(Photo credit gmarshall_photos)
The Bighorns wasted no time showing Gillette how bad they want that number one spot, with two wins at home against them this weekend at the Helena Ice Arena.
Friday’s game was a full house, with just under 1,800 fans filling the stands. Helena fought hard and fast, keeping Gillette on their toes all game, which also drew a lot of fights and penalties for both teams. Helena didn’t back down, and Helena goalie Jesse Schindel also fought hard to keep all pucks out of his net and succeeded with a shutout and giving Helena a 4-0 victory over the Wild. Goals for Helena were scored by Camden Cunningham (Braden Cunningham, Joe Feamster), Harlan Wojtusik (Garrett Bogan, TJ Norris), Joe Feamster (Darby McCarthy, Tyler Bloom), and Andrew Deskin (TJ Norris, Dylan Cunningham).
Saturday night’s game had a quick sellout crowd, with just under 2,000 fans, and a lot of eager fans being turned away at the door and being redirected to watch the highly anticipated game at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was intense all the way, and this time the score was more even throughout the night, with Helena only leading by one goal most of the game, then a bit by two goals, until Gillette put one in the net late in the third period, leaving Helena up by only one goal. Helena stayed strong and kept that lead until the end of the game, winning 2-1 over Gillette. Goalie Jesse Schindel kept 39 out of 40 shots against him out of the net, and goals for Helena were scored by Tyler Bloom (Harlan Wojtusik, Camden Cunningham), and Dylan Cunningham (Harlan Wojtusik, Thomas Hollon).
Helena now trails Gillette by only 3 points for first place in the Frontier Division.
Helena will hold two more home games this upcoming weekend, Friday, January 13th against the Great Falls Americans, and Saturday, January 14th against the Butte Cobras. Doors open each night at 6:00pm, and the puck drops at 7:05pm. You can get your tickets ahead of time at Play It Again Sports- Helena, or online at Tickets | Helena Bighorns. All pre purchased tickets will be allowed in the door, but please get here early to find a convenient seat. All game tickets besides season tickets are general admission, so seating for those spots is limited and is on a first come first serve basis. Tickets will be available at the door until we are sold out.