WEDNESDAY BRIEFS: Hockey team headed to nationals, basketball stars on display at Les Schwab Shootout
The Montana Thunderblades 14U select hockey team will play at the USA Hockey Tier II national championships in Charlotte, North Carolina next week.
The team, which features 20 players from nearly every corner of the state, will open play in the 1A pool on March 31 against Team Wyoming, a team they saw at a tournament earlier this season in Utah.
The Thunderblades are in the American division of the 1A pool, along with the AHU Silver Knights of Arizona and New Hampshire’s Junior Monarchs. Wyoming, the Charleston (South Carolina) Junior Stingrays and the Nevada Storm occupy the National division of the pool.
After playing a round robin, the top two teams from each division advance to the knockout stages, which will be played on April 3-4.
The Thunderblades feature five players from the Flathead Valley: Max Kowalka, Luke Kowalka, George Herne, Carson White and Douglas Mercer. Butch Kowalka, former coach and general manager of the Glacier Nationals in Whitefish, is a coach for the team.
The team raised some of the funds for the trip in a raffle. They also have a GoFundMe account set up for donations to help with travel costs, flights, hotel and food for players and parents during the trip. That donation page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/49he6ytg.
Area’s best to square off at Les Schwab Shootout
The Flathead Valley’s top high school basketball players will put their talent on display Thursday at 6 p.m. in Les Schwab Shootout at Flathead High School.
The annual event features a free throw contest and 3-point contest for both boys and girls, along with a dunk contest. Players from Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Flathead, Glacier, Stillwater Christian and Whitefish high schools will be participating.
Points will be awarded in both the free throw and 3-point competitions, with each team entering two players in each contest and the winning school collecting $2,000.
The dunk contest will be scored separately, with the best dunker earning an additional $100 for his school.
Three Wildkats make Class A all-tourney team
Peyton Kehr, Kiara Burlage and Ellie Johnson were all named to the Class A all-tournament team after leading Columbia Falls to a second place finish at the state tournament in Belgrade.
Kehr led the Wildkats in scoring, averaging 12.3 points over three tournament games. Burlage scored 17 of her 33 tournament points in the title game. Johnson, a senior, averaged nine points per game.
Butte Central won the state title, beating Columbia Falls 55-48 to complete an undefeated season. Two of the Wildkats’ three losses this season came at the hands of the Maroons.
Butte Central’s Kloie Thatcher and Sierra Pica shared tournament most valuable player honors.