The Bozeman Ice Dogs defeated the Helena Bighorns 4-1 in hockey action Saturday at the home opener at the Helena Ice Arena, in front of 829 fans.

The Bighorns scored first, on a steal and goal by Bobby Bonnett, of Brentwood, Calif., at only 1:53 into the game, but were shutout the rest of the way.

Helena actually led Bozeman 45-26 in shots on goal, as Ice Dogs’ goalie Joel Hunter skillfully turned back one attempt after another.

Helena (1-1) held a 1-0 advantage going into the second period, and then Bozeman scored two quick goals within 19-seconds of each other, to go ahead 2-1. The Ice Dogs would tally 2 more points before it was over. The visitors were sparked by Adam Weaver, who scored a pair of goals and was a major force in the contest.

In addition to Bonnett, one of the local club’s more impressive players was Alex Molnar from Slovakia, who was all over the ice and just missed several shots at the net. Bighorn goalie Nick Yassick had a decent game in spite of the four goals, performing a number of difficult saves.