Stumptown plays host to U19 state hockey

The puck drops on the Montana girls' U19 state hockey tournament tonight in Whitefish at the Stumptown Ice Den.

There are three local teams in the tournament, one in the top league and two in the ‘B' bracket. Teams in each bracket will play a round robin schedule over the first three days, with the top two teams - based on points - meeting on Sunday for the championship.

The Flathead Flames, out of Kalispell, will host an A and B team this weekend. Both teams are in their first season on the ice. The third-seeded A team will open tonight at 8 p.m. against four-seed Miles City. They will play Missoula at 1 p.m. on Friday and a double-header on Saturday with Bozeman at 7 a.m. and two-time defending-champion Glasgow at 2 p.m.

The Flathead B team will play all three of its games on Friday, opening with top-seeded Salmon, Idaho at 11:15 a.m., playing Helena/Bozeman at 4:30 p.m. and closing with tournament host Glacier at 8.

The Glacier Avalanche, out of Whitefish, enter the B tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Avalanche are in their third year of play. Glacier will open the tournament tonight at 6:15 p.m. against Helena/Bozeman. They play Salmon at 7:45 a.m. on Friday and close with Flathead.

The A championship will be played at 7 a.m. on Sunday and the B title game will be played at 9 a.m.

There will be consolation games for each bracket to close play on Saturday night, the B playing at 3:45 and the A playing at 5:30.

2012 MAHA Girls U19 State Tournament

Whitefish, Mont.

Stumptown Ice Den

Thursday

A Bracket

8 p.m. Flathead vs. Miles City

B Bracket

6:15 p.m. Glacier vs. Helena/Bozeman

Friday

A Bracket

6 a.m. Missoula vs. Glasgow

9:30 a.m. Miles City vs. Bozeman

1 p.m. Missoula vs. Flathead

2:45 p.m. Glasgow vs. Bozeman

6:15 p.m. Miles City vs. Missoula

B Bracket

7:45 a.m. Salmon, Idaho vs. Glacier

11:15 a.m. Flathead vs. Salmon

4:30 p.m. Helena/Bozeman vs. Flathead

8 p.m. Glacier vs. Flathead

Saturday

A Bracket

7 a.m. Bozeman vs. Flathead

10:30 a.m. Glasgow vs. Miles City

12:15 p.m. Bozeman vs. Missoula

2 p.m. Flathead vs. Glasgow

5:30 p.m. Consolation Game (3 vs. 4)

B Bracket

8:45 a.m. Salmon vs. Helena/Bozeman

3:45 p.m. Consolation Game (3 vs. 4)

Sunday

7 a.m. A Championship

9 a.m. B Championship