bishop, each spent two minutes in the penalty box for tripping penalties.

The next morning, Nov. 2, Holte again took his position between the pipes as the Dawgs faced the Hawks for the second time during the weekend. As the previous day, the outcome was not in the hosts' favor. Getting on the scoreboard earlier in this game, Aubrey Farrar scored twice, notching even-handed goals in the first and second periods. But the Hawks threw 32 shots at Holte, scoring on 13 of them. Jan Anderson and Jack Miller put two minutes each on the books for tripping penalties.

The Dawgs were again on the ice at 6 p.m., Nov. 2, this time to take on the Great Falls Americans. Though they were up against a new opponent, the outcome was a repeat of the morning. DeDobbeleer got the first goal for the Dawgs in the first period and Llewellyn added another before the buzzer ended the period. The Americans found the back of the net five times in the first, five in the second and three in the third, giving them a 13-2 victory. Ciafardone, put on the big pads and faced 27 shots as the Dawgs goalie for the game. Miller notched another two-minutes for penalty for tripping.

The dogged Dawgs laced up their skates for a 10 a.m. game, Nov. 3, again against the Great Falls Americans. The visitors appeared determined to make a quick game of it, scoring nine goals in the first period. They added a single goal in the second period, leading to a goalie change during the intermission as Mary Knierim relieved Holte in the high-pressure position. The change may have given the Dawgs a slight boost as Orion Henry notched a goal, with an assist from Ciafardone, for the home team in the third period. But the Americans added two of their own, winning 12-1. Holte faced 16 shots in two periods of play, while Knierim saw six in the third. Ian Anderson took two tripping penalties, in the first and third, serving just under four minutes in the box.

The Squirts will have some time to fit in more practices before their next games, which are on the calendar for Dec. 6-8 at the Valley Event Center. Expect these young players to improve as they have time to work together as a team and learn their roles on the ice.

 

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