GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence hockey team will have their hands full this weekend as they take on Montana State in the team's final two games before the year ends.

The #3 Argos (5-2) will host the #8 Bobcats (12-5) on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Great Falls Ice Plex. The two teams will then travel to Bozeman for a 7:00 p.m. match hosted by the Bobcats.

"We've got to get wins, period," head coach Jeff Heimel said. "There has to be the mindset that every game matters at this point. We're going to be heading into a big push here so we need to send a message. We need to end this semester on a good note. Those are all things that I think we're considering."

Friday night will mark the first time the squad has taken the ice in three weeks, when the team defeated BYU to cap off a perfect three-game homestand. The team was allowed to go home for Thanksgiving break, which has paid dividends to the quality of practice on the ice this week.

"They look refreshed," Heimel said. "They've brought a ton of energy this week. You can tell towards the end of our games a couple of weeks ago that they were digging deep and trying to grab energy from places that weren't necessarily there. They were really worn out. You can tell that they are focused and fired up and ready to go."

The Argos haven't played the Bobcats in two years, as the Bobcats took last season off due to the pandemic. Though the team looks a big different than they did two years ago, the team is still filled with highly-skilled players.

"Though they lost a few guys from a couple of years ago, they've kept some guys who are instrumental," Heimel said. "They've got good speed. Their forwards make plays, they go to the net hard. They're well-coached. They have decent structure. It's going to be a tough one."

The team knows the importance of these two games. Both teams are ranked in the Top 10 of the ACHA Division II standings. A win would give either team a nice bump in the computer rankings, as quality wins is a large portion of how the rankings are calculated.

"It's huge for us to end break on a high note," Heimel said. "It's especially important because of the ranking implications. We're going to have to do a good job of playing our game."