Sheridan Hawks Junior Hockey Team Preparing For 1st Place Rematch At Helena

The stakes can’t be any higher in the regular season than what they will be this weekend in the NA3HL Frontier Division.

The Sheridan Hawks Junior Hockey team makes one last visit to Helena on Friday, for one game that will most likely decide the top seed for the upcoming playoffs.

The Hawks have a 2 point lead in the standings.

A loss would mean the team would have to hope for some help, because although there would be a 2-team tie for 1st, Helena has one more game remaining on their schedule compared to Sheridan.

The two teams split a 2-game head-to-head series in Helena 2 weeks ago, and Hawks Head Coach J.J. Sanataga says the team knows what to expect inside enemy territory.

“We’re playing in front of a pretty energetic loud crowd, and just can’t let it get to you, so I mean that’s just really the MO right now. We know what the environment is going to be like, so let’s just control momentum and just control our emotions and just be disciplined.”

Forward Dantae Hunziker says the Bighorns are a good opponent, but at this point in the season, Sheridan just needs to worry about themselves and not so much the opposition.

“They’re physical, they’re tough, they’re mean, they’re hard to play against, but they’re a fun team to play against, so are we, but I think it’s going to be a great game on Friday and it’s going to be a battle, like all the time. Our plan is kind of just be simple, not make anything too complicated, just be together, be there for each other.”

On Saturday, the Hawks visit Bozeman.

The top 4 teams at the end of the regular season make the playoffs and the Icedogs are currently on the outside looking in, being in 5th place.

Weekend Recap: (Courtesy: Sheridan Hawks)

Hawks Clinch Playoff Spot And Remain Top Seed In Division With Back to Back Wins.

The Gillette Wild traveled to the Sheridan Hawks for a Friday night matchup.

The game began with a setback for the Hawks when the Wild started of the night with a goal five minutes into the first period.

But this turned out to the lone goal of the night for Gillette as the Hawks took control and would answer with their first goal of the night five minutes later with Vincent Leaf finding twine assisted by Easton Langemo and Sean Harris to tie it up.

With no more scoring in the first period it was 1-1 entering the intermission.

In the second, Easton Langemo would take the lead for the Hawks on the power play, assisted by Max Krueger and Leaf, to bring it to 2-1.

In the third, the Hawks would turn in on and put three more makers on the board with goals by Elijah Ferris (assisted by Deagan Watson and Charlie Stow), Krueger (with assists from new teammates Timothy Vaculik and Zachary Marsell), and Jeff Slivon (with help from Stow and Kiefer Dunham) to end the game 5-1.

The win clinched a Frontier Division Fraser Cup Playoffs spot for the Hawks and continued their position as top seed.

Saturday night the Hawks hosted the Yellowstone Quake.

Dantae Hunziker got the scoring started for the Hawks with just five minutes left in the first and went on to complete his third hat trick of the season, also netting the fourth and sixth goals.

Hunziker’s first goal of the night came with assists from Easton Langemo and Lucas Paliwodzinski.

Elijah White, with an assist from Caden Gleason, added another to the board for Sheridan with a minute thirty remaining in the first to help give the Hawks an 2 point early lead going into the first intermission.

Early in the 2nd frame Paliwodzinski put one in the net unassisted to make it a 3 point lead for Sheridan.

But that lead was cut down to one as Yellowstone battled back in the second with two goals of their own, keeping the game close at 4–2 heading toward the third.

That is until Hunziker put his second puck of the night into the net (Vincent Leaf and Langemo on the assists).

In the final frame, the Hawks pulled away with four more goals, the first a short handed unassisted goal from Jeff Slivon.

Yellowstone briefly rallied with a power play goal from former Hawk Dean Schlarman to narrow the gap but it wasn’t enough and the Hawks netted 3 more to end the game, including Hunziker’s third of the night (assists from Leaf and Langemo) and two on the power play, one from Langemo with help from White, and one from Hayden Hunter, his first goal as a Hawk, with assists from Paliwodzinski and Jake Vukich.

With that Sheridan secured the 8–3 victory, highlighted by Hunziker’s hat trick.

Goalie Olivier Caballero stopped 39 of 42 shots for the win.

The Hawks are on the road this weekend coming up as they travel to Helena to take on the #2 seed in the Frontier Bighorns on Friday, and the Bozeman Icedogs on Saturday.

The Hawks return home for their last games of the regular season on March 6 & 7 when they host the Yellowstone Quake.