Glacier Avalanche go 1-1 with Havre Ice Hawks

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

Whitefish is fast becoming a major hockey town in Montana, and a talented group of young players is showing everyone why.

The Glacier Avalanche U-18 hockey team split a pair of games with perennial powerhouse Havre over the weekend, moving them to 4-2 on the season.

"I'll take a split any day," head coach Brad Pancich said. "We just have to be patient. The kids have to play within themselves, and do the little things that they have to."

On Saturday night, Havre jumped on the Avs early and handed them a 3-6 loss. The local boys bounced back on Sunday morning for a decisive 5-2 win over their Hi-Line rivals.

Pancich has been coaching the Avalanche for eight years, and he said the program has been improving every year.

"We've made huge strides," he said. "We have a lot more commitment from the kids and parents — realizing what they have to do to make themselves a team player. We're seeing a better turnout every year, getting more kids out. The kids have actually stuck it out, and we've seen the benefits of that."

The team is made up of mainly Whitefish students — J.J. Courtney, Kohl Bebee, Patrick Jones, Tanner Hosek, Maxl Smith, Joe Nagel, Mark Rogers and Jamie Malmquist — but several players are from Kalispell and Columbia Falls.

Bebee said his team has responded positively to the coach's aggressive style.

"There's no b.s.," he said. "We're having fun, getting along. Everybody gets stressed on the bench, but we've been together for eight years. Our team chemistry is much better."

The youngest player on the team is eighth-grade goalkeeper Taylor Hulslander, a student at Kalispell Middle School. He had 41 saves in the first game against Havre and 24 in the second while only allowing a combined total of eight wins.

"Some of the shots are hard, but I can handle most of them," Hulslander said. "The other players give me lots of encouragement. They're really nice to me."

Pancich said the young netminder is indispensable to the team.

"He's our rock," the coach said. "He's doing absolutely phenomenal."

The Avalanche are more of an offensive-minded team right now, and Pancich said he wants his kids to work on defense more.

"We're not really a physical team," he said. "We're more of a finesse, body-control team."

The Avs feature several inexperienced players who have stepped up big time.

"Joe Nagel has only played for a couple of years. He hasn't seen a lot of ice time, but he's leaps and bounds better," Pancich said. "He has a heart of gold. He gives it his all."

Pancich, in his eighth year with the Avs, has been coaching most of the kids on the team for three or four years, he said.

"I teach 100 percent basic fundamentals," he said.

The Avs travel to Great Falls on Dec. 5-6 before a home stand Dec. 13 against Missoula.