NOTE: A Special Thanks to Michael Noel (above, https://mnoelphotography.smugmug.com) for providing the photo.
By Kevin Scott
| Box Score |
Score Sheet | League Scoreboard | Americans Team Statistics |
RAPID CITY, S.D.., February 21, 2025 — After the #1 Helena Bighorns (37-3-1-1) and the #5 Bozeman Ice Dogs (24-16-1-1) defeated the #3 Great Falls Americans (24-14-4-2) last weekend, Great Falls was looking to try to clinch or reach the postseason by taking on the #4 Badlands (SD) Sabres (23-14-4-3) in Rapid City, South Dakota for a pair of weekend contests.
Due to the NA3HL schedule, the Americans have only played the Sabres for two games on October 11-12 at the Great Falls Ice Plex. The home team allowed the visitors to score just one goal in each game as the Americans won 3-1 (October 11) and 4-1 (October 12) during their October matchup. Easton Kennedy, Blake Komrofske, and Blayne Jusczak all scored and starting netminder Kaden Rhyder gathered 27 saves (game story). In the 4-1 win the following night, Komrofske, Aiden Kennedy, Ty O’Bey and John Lang made the scoring drives for the Montana NA3HL squad while Rhyder took another win in the net by stopping 24 of the 25 shots sent his way (game story).
Ty O’Bey (28 goals, 62 points) and Garren Narvaez (35 assists) lead head coach Greg Sears’ Americans squad while Zack Vockler (32 goals, 58 points) and Ryan Jordan (42 assists) lead the Sabres under the direction of head coach Brooks Mitzel.
Could Great Falls get back to their winning ways with a road win in South Dakota?
Aiden Kennedy scored two goals before the second intermission to lift the #3 Great Falls Americans to a 4-0 road victory over the # 4 Badlands Sabres during Friday’s NA3HL junior hockey action at the Roosvelt Park Ice Arena in Rapid City, South Dakota. Kaden Rhyder stopped all 31 shots for this fourth shutout victory of the season.
With the win over the Sabres, the Americans (at least temporarily) have moved up to the third spot from fourth while Badlands moved from second to fourth as the Sheridan Hawks defeated the Yellowstone (WY) Quake tonight to move up to the second seed.
Great Falls opened the contest by taking 14 shots and scoring one goal for the 1-0 lead after the first period. The visiting team needed 30 seconds for their first and only score of the period by Aiden Kennedy with Garren Narvaez, the team assist leader (35 assists) and Zac Orwig setting up the goal. Badlands took eleven shots against Americans starting netminder Kaden Rhyder but failed to put the puck in the net.
After the first intermission, the Americans scored their second goal 85 seconds into the middle stanza when Chase Hapka netted his 18th goal of the year with Gavin Denis and Ty O’Bey getting credit for the assists on the power play tally. Seven minutes later, Aiden Kennedy delivered his second score and 23rd overall with helpers from Cal Laggis and Zac Orwig to give the Americans a three-goal lead.
The Americans added one more goal in the third period by Jurzy Allard to complete the shutout. John Lang assisted for the 25th time and Ty O’Bey picked up his 34th assist this season
Great Falls and Badlands combined for 62 shots-on-goal.
The Americans committed two minor penalties in the first period while the host team was whistled for one minor infraction in each period.
Kaden Rhyder (20-10-2-0) earned his fourth shutout of the season by redirecting all 31 shots for this 20th win. He is now 3-0-0-0 against the Sabres this season. Riley Swanson (27 saves) is now 5-5-0-1 including 3-4-0-1 record while he was a member of the Rochester Grizzlies.
FRONTIER DIVISION UPDATE: Ty Schell scored twice while teammates Trey Pareja, Kelton Chadwick, Chase Berg, Caden Fenstein and Maddux Hale each added one goal as the #1 Helena Bighorns (37-3-1-1) easily defeated the #5 Bozeman Ice Dogs (24-16-1-1) on the road in Bozeman, Montana on Friday, 7-1. Bozeman’s Andrew Kaunas stopped the shutout in the third period with a goal coming with 8:15 remaining. Helena outshot Bozeman, 57-22. Branson Appelman started the game, but Tyler Miller picked up the win (12-2-1-0) by stopping 21 shots for Helena. Brett DeVincent (15-9-0-0) played for 51 minutes and racked up 45 saves in the loss. Isaac Weatherford played for the remaining eight minutes and prevented five of six shots from getting into the net (Box Score).
The #6 Butte Irish (18-22-1-3) scored all four of their goals before the third period and edged the #7 Gillette (WY) Wild (18-25-1-0), 4-3 in Gillette, Wyoming on Friday evening. Bobby Anselmo of Butte scored two goals in the middle period to lead the scoring for the Irish. Dantae Hunziker scored in the first and third periods for the Wild. Both teams combined for 18 penalties that resulted in 112 minutes in the sin bin. Mathieu Chernauckas (2-0-0-0), who played three games this season with the Binghamton Buzz and won one game, got his second overall win in his first start with the Irish by gathering 30 saves. Meanwhile, Austin Trieber (5-9-0-0) made 22 saves in 40 minutes before backup Wylen Cambensy came in relief (Box Score).
The #2 Sheridan (WY) Hawks (26-13-2-1) offense lit up the lamp four times in the first and second periods to take a commanding 8-1 lead before the third period. They erupted for seven more goals in the final period for the 15-2 victory over the #8 Yellowstone (WY) Quake (1-40-1-0) in Cody, Wyoming on Friday. The Hawks had two players receive hat tricks (three goals), Deagan Watson and Vincent Leaf. Kiefer Dunham and Zach Longnecker each put the puck in the net twice for Sheridan. The Hawks took advantage of the power play and scored three goals while the Quake were in the penalty box. The Hawks attempted 86 shots while allowing the Quake to take 19. Sam Goulden and Cassius Hook scored their goals after the first period for Yellowstone. Francesco Sciabbarrasi (2-0-0-0) has now played three games for Sheridan and made 17 saves in the net to help his team to victory. Tucker Bayly fell to 0-3-0-0. Bayly was busy in the net swatting away 71 shots for the Quake (Box Score).
NOTES: Goaltender Kaden Rhyder and forward Ty O’Bey were selected earlier this month to represent the Great Falls Americans at the NA3HL’s annual Top Prospects Tournament with other selected players from the Frontier Division on Team Blue that took place on Monday and Tuesday (February 17-18) at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. Ty O’Bey played but did not accumulate any goals or assists in either game. Kaden Rhyder saw action in both games as Team Blue went 1-1 with Monday’s 10-3 setback to Team Yellow where he played 29 minutes and stopped 15 of 20 shots. During Tuesday’s finale against Team White, he made nine saves and allowed one goal in a 7-4 Team Blue victory.
The Americans have been working with the Eagle Mount Therapeutic Recreation Center athletes on sled hockey throughout this season and they will be back on the ice with them for the next several weeks.
Read about all the Americans hockey action in print through the Great Falls Gazette, a newspaper that is published on Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday each week with game recaps written by Kevin Scott, the Great Falls Americans Public Relations/Media Coordinator. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
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, Zac Orwig, Cal Laggis and Blayne Jusczak. Click here to learn more about Blayne Jusczak 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.
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 finish out their two-game road trip against the Badlands (SD) Sabres on Saturday, February 22 with the puck dropping on their fourth and final meeting of the season live at 7:05PM (MST) on NAHLTV, the NA3HL’s official streaming service.
The Americans have a BYE week next week (February 28 – March 1) before they finish out the regular season with a home-and-away series with the Butte Irish on March 7-8.
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.