By Kevin Scott
BILLINGS, Mont., November 14, 2014 — The Great Falls Americans (14-1) were out for revenge against the Billings Bulls (10-6-1) on Friday night. The club from Billings is the only team in the NA3HL’s Frontier Division so far this season to defeat Great Falls.
It was exactly one week ago when the Bulls handed the Americans a 1-0 loss in Great Falls with the lone goal coming with less than a minute to play in regulation.
The first-place Americans were triumphant in their road victory over the second place Bulls, winning 3-0 on Friday night in the Magic City. Great Falls improved to a 14-1 overall record including 6-0 on the road.
The Americans scored once in each of the periods and prevented the home team from finding the back of the net. Erik Gatson and Michael Kliment took advantage of a power play opportunity and found an open Lucas Lomax midway through the first period for the first score. Both teams combined for 17 shots on goal.
Hunter Garris, a defender from Anchorage, Alaska, secured his seventh goal of the season seven minutes into the middle period for coach Jeff Heimel’s squad. Zack Mese and Dylan Garton each tallied an assist on Great Falls’ second points of the night. The Americans took four more shots on goal than the Bulls did (19-15) before the second intermission.
Great Falls’ Adam Apangalook got the puck between the pipes for the empty net score with less than a minute remaining in the last period. Robert Kalata chipped in his tenth assist while Apangalook received his second goal of the season. The visiting club made the Bulls goaltender Cole Semchak work by taking 26 shots.
Both goalies (Great Falls’ Evan Hauser and Billings’ Cole Semchak) each finished with 23 saves in the battle of the top two teams in the Frontier Division of the NA3HL. Hauser never allowed the puck to get by him during the contest while Semchak allowed two of the three goals. The Americans converted one of their four power play chances on Lucas Lomax’s first period score.
The game saw 13 total penalties with 34 minutes of penalty time.
NEXT CONTEST: The Great Falls Americans will host the Bozeman Ice Dogs on Saturday, November 15th. It will be Calumet Montana Refinery Night at the Ice Plex with the game set to begin at 7:30PM.
| Period 1 | Period 2 | Period 3 | Final | |
| Great Falls | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Billings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First Period – 1, Great Falls, Lucas Lomax (power play) (Erik Gatson, Michael Kliment), 9:49.
Second Period – 2, Great Falls, Hunter Garris (Zack Mese, Dylan Garton), 12:55.
Third Period – 3, Great Falls, Adam Apangalook (empty net) (Robert Kalata), 19:22.
Shots on Goal – Great Falls 26, Billings 23.
Power-play Opportunities – Great Falls 1-for-4, Billings 0-for-4.
Attendance – 280
Box Score: Great Falls @ Billings
Additional Media Coverage: November 15, 2014: Great Falls Tribune: Americans shut out Billings Bulls