Flathead Fusion girls win state hockey titles
Flathead Fusion’s 19U girls celebrate after winning their first-ever state title last week at the MAHA State Tournament, at the Havre Ice Dome. (Photo courtesy Lini Reading/Flathead Fusion)
The Flathead Fusion hockey program took home double the hardware last week at the Montana Amateur Hockey Association State Tournament at the Havre Ice Dome.
For the first time in its 16-year history, the 19U Fusion girls won a state championship by defeating Bozeman 3-2 in overtime in the final.
The 14U girls won their fourth state championship with a 1-0 win over Butte, who’d beat them in the first round.
In the regular season, the 14U had a league record of 18-2-1. Both of those losses came against Butte.
“We had a lot of come from behind games,” Lini Reading, the 14U coach, said. “They worked hard and it was really really nice to see.”
After the first round loss to Butte, the Fusion had to work their way back to the championship and did so handily, with 10-2 and 8-2 wins over Bozeman. Reading’s strategy — finding better scoring chances while defending well and anticipating the play — paid off.
In the championship, Butte came out strong, as expected. The second period was better for the Fusion, who outshot Butte 24-17.
Kali Pierce, playing at center, scored 10 seconds into the second period and the 1-0 score held up.
“We continued to push,” Reading said. "I was really proud of what they did.”
The 19U girls played shortly after, and many 14U players stuck around to watch, hoping their colleagues would be next to hoist a trophy.
Coached by Alexis Kinder, in her first year with the program, the Fusion had a 14-3-2 record in the regular season.
In Havre, the team beat Glasgow 5-2, tied 3-3 with Havre and won 6-1 over Missoula on its way to the championship game.
As was expected, it was a battle that had to be decided in overtime.
Bozeman scored early, less than two minutes into the first period.
Maya Lacey evened things up for Flathead with a goal 55 seconds into the second period and then gave them the lead with a power play goal at 5:18.
Bozeman’s Tana Kostelecky knotted the game 3-3 in the third period with a power play goal.
Fusion senior Elly Aldrich, in her final high school game, scored the game-winning and championship-clinching goal at 3:29 of overtime.
“That was pretty exciting for her to go out with a win like that with the game winning goal,” Kinder said. “It was the first time (winning a state title) which makes it extra exciting for sure. And it’s great for everyone involved.”
The 14U girls last won a state title in the 2017-18 season.
“It was a great season, lots of fun,” Reading said. “It’s always bittersweet at the end but you look forward to the next one.”
The Flathead Fusion 14U girls hockey team poses with the trophy after winning its fourth state title at the MAHA State Tournament last week. (Photo courtesy Lini Reading/Flathead Fusion)