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BALDY’S PUCK DROP Weekly E-Newsletter (September – March) |
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Baldy’s Puck Drop” Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Volume 18: January 11, 2024
PDF Printable Download: Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Dear Great Falls Americans Enthusiast: The Americans are back at it! For those who have followed along, I have tried to be transparent and honest in our assessment and this week will be no different. Our guys came back from the holidays “fat and sassy” and as a result missed out on an excellent opportunity to separate themselves from the pack in the standings and get on a good roll.
The effort was better during Saturday night’s loss, but the execution was still way off, so this week’s practices have focused on getting back to the basics with systems and expectations. The staff still very much believes in this group and is looking for a strong bounce back this weekend at home versus Bozeman. On the bright side, congrats to Tariq Khan for earning Honorable Mention Player of the Week recognition and to Forward (and this week’s player profile) Sebe Perez, Defenseman Luke Pizzey and Goalkeeper Ryan Stowe for Honorable Mention players of the month for December.
And then just when you think they are hopeless, our players go out an put on a great show at the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind on Tuesday afternoon. Luke Pizzey, Caleb Gamboa, Alec Browning, Blake Komrofske and Spencer Schipferling volunteered their time on Tuesday afternoon to put on a floor hockey demonstration and clinic for about 20 Deaf and Blind students. After a quick demonstration, the players divided the students into three groups to work on basic
skills such as passing, stickhandling and shooting. We even worked with USA Hockey to secure a special floor ball with bells in it for use by those students who are blind or visually impaired. Following the skills stations, they formed two teams and played a 20-minute full-court game with the Red Team winning 3-2. I have said this before, but it is worth repeating – we are extremely proud of our team for their community involvement and look forward to our next adventure with the Airmen and Women from Malmstrom AFB coming up on the 20th of this month. More on that adventure in next week’s edition.
The Americans are excited to announce a new partner and some amazing new opportunities to engage with
our fans and provide greater value. We have partnered with DASH who provides an online fan activation platform that will help us get word out on the Americans and grow our fan base. We have two different activations that we are launching this weekend through DASH. The first is a “Mystery Puck/Box” prize where you can purchase a puck signed by one of the current players and by doing so, you will automatically be entered for a chance to win a “Mystery Box” of collectables/apparel that is valued over $100. We are only selling 25 Mystery Pucks, so the chance to win the bigger prize is quite good. The pucks can be purchased up until 9:00 PM Saturday night and the winner will be chosen and notified Saturday evening.
The 2nd activation is an online auction where we are putting two team-signed items (one “proud supporter” banner and one pennant) up for the highest bidder. Both items will be signed by all current players and staff with the auction running until 9:00 PM on Monday evening. Both activations can be found at:
https://fans.winwithdash.com/auctions/greatfallsamericans
Once you reach the Great Falls Americans DASH Page, you can establish a profile and designate the Great Falls Americans as your favorite team. You’ll then be notified for all the opportunities created and be able to participate in the various sales, auctions, and giveaways of pretty cool stuff that we will be looking to provide as we continue to explore ways to improve our brand and provide items are fans are excited to have. These two minor activations are a chance to get our feet wet for some bigger and better promotions down the road. DASH’s platform will also allow us to work with our local partners on certain activations that will provide additional value, as well. I look forward to sharing more information in the coming weeks and working with all our partners to provide the best possible value.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome three new members to our team. Garrett Driscoll (#22 Colorado Springs, CO), Austin Trout (#19 Troy, ID) and Hayden Grabas (#3 Fernie, BC) are three new additions that joined us this week from various other Junior Teams. They will add much needed depth to our team, and we look forward to them having an immediate impact this coming weekend against Bozeman. Puck drop is 7:00 PM both Friday (Great Falls Hospital and Clinics as our presenting sponsor) and Saturday nights (Point S Tire and Auto Services – Presenting sponsor) and we look forward to having you come warm up at the Americans games this weekend! It should be a great weekend to be in the “warm” Ice Plex!
Player Profile – #9 Sebe Perez (Tucson, AZ) 5’9” 170 lbs. FOR – Shoots Right
Favorite Team: Pittsburgh Penquins Favorite Player: Sidney Crosby
Favorite Movie: The Bee Movie Favorite Actor/Actress: Florence Pugh
Favorite Food: Grand Dawg’s Chile Con Queso Favorite Pre-Game Meal: None
Musical Group You Won’t Miss in Concert: Maroon 5
Song or Artist Guaranteed to get you hyped: Headlines – Me-You by Russ
One Item you would bring with you to a deserted Island: An Axe
Hobbies other than Hockey: Exercising, Hanging with Family and Friends
Three People you would invite to Dinner: Matthew Tkachuk, Pete Davidson, Arden Jones
College/University of Choice: Notre Dame or Arizona State Like Most About Great Falls: Great community – everyone is supportive.
How would you define a successful season: Winning the division title and advancing players to the next level.
Also, thank you to all our existing Eagle’s Nest, Diamond and Platinum Level partners for their continued support.
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Gold, Silver and Bronze Level Partners
| Century Gaming | Great Falls Hospital & Clinic | Anderson Glass-Door | Point S Tire & Auto Service |
| 2 J’s Complex | Borrie’s Italian Supper Club | Murphy Law Office | Stadium Sports Bar & Casino |
| Heidelberg Lounge | Treasure State Eyecare | Craftmaster Cabinets | Floors and More Abbey Carpets |
| Tuttle Tile | Teriyaki Madness | Central MT Lock & Safe | 3D International Restaurant |
| Jersey Mike’s | Noble’s West Side Liquor | Annie’s Taphouse | Hotel Avron-Celtic Cowboy |
| Scheel’s | Croxford Funeral Home | Big Sky Laboratory | Allstate- Tammy Quintrell-Stubbs |
| All State Signs | Highwood Creek Outfitters | Automotive Machine | She Bare Wax & Sugar Boutique |
| Wheat Montana | Stifel Investment Services | Bigelow Endodontics | Best Western Plus Riverfront Hotel |
| Culligan Water | Best Med Urgent Care | Buffalo Wild Wings | Tilleraas Landscape & Nursery |
| Stockman Bank | SpringHill Suites by Marriott | Central Avenue Meats | Todd Neighbor at Comparion Insurance |
| Fuddrucker’s | Play It Again Sports | The Beacon IceHouse | Nate & Renae Weisenburger |
| Life In Bloom | Camparion Insurance | United Materials | Fox Sports Radio, Q106, 109.9 The Wolf |
| Hampton Inn | Traynor Capital | Bravera Bank | Discount Meats |
| KFBB (SWX) | Cascade Electric |
Thank you for being a part of our family and we look forward to seeing you at the rink.
Matt Leaf
Great Falls Americans HC Inc
MattL.GFAmericans@gmail.com