Whitefish will have a new hockey team to cheer for next fall when the Whitefish Wolverines take to the ice at the Stumptown Ice Den.

The junior hockey club joins the Missoula Maulers and the expansion Butte Cobras as the three Montana teams in the Western States Hockey League.

Wolverines general manager Josh Steel says he plans to reinvent the program on the ice and improve the team’s relationship and image with the community. The Wolverines succeed the Glacier Nationals as the hometown team.

Nationals general manager Butch Kowalka announced last month he was moving the team to Havre when his contract to use the Ice Den wasn’t renewed by the city.

Ice Den manager Andy Hergesheimer said the decision to award the Wolverines with the contract came down to funding and management style. The Wolverines are paying about $10,000 more per season to use the Ice Den than the Nationals offered.

“Financially it made sense to choose Josh’s proposal,” Hergesheimer said. “I also think Josh will run a much more professional and organized type of operation.”

The Nationals had a rocky three-year run at the Ice Den, playing in two leagues and never fully gaining the support of the local hockey community.

(Matt Baldwin writes for the Whitefish Pilot)