NOTE: A Special Thanks to Michael Noel (https://mnoelphotography.smugmug.com) for providing the photos.
By Kevin Scott
| Box Score |
Score Sheet | League Scoreboard | Americans Team Statistics |
GREAT FALLS, Mont., October 19, 2024 — The month of October has treated the #2 Great Falls Americans (9-4-0-0) quite well in the NA3HL Frontier Division standings. The Americans have won four of their five opportunities heading into Saturday’s second game of their weekend series with the #8 Yellowstone Quake (0-14-0-0).
The Americans split their weekend series (Oct. 3-4) in Sheridan, Wyoming against the Hawks and then won both contests at the Great Falls Ice Plex against the Badlands (SD) Sabres (Oct. 10-11). Great Falls earned a convincing 12-0 victory over the Quake on Friday, headlined by Blake Komrofske and Garren Narvaez each scoring two lamplighters. Kaden Rhyder played the first twenty minutes and earned his eighth win in eleven contests for the host squad (game story).
Great Falls was confident that they could go 7-1 at the Great Falls Ice Plex this weekend with another win over Yellowstone on Saturday. Would they be able to pick up their ninth win?
The second-ranked Great Falls Americans, winners of seven of their eight home games, extended their win streak to three games with a weekend sweep against the #8 Yellowstone (WY) Quake during Saturday’s matinee at the Great Falls Ice Plex. Zac Orwig scored three goals and teammates Easton and Aiden Kennedy combined for four goals as the Americans cruised to an 11-1 win.
Great Falls led 2-0 after the first period as Zac Orwig got the scoring started eight minutes into the contest off a pass from teammate Matt Beazley. Aiden Kennedy, on an unassisted play, went behind the net and around Yellowstone netminder Matthew Neeser for the second tally with 6:48 on the clock. Yellowstone’s offense got just three shots off while Great Falls racked up thirty.
Ty O’Bey collected his tenth goal five minutes into the second period. Garren Narvaez and Aiden Kennedy set up the power play score for the 3-0 advantage. The Americans quickly tossed in another goal 54 seconds after O’Bey’s score. Blayne Jusczak took advantage of the Quake’s penalty by getting the puck in the net for his fourth overall score of the season. John Lang and Fisher Hannesson assisted on the Americans fourth score. Before the period expired, Easton Kennedy’s slapshot sailed by the Yellowstone goaltender for Kennedy’s eighth goal. Zac Orwig and Garren Narvaez earned the assists. Easton Kennedy put the biscuit in the basket again to give the home team a six-goal lead two minutes later with helpers coming from Zac Orwig and Keegan Hanson. Yellowstone connected for their first scoring drive when former Great Falls American Macen Heisler put the puck between the pipes. The unassisted tally came with under three minutes remaining.
Great Falls scored five consecutive goals in the final period. Zac Orwig scored two more (goals) for a hat trick. Aiden Kennedy answered with his second goal of the game and John Lang and Gavin Denis each provided one goal. Garren Narvaez and Easton Kennedy added two more assists in the final twenty minutes. Ty O’Bey, Aiden Kennedy, Zac Orwig, Blake Komrofske, and Masen Kerr picked up one assist apiece in the third period.
Zac Orwig scored a hat trick (three goals) and handed out three assists to lead the Americans to their third straight victory. Aiden and Easton Kennedy scored two goals and dished out two assists while Garren Narvaez created four helpers.
Macen Heisler prevented the shutout for Yellowstone with his single goal in the second period.
Great Falls contributed 32 of their 62 shots-on-goal after the first period. The visiting team from Wyoming took 19 shots.
Both teams combined for nine power play chances. The Americans scored on three of their four opportunities. The Quake’s five power play opportunities were unsuccessful.
Patrick Forsythe, who made his first appearance in the net for the home team, is now 1-0-0-0 on the season as he stopped 18 shots while allowing one goal. Matthew Neeser continues to find a way to get his first victory for the Quake (0-8-0-0). The Wisconsin goaltender swatted away 51 shots sent his way by the Americans offense.
FRONTIER DIVISION UPDATE: The top-ranked Helena Bighorns (12-1-0-0) escaped with a 6-5 win over the #6 Badlands (SD) Sabres (4-6-1-1) as Caden Fenstein provided the game-winning goal with 25 seconds left in regulation to keep the Bighorns win streak alive. Maddux Hale led the way for Helena by scoring two goals and dishing out an assist. Despite the setback, Zach Vockler scored three of the five goals for the Sabres. Tyler Miller, a native of Bismarck, North Dakota, is now 4-1-0-0 on the season by recording 33 saves. Badlands utilized two goaltenders with starter Hunter Oger making seven saves in nine minutes, but Jackson Roethler replaced him and finished with 31 saves for his second loss of the season (Box Score).
Chase Hapka scored early in the first period as the #5 Gillette (WY) Wild (5-6-1-0) led 1-0 after two periods of play but the #4 Bozeman Ice Dogs (7-3-0-1) stormed back in the third frame with three straight goals to earn the come-from-behind, 3-1 victory to earn the weekend split over their Wyoming rivals on Saturday night in Bozeman, Montana. Andrew Kaunas, Reid Wilkinson, and Dan Upton tallied the goals for the Ice Dogs. Bozeman’s Brett DeVincent had 23 saves, and he was credited with his fourth win (4-1-0-0). Austin Trieber (0-1-0-0) played in his first game for the Wild but came up on the short end but not before securing 29 saves (Box Score).
The #3 Sheridan (WY) Hawks (8-4-2-0) raced out to a 6-2 advantage over the #7 Butte Irish (5-6-0-0) before the second intermission and went on to defeat their Montana rivals, 7-4. Josh Serino scored two goals and goaltender TJ Wonnacott (4-0-2-0) redirected 44 shots for Sheridan. Andrew Browe scored one goal each in the first and third stanzas to lead Butte. Tim Nanson (4-3-0-0) played all sixty minutes for the Irish and ended the game with 31 saves (Box Score).
NOTES: The Great Falls Americans Booster Club is raffling off “RTIC’ Coolers with three different prizes.
FIRST PRIZE: 52 Quart Ultra-Light Wheeled Cooler with freezable divider, 30 can soft pack cooler, large ultra tough tote, (4) 30 oz. tumblers, and Meat Package from Central Avenue Meats.
SECOND PRIZE: 32 Quart Ultra-Light Wheeled Cooler with freezable divider, 20 can soft pack cooler, small ultra tough tote, (2) 30 oz. tumblers, and Meat Package from Central Avenue Meats.
THIRD PRIZE: 22 Quart Ultra-Light Wheeled Cooler, 12 can soft pack cooler, small ultra tough tote, (2) 30 oz. tumblers, and 10 lbs. of burger from Central Avenue Meats.
The drawing will be held at the October 25th home game against the Butte Irish and you don’t have to be present to win. All proceeds go to the Great Falls Americans hockey team.
Contact Adam Stanczak for tickets at 406-564-6771.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Friday, October 25th: “Think Pink for the Girls” Breast Cancer Awareness Night: The Americans will be wearing special edition pink jerseys and a special figure skating exhibition by the Great Falls Figure Skating Club during the first intermission. Life in Bloom Floral and Gift Boutique and She Bare Wax and Sugar will be raffling off gift baskets with several raffle items. The Great Falls Ice Plex ice will be painted pink. The special edition jerseys (signed by the player) will then be auctioned off with all proceeds going to “Think Pink For the Girls.” The auction will start during the morning of the October 25th and run through Sunday evening, November 3rd. Be sure to register with DASH (QR Code) and be ready to place your bid on your favorite player’s pink jersey for a great cause.
The Americans will donate $1 for everyone in attendance that night (matched by City Chevrolet) and will also offer a special signed and framed 8”x10” team photo in the Pink Jerseys for sale. A very special thanks goes out to Benefis Health-Sletten Cancer Institute for making this all possible as our partner who has made this event possible. Let’s pack the Ice Plex for “Pink” Night!
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: Great Falls will have a home and away series to finish out the month of October starting Friday, October 25th when they host the Butte Irish at 7:05PM (MST) live from the Great Falls Ice Plex. The Butte Community Ice Center will be the venue for Saturday’s contest (October 26th) between the Americans and the Irish. The puck is set to drop at 7:30PM (MST). Both games can be streamed online at NAHLTV. This will be the first meeting between these two Montana rivals this season.
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.