Page 61 - Flathead Beacon // 10.14.15

SPORTS
Head coach Joacim Falt instructs his players during practice.
GREG LINDSTROM FLATHEAD BEACON
OCT. 23 OCT. 24 OCT. 25 NOV. 7 NOV. 20 NOV. 21 NOV. 22 NOV. 27 NOV. 28 NOV. 29 DEC. 11 DEC. 12 DEC. 13 JAN. 29 JAN. 30 JAN. 31 FEB. 19 FEB. 20 FEB. 21 FEB. 27 MARCH MARCH MARCH MARCH 10
7 P.M.
7 P.M. 1:30 P.M. 7 P.M.
7 P.M.
7 P.M. 1:30 P.M. 7 P.M.
7 P.M. 1:30 P.M. 7 P.M.
7 P.M. 1:30 P.M. 7 P.M.
7 P.M. 1:30 P.M. 7 P.M.
7 P.M. 1:30 P.M. 7 P.M.
7 P.M.
7 P.M.
7 P.M.
OGDEN MUSTANGS OGDEN MUSTANGS OGDEN MUSTANGS
MISSOULA MAULERS SEATTLE TOTEMS SEATTLE TOTEMS SEATTLE TOTEMS
BUTTE COBRAS BUTTE COBRAS BUTTE COBRAS
IDAHO STEELHEADS IDAHO STEELHEADS IDAHO STEELHEADS
VANCOUVER RANGERS VANCOUVER RANGERS VANCOUVER RANGERS S. OREGON SPARTANS S. OREGON SPARTANS S. OREGON SPARTANS
MISSOULA MAULERS LAKE TAHOE ICEMEN LAKE TAHOE ICEMEN LAKE TAHOE ICEMEN
PLAYOFFS BEGIN
4 5 6
WHITEFISH
WOLVERINES
HOME SCHEDULE - GAMES PLAYED AT STUMPTOWN ICE DEN
OCONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE
n a sunny afternoon in White- fish last week, the temperature hovered around 60 degrees, but inside Stumptown Ice Den it
was settling around 40; perfect condi- tions for hockey.
Winter is still over a month away, but the icy action of hockey season is already underway for the Whitefish Wolverines.
The local junior hockey team is embarking on its second season in the Western States Hockey League, an ama- teur sports organization in its 21st year with 29 clubs across the U.S.
Whitefish hosted one of the best teams in the league, the Missoula Maulers, for its home opener on Oct. 10. The Wolver- ines lost 6-2.
This season Wolverines head coach Joakim Falt has a young squad of play- ers from across the U.S. and Canada, and even one from Finland. The team will try to return to the playoffs in March a season after placing fourth in the North- west Division standings and qualifying as a first-year program.
The club features six returning play- ers, including Riley Ingalls, a 19-year-old from Calgary who had four goals and nine assists in 22 games last year, and Kieffer Helbing, a 20-year-old from Iowa who notched 30 points in 41 games a year ago.
“We’re still trying to come together as a team. It will come as we go, though,” Helbing said. “We’ll definitely get (to the playoffs).”
Whitefish has the benefit of practic- ing against one of the best junior goalies in the nation, McKenna Hulslander. A
junior at Glacier High School, Hulslander is already a standout in Tier I junior hockey league, playing during winter for the St. Louis Blues U16 program. She has spent time training with the Wolverines in recent weeks.
“She’s really good. She will play Divi- sion I hockey for sure,” Falt said.
The Wolverines include several 16- and 17-year-old players with lots of potential but little experience when it comes to the fast pace of junior hockey. Falt is focus- ing on preparing them for that sudden change of pace.
“We’ve got speed and we’ve got skill but we haven’t been able to do that yet. It’s going to take time for them to learn,” Falt said.
“Most of all, they need to learn to win. That’s a tough thing when you get young kids coming up.”
It was a similar story last year but the Wolverines quickly adapted in the competitive Northwest Division of the WSHL, which features perennial con- tenders Missoula and the Idaho Junior Steelheads.
The Steelheads, based in McCall, Idaho, are one of the most successful teams in the WSHL, having won four of the last five Thorne Cup championships. The team eliminated Whitefish from the playoffs last season en route to another championship. Whitefish held the dis- tinction of being one of only two teams to deal Idaho a loss last year, a 6-1 victory.
This year an eighth team, the Vancou- ver Rangers, join the Northwest stand- ings alongside the Wolverines, Maulers, Steelheads, Seattle Totems, Southern Oregon Spartans, Butte Cobras and Lake
Tahoe Icemen.
Alongside the playoff contention,
Whitefish has successfully developed a few players who have moved up the ranks. Chris Cutshall, one of the team’s leaders a year ago, is now playing profes- sional hockey in Sweden. Kristian Evans moved on to Augsburg College in Minne- apolis, Minn., where he will play hockey this year. Danny Roe, another former standout and team captain who played in Whitefish the last four seasons on the Wolverines and former Glacier Nationals before that, is playing at Marian Univer- sity in Wisconsin.
Roe emerged from Whitefish as the ultimate role model for junior hockey.
“Danny is a true warrior. The kid always gives his best, every single night.
One thing that really stands out about Danny is that he loves the game,” Falt stated. “I will miss having Danny on my roster after being together for four years, but I wish him all the best.”
Who could be the next Roe? Time will tell. For now, Falt is encouraging his play- ers to focus on the here and now and not get caught up with early struggles.
“This is not a race. This is a sev- en-month season. A lot of teams push the panic button, but even if you lose 15 games in the beginning, you can still make it up,” Falt said. “You’ve got to look at the whole season and go from there.”
For more information about the Wol- verines, visit http://www.whitefishwol- verines.pointstreaksites.com.
[email protected]
Brett Fernandez leads a breakaway during the Whitefish Wolverines practice.
GREG LINDSTROM FLATHEAD BEACON
OCTOBER 14, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
61