The Yellowstone Quake hockey team dropped two of three games during a season-opening weekend series against Missoula. The rematch of last year's playoff series saw the Quake win 2-1 at Casper on Saturday. The Quake dropped 7-2 and 4-2 games at Riley Arena on Friday and Sunday. “Obviously, its not the start you want, especially when you're playing at home,” said new Quake head coach Craig Furstenau. “We knew going in that we were up against one of the top teams in the league and we were in position to win two of the three, so obviously there's hope and potential for this team.”Friday's home opener was the only one of the three games that wasn't close going into the third period. Michael Mackinnon's goal six minutes into the second period halved an early 2-0 Missoula lead for the Quake. The visiting Maulers scored a pair of goals just 62 seconds apart to go up 4-1 after two periods. Missoula added three more goals to start the third period before Mackinnon struck again for the Quake, sticking home a Shawn Hunter feed for the team's only other goal of the night.On Saturday, the teams traveled to Casper for a neutral-site contest that resulted in a 2-1 Quake victory. After falling behind two minutes into the second period, Yellowstone's Matthew Lantz connected for the equalizer just two minutes later for the Quake. Teammate Zachary Tuchklaper connected for the game-winner with under eight minutes to play in the final period. Quake goalkeeper Ryan Thomas turned away 41 of the 42 Missoula shots fired on net in the contest. “We changed a lot of things after Friday,” said Furstenau. “We put people on defense that didn't play there the first night. We had different forwards, a different goalie and, as a team, I just felt like we played with more energy and emotion. I'm not sure if Friday was a case of nerves or unfamiliarity playing with each other, but we really came together after that first game.”That added energy carried through to Sunday's game in Cody. After falling behind 2-0 midway through the second period, the Quake answered with a second-period Evan Dixon goal and a third-period shot from Mackinnon. The teams would continue to skate with a 2-2 tie until Missoula's Tyler Marek broke away for a shorthanded goal with just 94 seconds remaining. Missoula tacked on an empty-net goal with 11 seconds to play to give the contest its final 4-2 count. “We held them to just three shots in the third period,” Furstenau said. “Unfortunately, the last one got through and made the difference. It's one of those games where I thought we gave ourselves more chances to win than they had, but that's not always enough to get the win. I was happy with the way we came back from being two goals down. It's nice to know we have the resiliency.”The Quake season continues Friday with a road game at defending America West division champion Helena. The team returns to Riley Arena on Saturday night for a game against Butte. “We knew we were going to be tested right out of the gate,” said Furstenau. “We're going to Helena, which is kind of like the New York Yankees of the NORPAC. It's a long season and I think we learned that there's enough in this room that we're capable of playing with the top teams in the division. We got better every game this weekend, and that's what you want to see.”

The Yellowstone Quake hockey team dropped two of three games during a season-opening weekend series against Missoula. The rematch of last year's playoff series saw the Quake win 2-1 at Casper on Saturday. The Quake dropped 7-2 and 4-2 games at Riley Arena on Friday and Sunday.

“Obviously, its not the start you want, especially when you're playing at home,” said new Quake head coach Craig Furstenau.

“We knew going in that we were up against one of the top teams in the league and we were in position to win two of the three, so obviously there's hope and potential for this team.”

Friday's home opener was the only one of the three games that wasn't close going into the third period. Michael Mackinnon's goal six minutes into the second period halved an early 2-0 Missoula lead for the Quake.

The visiting Maulers scored a pair of goals just 62 seconds apart to go up 4-1 after two periods. Missoula added three more goals to start the third period before Mackinnon struck again for the Quake, sticking home a Shawn Hunter feed for the team's only other goal of the night.

On Saturday, the teams traveled to Casper for a neutral-site contest that resulted in a 2-1 Quake victory. After falling behind two minutes into the second period, Yellowstone's Matthew Lantz connected for the equalizer just two minutes later for the Quake. Teammate Zachary Tuchklaper connected for the game-winner with under eight minutes to play in the final period.

Quake goalkeeper Ryan Thomas turned away 41 of the 42 Missoula shots fired on net in the contest.

“We changed a lot of things after Friday,” said Furstenau. “We put people on defense that didn't play there the first night. We had different forwards, a different goalie and, as a team, I just felt like we played with more energy and emotion. I'm not sure if Friday was a case of nerves or unfamiliarity playing with each other, but we really came together after that first game.”

That added energy carried through to Sunday's game in Cody. After falling behind 2-0 midway through the second period, the Quake answered with a second-period Evan Dixon goal and a third-period shot from Mackinnon. The teams would continue to skate with a 2-2 tie until Missoula's Tyler Marek broke away for a shorthanded goal with just 94 seconds remaining.

Missoula tacked on an empty-net goal with 11 seconds to play to give the contest its final 4-2 count.

“We held them to just three shots in the third period,” Furstenau said. “Unfortunately, the last one got through and made the difference. It's one of those games where I thought we gave ourselves more chances to win than they had, but that's not always enough to get the win. I was happy with the way we came back from being two goals down. It's nice to know we have the resiliency.”

The Quake season continues Friday with a road game at defending America West division champion Helena. The team returns to Riley Arena on Saturday night for a game against Butte.

“We knew we were going to be tested right out of the gate,” said Furstenau. “We're going to Helena, which is kind of like the New York Yankees of the NORPAC. It's a long season and I think we learned that there's enough in this room that we're capable of playing with the top teams in the division. We got better every game this weekend, and that's what you want to see.”