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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 21: February 1, 2024
PDF Printable Download: Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Dear Great Falls Americans Enthusiast: A new month, and a new week, with a variety of different directions we could go with this week’s edition. The losing streak is over as the squad bounced back from a decent 52-minute effort resulting in a 4-2 loss on Friday with their best all-around 60-minute effort and a 5-1 win on Saturday. What do I mean by 52-minute effort? The outcome Friday was basically decided by an 8-minute stretch at the start of the 3rd period when Bozeman scored 3 goals and took a 4-1 lead. The other 52 minutes our team played well and the game could have gone either way, similar to the two games in Great Falls two weeks ago.
Saturday night the switch finally flipped with this group and they put on a dominating performance while finally running on all cylinders. It started with good goaltending and solid team defensive play with the ability to finish in the attacking zone and score some goals. Ty O’Bey led the way with a hat trick (Dmitri Kuleshov assisting on all three O’Bey Goals) and 7 other players collecting points on the night. Congrats to Ty and Dmitri for being recognized as Honorable Mention Frontier Division Players of the Week. One other special note, our 8 games are done with Bozeman for the season with the combined score of those 8 games being 22 goals each – not one to say “I told you so”, but I told you us and Bozeman were very evenly matched back in early October!
Some of you may have heard we had a little issue with our team bus on Friday. Our bus driver extraordinaire, Rex Rigor, stopped by the
storage shed to pick up the bus before meeting the team at the Ice Plex only to find a significant cooling fluid leak and a bus that would not run. To the rescue, none other than our local hero and this week’s player profile Nathan Bring seen here identifying the hose with the significant slash causing the leak (after rolling around under the bus on the dusty and wet floor). Fairly safe to say that the severe temperature changes since the last bus trip, plus some overly tightened clamps, very well may have caused the problem. Full disclosure – I am not a car guy and lack any type of motor or engine knowledge, so I am amazed at those who have that ability to problem solve and fix the problem and Nathan with an assist from Assistant Coach Alex would have accomplished this if any of the four places they stopped at in Great Falls actually had a part that would get it done. They eventually found a part and did get it fixed on Monday. In the meantime, Coach Sears rallied the troops and with the help of Ryan and Krista Smith proving a trailer to haul the equipment, a rental van or two and the coaches vehicles, we were able to get the team to Bozeman in plenty of time for the game Friday.
Two games this weekend with a home and home with Helena – 7:00 PM puck drop both nights. We host Helena on Friday night with a special thanks going to Borries Italian Supper Club for serving as presenting sponsor. We encourage all our fans to attend our official watch party for Saturday’s game at the Stadium Sports Bar and Casino.
Helena week provides me with an opportunity to reinforce our objectives and goals and make sure we all keep things in proper perspective. I realize – and trust me in that no one is more competitive than myself and the people I have surrounded myself with on this team – that there always seems to be a stronger desire to win versus our neighbors to the south and that has proven to be difficult the past few seasons. I get it – we get it – but the reality is within the framework of our goals, objectives, and commitment to attack those challenges with integrity, it is not always about winning or losing. Our primary focus, regardless as to who we are playing, is to play the game the right way and provide these young men, who have entrusted us with their development, the necessary resources and opportunities to set themselves up for success in hockey and in life. Win, lose or draw, we have attempted to do that all season long and there is a lot to like about this team moving forward in the bigger picture than a few hockey games. Our focus has been to control those things that we can control, work hard and have fun – the rest will take care of itself. We can’t control how our opponent will play, how their fans will act or how they will treat others. All we can do is continue to take pride and have some dignity in our own actions and provided we do so with honor, effort, and integrity, we will be successful. I am proud of our entire Americans’ family and can’t wait to face the challenges ahead with our heads held high. “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose!”
Let’s give a warm welcome to our newest addition, forward Garren Narvaez, who comes to us from the SeaHawks Hockey Club in the Eastern Hockey League. Garren has played in Michigan and Arizona before heading out east and reached out to the Americans as the place he wanted to be. We are happy to have Garren onboard and look forward to getting him on the ice this weekend.
Finally, I promised a little more details on our newest fan activations. We are currently running Mystery Box #2 which will run through Sunday
evening. You have the option of buying one, three or eight Baldy pins (or even multiple sets if you would like) and each purchase will earn you the same number of entries (one, three or eight) into our next “Mystery Box” promotion. I can’t tell you everything that will be in this “Mystery Box”, but can say it will include a GFA portable blanket and a Great Falls Americans scarf with the total value equaling more than $150. The “Mystery Box” promotion will close on Sunday evening the 4th.
On the morning of Sunday the 4th we will open our very special Valentine’s Day Auction that will run through Monday evening the 12th. We have enlisted the support of our partners Life in Bloom Floral and Gift Boutique, She Bare Wax & Sugar Boutique and Central Avenue Meats to put together three amazing Valentine’s Day packages that we will auction off prior to our Valentine’s Day home game. Each package will have a specific theme and will include products from our partners, Americans’ merchandise and two VIP Tickets to the Valentine’s Night game versus Helena. All three packages will be surprised delivered to the winner’s special person by Baldy on Valentine’s Day! You can access both activations by scanning the QR code or on our team page on Dash at: https://fans.winwithdash.com/auctions/greatfallsamericans
Don’t miss out on your chance to win these special prizes and continue to support the Great Falls Americans! Look for additional special offers in the coming weeks as we make our playoff run!
Player Profile – #25 Nathan Bring (Great Falls, MT) 5’8” 185 lbs. FOR – Shoots Right
Favorite Team: Vegas Golden Knights Favorite Player: Connor McDavid
Favorite Movie: Cars Favorite Actor/Actress: Adam Sandler
Favorite Food: Ribeye with Baked Potato Favorite Pre-Game Meal: Eggs and Fruit
Musical Group You Won’t Miss in Concert: Volbeat
Song or Artist Guaranteed to get you hyped: Skillet
One Item you would bring with you to a deserted Island: Flint
Hobbies other than Hockey: Hunting and Fishing
Three People you would invite to Dinner: Dwyane Johnson, Adam Sandler, Mark Wahlberg
College/University of Choice: University of Montana Like Most About Great Falls: The People!
How would you define a successful season: Winning most games!
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