By Kevin Scott
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GREAT FALLS, Mont., November 26, 2022 — The #6 Great Falls Americans (9-12-0-0) were trying to overcome an 0-3 record against the #3 Sheridan (WY) Hawks (13-8-1-0) on Saturday in Great Falls.
In all three previous meetings, Great Falls scored no more than three goals against Sheridan.
November 11th (in Sheridan):3-2 LOSS (game story)
November 12th (in Sheridan): 4-2 LOSS (game story)
November 25th (in Great Falls): 5-3 LOSS (game story)
The Sheridan Hawks scored five goals using five different players as they downed the Great Falls Americans 5-2, on Saturday night at the Great Falls Ice Plex. Josh Humphreys, Tie Schumacher, Dalton Thomas, Parker Norling and McCaffery Billings all put the biscuit in the basket for the visitors. Tyer Sunagel and Russ Rasmussen added the scores for Great Falls in the third frame.
Spokane, Washington forward Josh Humphreys lit up the lamp for the tenth time this season with 7:34 remaining in the first period to give the Hawks the lead and only score before the second intermission. Ryan McKenna chipped in one of his four assists on the night and defenseman Joseph Epplin created his third assist. Great Falls could not find a way to score despite outshooting Sheridan, 22-17.
The Hawks continued to have a 1-0 advantage for the first 16 minutes of the middle period before they received a second goal by Tie Schumacher with helpers coming from Ryan McKenna and Blake Crawford. Crawford, playing his first season with Sheridan, made his first assist in a Hawks uniform. The Hawks attempted four more shots (21-17) than their Montana opponents.
In the third stanza, Great Falls scored twice but the Hawks scored three more goals before the fourth game between these two rivals concluded. Tyer Sunagel stopped Sheridan from getting a shutout as his sixth goal of the year came midway through the final period. Silas Hughes and Alex Leaf tallied the assists on the first successful power play score of the night. Sheridan would rebound quickly and score 21 seconds later to go back in front by two goals (3-1). Teejay Torgrimson and Parker Norling assisted on the Dalton Thomas’ fourth goal and quieted the Americans crowd. The Hawks would increase their lead to 5-1 with a pair of goals in an eight-minute span. Parker Norling and McCaffrey Billings accrued their fourth and seventh goals, respectively. Ryan McKenna earned two more assists and Josh Humphreys added one. The fifth and final goal for Wyoming came when the Americans added another offensive weapon and took out goaltender Ryan Stowe. Russ Rasmussen tacked on another goal for Great Falls 25 seconds after McCaffery Billings scored for Sheridan. Seth Theriault saw his name get in the score sheet with his first assist in a Great Falls uniform. Sam Duehlmeier also assisted on the final scoring for both teams.
Great Falls provided 40 of their 57 total shots-on-goal in the first and third period. The Hawks made 38 of their 50 before the second intermission.
Great Falls was whistled for four minor penalties after the first period. Sheridan committed five total penalties including a ten-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third. Sheridan had three power play chances go unanswered while Great Falls converted one of their four power plays.
The game-winning goaltender was Bo Buckley, who provided 55 saves for the Hawks. Ryan Stowe made his third appearance and now is 1-1-0-0 for Great Falls. The native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada ended the night with 45 saves while allowing four goals.
NOTES: With the #5 Yellowstone Quake’s 2-1 shootout victory at home against the #7 Badlands (SD) Sabres on Saturday, the Quake and #6 Americans swapped places in the NA3HL’s Frontier Division.
The Great Falls Americans photographer Dustin Bauer has put together a five-minute video about the 2022-23 Great Falls Americans filled with photos/video he has taken throughout this season. Click here (or play below) to view the video that includes music from Tom Petty, Ram Jam, and White Mamba. He also made one from the 2021-22 season against the Yellowstone Quake last season.
FRONTIER DIVISION UPDATE: For the second straight night, the top-ranked Gillette (WY) Wild (19-1-0-2) showed why they are on top in the NA3HL Frontier Division. After a 7-0 win inside the Bozeman Ice Dogs (6-15-0-1) home arena on Friday, they had another flawless game against the Ice Dogs in a 9-0 shellacking on Saturday. Isaac Young (3 goals, 2 assists), Jace Johnson (2 goals, 3 assists), and Wylee Gladen scored once and dished out four assists. Netminder Cole Wheaton won his seven games in eight stars for the Wild and stopped all 17 shots. His counterpart, Sean Smer (1-4-0-1) made 30 saves in his seventh game with Bozeman (box score).
The #2 Helena Bighorns (16-4-1-1) and the #4 Butte Cobras (10-10-1-1) both had Friday off, but they collided on the ice for a Saturday showdown in Butte, Montana. Helena scored once in each period to earn the 3-0 shutout over their rivals. Tyler Bloom, Cade Holland and Padraic Whited added to their scoring resumes with their 16th win of the season. Marek Andres is now 3-1-0-0 since joining the Bighorns squad on November 11th. He redirected all 21 shots (box score).
Another exciting game as the #5 Yellowstone (WY) Quake (8-11-2-1) challenged the #7 Badlands (SD) Sabres (5-13-2-2) in Wyoming’s Riley Arena. On Friday, the Quake’s Nick Cofer scored two goals including the game-winning tally in the final 33 seconds to edge the Sabres, 3-2. On Saturday, both teams met once again. Dawson Wirth scored once in the opening period for the Sabres and Derrand Wilcox tied it for the Quake in the second stanza. After neither team could produce a goal in the third period or overtime, a shootout was necessary. Each team went used three players to go one-on-one with their opposition and Yellowstone’s Teagan Scheurer and Brayson Bennett were successful for the winning side (2-1 win). Brady Ridnour made the lone goal for Badlands. Yellowstone’s Edvin Falkenstrom (5-7-0-1) played flawless after the first period and finished with 42 saves. Zach Broxterman (1-11-0-1) took the shootout loss but not before acquiring 51 saves (box score).
NEXT CONTEST: The Americans start December with a four-game road trip starting on December 2-3 in Rapid City, South Dakota when they visit the Roosevelt Park Ice Arena to face the Badlands (SD) Sabres with the games set to begin at 7:05PM (MST) followed by a trip on December 9-10 against tonight’s opponent, the Sheridan (WY) Hawks. Fans can watch at home or inside the Great Falls Buffalo Wild Wings location on HockeyTV.
Additional Media Coverage: November 26, 2022: MTN SPORTS (KRTV): Highlights: Great Falls Americans vs. Sheridan Hawks Watch Video (A Special Thanks to Dante Williams, MTN SPORTS (KRTV) for covering the game and sharing the highlights)