By Kevin Scott
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BUTTE, Mont., October 26, 2024 — The #3 Great Falls Americans 10-5-0-0) played their sixth road contest this season as they made their way down Interstate 15 for the 155-mile trek to Butte, Montana on Saturday for their second encounter against the #6 Butte Irish (6-7-0-0).
Both squads met in Great Falls on Friday night for their first meeting this season. Great Falls was down 2-0 but found a way to score four straight goals to pull away for a 4-2 win. Ty O’Bey scored two third period goals and goaltender Kaden Rhyder stopped 24 shots. Dylin Harilstad and Loghan Weber scored for Butte while Manny Pantow took the loss for the visiting team (game story).
The #3 Great Falls Americans and the Butte Irish were tied at 3-3 after two periods of NA3HL junior hockey action on Saturday but the Irish outscored the visitors 2-1 in the third period to deny the Americans the weekend sweep at the Butte Community Ice Center in Butte, Montana. Ty O’Bey (Great Falls) and Loghan Weber (Butte) scored two goals apiece for their respective squads.
After Saturday’s contest, Great Falls fares better at home with an 8-1 record but when they are away from the friendly confines of the Great Falls Ice Plex, they are 2-4-0-0 with one road victory at Bozeman (Ice Dogs) in September and one win at Sheridan (Hawks). Great Falls dropped to third place in the NA3HL Frontier Division standings after the #Sherdan (WY) Hawks (10-4-2-0) swept the #7Badlands (SD) Sabres (4-8-1-1), 4-2 on Saturday night.
The Americans answered first in the opening period as Aiden Kennedy and John Lang saw Ty O’Bey for the goal seven minutes into the game. Kazden Stineff off the stick of teammates Loghan Weber and Weston Villers even the score (1-1) less than two minutes later. Before the period concluded, Zachary Nimetz, a first-year player from Colorado, added his first lamplighter with helpers coming from Malloy Lomheim and Corbin Breen to give Butte the lead back before the first intermission.
During the following period, Sebe Perez and Ty O’Bey saw the puck go into the goal. Zac Orwig and Matt Beazley assisted on O’Bey scoring drive while Ty O’Bey and Aiden Kennedy set up the Perez score. Loghan Weber picked up his tenth goal with assists going to Andrew Browe and Kazden Stineff. Both Montana NA3HL foes were tied 3-3. The Irish led the Americans, 33-29 in the shots-on-goal category after forty minutes.
Loghan Weber tallied his eleventh score with 12:32 remaining in the contest to break the tie, 4-3. Andrew Browe claimed his second assist of the night and Keegan Adams added his third (assist). The 4-3 lead by the host team would remain until the final minute when each team buried the puck in the net. Easton Langemo increased the lead to 5-3 with Rocco Watson and Keegan Adams gathering the assists. Great Falls’ Blake Komrofske put the biscuit in the basket with 20 seconds to go but the comeback attempt was too late to overcome for the Americans. Easton Kennedy and Gavin Denis assisted on the final goal of the contest.
A total of nine goals were scored on 94 shot attempts in the second game of the series on Saturday.
Thanks to Sebe Perez and Ty O’Bey’s second period goals the Americans went 2-for-8 on the power play. They were whistled for five minor infractions. Great Falls’ defense prevented Butte from scoring while the Americans were in the sin bin five times. The home squad committed nine penalties.
Manny Pantow collected his first win versus Great Falls. The New Jersey native is now 2-3-0-0 after redirecting 44 shots for the Irish. He had 45 saves in Friday’s setback. The loss dropped Kaden Rhyder to 9-4-0-0 on the season for head coach Greg Sears’ team. He compiled 41 saves on Saturday after obtaining 24 in Friday’s victory.
FRONTIER DIVISION UPDATE: The #1 Helena Bighorns (14-1-0-0) continued piling up the goals this season. The Bighorns defeated the #4 Bozeman Ice Dogs (7-4-0-1) inside Haynes Pavilion in Bozeman, 6-1. Both teams scored once in the first frame before Helena struck twice in the second and three times in the third stanza. Finn Theriault recorded his 15th and 16th goals of the year for the top club in the Frontier Division. Bozeman’s TJ Kelsey converted his slapshot to his third goal of the year. Malik Johnson allowed one goal and 29 saves for Helena for his tenth consecutive win (10-0-0-0). Brett DeVincent had 48 saves in his second loss (4-2-0-0) (Box Score).
The #2 Sheridan (WY) Hawks (10-4-2-0) traded places with Great Falls (due to the Americans loss to Butte on Saturday) and are now in second place with their 4-2 win at home as they downed the #7 Badlands (SD) Sabres (4-8-1-1). Kiefer Dunham, Logan Hume, Logan Sidlauskas, and Vincent Leaf put in the goals for the Hawks. Vlad Zubriichuk also had two assists. Kyyan Jahner (first period) and Thayne Coston (second period) tacked on the scores for Badlands. Ryan Rainey made his third appearance for Sheridan and improved to 2-1-0-0 by accumulating 21 saves. Jackson Roethler (35 saves) lost for the third time (0-3-0-0) in the net for the Sabres (Box Score).
The #5 Gillette (WY) Wild (7-6-1-0) scored nine goals (just like they did in Friday’s 9-1 win) on Saturday to blank the winless Yellowstone (WY) Quake (0-16-0-0), 9-0 on Saturday in Gillette, Wyoming. Beau Delich and Michael Mckernan combined for four goals and Tai Kontrac chipped in four assists for the winning side. Gillette held Yellowstone to 18 shots (64-18). Austin Trieber is 1-1 after two appearances for the Wild. He stopped all 18 shots attempted by the Quake. Nate Whitson, whose record fell to 0-4-0-0, had 40 saves before being relieved by Matthew Neeser, who made 15 saves in 29 minutes (Box Score).
NOTES: Friday’s contest in Great Falls was “Think Pink for the Girls” Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The Americans promotion featured special edition pink game jerseys worn by the players. The jerseys were auctioned off with the proceeds going to “Think Pink for the Girls.” The auction began on Friday morning (October 25th) and will run through Sunday, November 3rd. Fans can register with DASH (QR Code) and place your bid on your favorite player’s pink jersey.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Saturday, November 2nd: Sled Hockey with the Great Falls Americans and Eagle Mount: A special sled hockey exhibition with the Americans players facing off against the Eagle Mount Therapeutic Recreation athletes. The exhibition (free to the public) will take place from 4PM-5:30PM before the University of Providence Argos game against Utah State at 7:00PM. Come check out sled hockey and support these amazing athletes.
Friday and Saturday, November 22-23: Military Appreciation Weekend: The Great Falls Americans will celebrate “Military Appreciation Weekend” during Friday, November 22nd (against the Bozeman Ice Dogs) and November 23rd versus the Butte Irish.
Season Two of the “Americans Podcast with Jim Quick” premiered on September 5, 2024, with his first guest of the season, Cole Molaski, a forward from Suamico, Wisconsin, who is in his first season with Great Falls. Other players featured this season include Ty O’Bey, Easton and Aiden Kennedy, Sebe Perez, Mercer Twomey and Zac Orwig. Click here to learn more about Zac Orwig on the official podcast of the Great Falls Americans. Each podcast will feature one American player as we get to know the team this season. Jim completed 13 episodes during his first season. Fans can listen to the full podcasts from Seasons One and Two by clicking here.
560AM KMON Weekly Radio Interview with Coach Greg Sears: Join KMON Radio Sports Director “Baker Bob” McNamee every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings during the 2024-25 season with Great Falls Americans Head Coach and General Manager, Greg Sears as he talks about the Americans. The Weekly Radio interview on 560AM KMON in Great Falls can be heard locally every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings during the Hourly Sports Report (6:15AM (MST), 7:15AM (MST), and 8:15AM (MST) live. Click here to listen to the current and previous radio interviews.
AMERICANS PHOTOGRAPHER: Look for game photos from all of the home games from Michael Noel, the Americans Official Photographer by clicking here.
AMERICANS E-NEWSLETTERS: The Americans have two email newsletters for fans to receive in their inbox this season. Kevin Scott, the Americans Media Coordinator, has an Americans E-Newsletter that you can get on Sunday’s during the regular season filled with game summaries, press releases, links, schedule, etc. Click here to subscribe (if you haven’t already).
Americans Owner Matt Leaf creates and sends out a weekly email called “Baldy’s Puck Drop” that features team news, player profile, sponsor information and lots of other tidbits relating to Americans hockey that is published on Thursday mornings. Click here to receive the weekly newsletter (if you haven’t already).
NA3HL MOBILE APP: If you haven’t already, download the NA3HL App available at the App Store and Google Play. Fans can set your favorite team to the Great Falls Americans today and stay up to date with the NA3HL. Click here to download from the App Store (Apple) or click here to download from the Google Play Store (Android).
2024-25 PHOTOS: Check out all the Americans photos throughout the season including some taken by Americans photographer, Michael Noel and Gentle Thug Media’s Tim Ljunggren. Click here to view all the photos from the 2024-25 season.
AMERICANS TEAM STORE: Click here to view the Americans online team store that features a variety of different souvenirs to purchase. A store is available at all home games. AMERICANS GAME TICKETS ONLINE: Fans can also buy game day tickets on the website prior to the game by clicking here.
Please check out the Americans website at www.greatfallsamericans.com for all your updated news, game summaries, rosters, photo galleries, etc.
NEXT CONTEST: The Americans are idle next weekend (Nov. 1-2, 2024) and will return to action with a pair of games in Gillette, Wyoming to face the Wild. This will be the first time this season that Great Falls meets Gillette during the 2024-25 campaign. Both contests at the Spirit Hall Ice Arena begin at 7:05PM (MST) each night. Games are available to watch on the official NA3HL streaming service, NAHLTV.
P. Gibson’s Sports Grill and Casino (1600 Fox Farm Road) is the place to be after Friday and Saturday night home games where the Americans invite their fans and supporters to their post-game dinner.
Buffalo Wild Wings, located at 17 Northwest Bypass in Great Falls, hosts the “Americans Watch Party” this season when the Americans are on the road. Fans are invited to get food and drinks and watch the game.
NAHLTV is the NA3HL’s new streaming platform and is the place to catch all the action for fans that are unable to attend the home and away games this season. Click here to learn more about how to view any of the Americans home and away contests.
Click here for the 2024-25 Great Falls Americans schedule and results.