NOTE: A Special Thanks to Michael Noel (above, https://mnoelphotography.smugmug.com) for providing the photos.
By Kevin Scott
PHOTO GALLERY COMING SOON!!
Members of the Great Falls Americans and their mascot, Baldy pose for a photo with Benefis Sletten Cancer Institute employees for “Think Pink for the Girl’s” Breast Cancer Awareness weekend. (Photo Courtesy of GF Americans Facebook)
GREAT FALLS, Mont., October 24, 2026 — The Great Falls Americans (7-5-0-1) bounced back from Friday’s home loss to the Gillette (WY) Wild (3-10-0-0) as they defeated their Wyoming rivals, 8-5 on Saturday night in Great Falls thanks to a solid effort on the offensive end.Keifer Lundmark and EJ Sanchez led the home team in scoring with two goals each.
Great Falls fell to Gillette, 5-2 on Friday evening.
This weekend, the Americans partnered with the Benefis Sletten Cancer Institute in Great Falls for their annual “Think Pink for the Girl’s” weekend to support Breast Cancer Awareness. All fans were encouraged to dress in pink and the Great Falls Americans players wore pink jerseys.
Gillette and Great Falls each scored two goals apiece as the first period concluded. Maguire Dewees put the Wild on the scoreboard first when his slapshot went by starting goaltender Kaleb Wood seven minutes into the stanza off a pass from Dylan Crossley. The Americans scored the next two goals during a four-minute scoring span as Jordan Antar and Keifer Lundmark each putting the biscuit in the basket. Austin Gibson and Xander Troyer assited on Antar’s score midway through the period while Lundmark’s score went unassisted. The Wild evened up the game at 2-2 with 1:16 remaining on a score by Dylan Crossley. Maguire Dewees and Beau Delich tacked on the assists.
The host team gained the lead back (momentarily) when Cooper Palazzolo and Jase Troyer assisted on Keifer Lundmark’s second goal of the game with 12:21 left in the middle stanza. Magurie Dewees created his second goal of the game off the stick of Beau Delich with the Americans down a man (penalty) less than two minutes after the Americans scored. Before the second intermission, Paxon Sacre gave the Americans a 4-3 lead with Jarrett Parker and Wilson Giles providing the helpers. The Americans took 18 shots in the first two periods while Gillette was held to 16.
The Americans outscored the Wild, 4-2 in the final period. EJ Sanchez and Gordon Jennings got the scoring going within the first four minutes. Sanchez scored his first goal (unassisted) with 16:59 left on the clock followed by a quick goal (29 seconds later) as Gordon Jennings buried the puck in the net with assistance from Xander and Jase Troyer. Great Falls continued to lead 6-3 until Gillette’s Brady McGinn stopped the drought for the visiting team with his second goal of the esason off a pass from Cody Lang. Xander Troyer and EJ Sanchez scored back-to-back goals for coach Greg Sears’ squad to finish out the scoring for the Montana team. Jordan Antar, Parker Jusczak, Colton Bacon and Wyatt Rust provided the assists. Gillette added one more score when Thomas McDonald added a lamplighter from the stick of Cody Lang.
The Americans offense accumulated 57 shots with 36 coming before the third frame. The Wild created 10 shots in the first and third frames to end the weekend in Great Falls with 26.
One of Gillette’s goals came via a power play (1-for-4) in second period. Great Falls was not able to score during their three opportunities while the Wild was in the penalty box.
Four Great Falls Americans led the charge in their seven win in 13 games. EJ Sanchez and Keifer Lundmark each scored twice while Xander Troyer and Jordan Antar combinded for two goals and three assists. Gillette’s Maguire Dewees had two scoring drives.
Kaleb Wood, a native of Utah, picked up his first victory in the net for Great Falls. He made 21 saves as he is now 1-1-0-0 on the season. Andrew Knox and Cade Nelson saw time in the goal for the Wild. Knox is now 2-1-0-0 against Great Falls and 3-7-0-0 overall. He stopped 17 of 21 shots in 17 minutes of action while Nelson allowed four scores and made 32 saves in 42 minutes.
NEXT CONTEST: The Americans will make their first trip to Wyoming this season for a pair of games beginning on Friday, October 30th when they head to Cody, Wyoming to face the Yellowstone Quake, who they defeated (3-0) back on September 11th in Great Falls. Great Falls will then travel to Sheridan, WY for a contest against the Sheridan Hawks on Saturday, October 31st. They are 0-1 against Sheridan with their 3-2 loss on September 19th. Both road games will be live on NATV starting at 7:30PM (MST) each night.
The Americans will return to the Great Falls Ice Plex for a November 6th showdown against the Helena Bighorns.
For complete schedules/results, promotions, team stats, rosters and much more information, please go to our official website: www.greatfallsamericans.com