NOTE: A Special Thanks to Michael Noel (above, https://mnoelphotography.smugmug.com) for providing the photos.
By Kevin Scott
GREAT FALLS, Mont., September 12, 2026 — The Great Falls Americans let a 2-1 lead slip away in the third period against the Gillette (WY) Wild and after a scoreless overtime, the Wild managed to win the shootout to pull out a 3-2 victory during Saturday’s NA3HL showdown at the Great Falls Ice Plex.
Despite a total of 25 shots-on-goal being taken, neither squad was able to find the back of the net during the first period.
Great Falls tailied their first goal two minutes into the middle stanza when Jarrett Parker and Keifer Lundmark assisted on the tally by Paxon Sacre. Parker and Sacre are both from Iowa and playing in their first season with the Americans. The lead lasted until the final 4:54 of the period when Gillette’s Jacen Rustand evened the score with an unassisted goal near the net. Before the period concluded, Great Falls’ Jarrett Parker skated the length of the arena and answered with his first scoring drive with his new team while his team was on the power play. Austin Gibson registered his second assist after getting his first during Friday’s 3-0 win over Yellowstone. The home team took a 2-1 advantage into the locker room for the second intermission after outshooting the Wild, 17-12.
The Wild took seven minutes off the clock in the third frame to put in the equalizer. Dylan Herold took advantage of the Americans turnover and got the puck by Americans netminder, JD Stephens with helpers from Dylan Crossley and Donovan Balek. Both teams skated the rest of the way without scoring to set up a five-minute extra period.
Both clubs were denied any scoring opportunities during the the five-minute overtime.
A shootout was needed to declare a winning team and the Gillette Wild won the shootout with goals scored by Jay Reese and Donovan Balek. Jase Troyer and Austin Gibson were unsuccessful for Great Falls.
Great Falls led Gillette in the shots-on-goal category as they led throughout the three regulation periods and overtime to finish with 59. Gillette attempted 16 of their 42 in the third period.
Each team committed just two minor penalties with Great Falls going 1-for-2 on the power play thanks to Jarrett Parker’s goal near the end of the second stanza. The Wild could not convert on both of their power play chances.
Andrew Knox (1-1-0-0) made 57 saves in 65 minutes of action to get his first victory of the season for the Wild. JD Stephens was denied his second win in as many starts for the Americans. The first-year goalie from Aurora, Colorado allowed a goal in the second and third periods to end his first weekend as a member of the Americans with 40 saves in 65 minutes.
NEXT CONTEST: Great Falls continues their four straight home games to begin the 2026-27 season with a matchup against the Butte Irish on Friday, September 18th and a date with the Sheridan (WY) Hawks on Saturday, September 19th. The puck drops for both NA3HL contests at 7:05PM (MST) from the Great Falls Ice Plex. Ryan Siders, the Americans Play-By-Play Announcer, will have the call for both games on the NA3HL’s official streaming service, NATV.
For complete schedules/results, promotions, team stats, rosters and much more information, please go to our official website: www.greatfallsamericans.com