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BALDY’S PUCK DROP Weekly E-Newsletter (September – March) |
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Baldy’s Puck Drop” Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Volume 12: November 23, 2023
PDF Printable Download: Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Dear Great Falls Americans Enthusiast:
I have to start by wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving Holiday and hope that everyone has anopportunity to enjoy a special day with family and our closest friends. Our team will practice in the morning and then be sent on their way to watch some football (yes- practice will be a little earlier than normal so coach does not miss any of his beloved Packers’ game) and have Thanksgiving Dinner with their respective Billet families and teammates. I know one of the things that I (and pretty sure I can speak on behalf of our players and staff) am so thankful for is our Great Falls Americans family that
includes our players, staff and the most the important contributors in allowing us to create a safe and welcoming culture for our young men – the billet families who host the players in their homes and are our biggest fans. You will learn more about them as the season progresses and certainly a ton about them as we approach billet appreciation night at the end of the season. We will wrap up the day with a team get together at the Beacon IceHouse where dessert will be served and our families will get a chance to relax. It is always an exciting time as many of the players families are in town this weekend, as well.
A quick wrap on a very successful start to our home stand with two workmanlike wins over Sheridan. Congratulations to Ty O’Bey who received Frontier Division Player of the Week for the NA3HL for the 2nd time this season as he produced 2 goals and 4 assists over the weekend and leads the team with 28 points in 19 games. Dmitri Kuleshov (our player profile this week) received Honorable Mention Player of the Week honors to his linemate leading the way with 4 goals on Friday night and is 2nd in team points with 23 points in 17 games. We also celebrated Captain Aaron Leaf’s 100th game with the Americans and welcomed two new players (#7 Zach Orwig and #9 Sebe Perez) that were acquired via trade and had immediate impacts with their play this past weekend. Both Sebe and Zach are experienced 04’ birth year players that will be participating in their respective 100th Junior games this coming weekend.
A busy weekend is ahead of us with three home games against Butte and Bozeman. We host Butte at 7:00 PM both Friday and Saturday nights. They are immediately below us in the standings, so it is an important two games to establish our position and separate ourselves from them. Comparion Insurance is our presenting sponsor for Friday night (you can learn about them in our sponsor spotlight) while the Historic Arvon Hotel and Celtic Cowboy return as presenting sponsors on Saturday night. Thank you to both partners for their continued support of the Americans and for those looking for an amazing brunch this weekend – the Celtic Cowboy is the place to be.
Sunday is a very special day for me as we celebrate Girls/Women in Hockey. We hope to be able to recognize as many of the local girls’ players that are available during our first intermission on Sunday and we are hosting a Wine, Women and Hockey Seminar from 4:00-5:30 PM prior to our 6:00 PM puck drop versus Bozeman. Girls and Women of all ages and experience levels are welcome to attend this event as we have some amazing panelists lined up to share their stories and answer questions. Panelists include Kendall Hanley (a 2022 Gold Medal Olympic Official and current Manager of Officiating for the NAHL), Heather Mannix (USA Hockey’s Manager of Education and Player Development), Jenna Janshen (a Miles City, MT native who worked her way up as an official at the National and International Stages) and the all-female officiating crew that is assigned to Sunday’s game, including 2023 Women’s World Championship Linesperson and former Tier I Girls Player Erika Greenen. The Women’s Game has always been important to me during my time at USA Hockey as I was actively involved with working with female officials from all over the world and attended three Olympic Games and several other IIHF events as a female officiating instructor/coach. Those who are interested in attending can email me at: MattL.GFAmericans@gmail.com.
Two other items of note for this weekend. For all three games, we will be collecting non-perishable items for the Great Falls Community Food Bank. Any fan who brings a non-perishable item to drop into the barrel will receive a $2 discount on their ticket for that game. We would certainly hope that those with season tickets and/or advanced tickets would also participate by bringing a donation for this worthy cause.
The Booster Club is selling a Great Falls “Bests” raffle tickets that includes hotel stays, gift cards to various restaurants, booze baskets and other Great Falls area experiences estimated value of $650. Tickets are $10 and the winner will be drawn during the 2nd intermission of Sunday’s game. Be sure to pick up your raffle ticket from any Booster Club member or find Adam in the beer garden area during intermission of each game this weekend.
For those who followed the team last season, we are very excited to welcome back a familiar face in #23 Noah Osiowy for this weekend’s games. Noah is pictured with Phill Harrell and the Matt and Jamie Stevens family (billet family last season) and is another amazing story to share that our die hard fans are familiar with. Noah has continued to be on our protected player list, has been welcomed to come skate at anytime and this weekend will be his debut for the 2023-24 season. Finally, one other GFA family note is we would like to wish local practice players Owen Kronk and Carson Sears the best of success as they travel to Littleton, Colorado to play with the Montana Selects 16U team in one of the largest Tier II tournaments in the country. Good luck Owen and Carson and we have no doubt you will represent the Americans well.
Player Profile – Captain #27 Dmitri Kuleshov (Sydney, Australia) 5’10” 177 lbs. Forward – Shoots Right
Favorite Team: Pittsburgh Penguins Favorite Player: Pavel Datsyuk
Favorite Movie: Fight Club Favorite Actor/Actress: Margot Robbie
Favorite Food: Pasta Favorite Pre-Game Meal: Pasta
Musical Group You Won’t Miss in Concert: Cold Play
Song or Artist Guaranteed to get you hyped: Eminem
One Item you would bring with you to a deserted Island: Knife
Hobbies other than Hockey: Hanging out with the team
Three People you would invite to Dinner: Will Smith, Snoop Dogg, Theo Von
College/University of Choice: TBD Like Most About Great Falls: The culture created around the team.
How would you define a successful season: Leaving GFA better than when I arrived!
Also, thank you to all our existing Eagle’s Nest, Diamond and Platinum Level partners for their continued support.
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Time to spotlight one of our partners. In 2022, Comparion Insurance Agency was created to transition former Liberty Mutual exclusive agents to an agency that delivers a unique value proposition to carriers with over 2,000 agents in approximately 180 cities in 44 states. We offer customers 50+ insurance companies with product breadth including car, home, life, pet, renters, umbrella, jewelry and much more. We use our scale to deliver a first-rate customer experience through consultative insurance experts located in your community.
Local Agents Todd Neighbor and Janet Duffy are located on the 1700 block of 2nd Ave N and have latched on to the Great Falls Americans as an organization they want to support and partner with. Look for them at the game this Friday night with brand new Americans Home and Away Jerseys as they will have a table set up with fun prizes to give away and provide additional information to our great fans.
The Comparion Insurance leadership team has over 200 years of cumulative insurance experience. At Comparion, we have a philosophy of staying close to our customers and agents, so sales leadership is located throughout the country in our larger storefronts. Comparion is owned and backed by Liberty Mutual Group, a Fortune 100 company, founded in 1912.
Thank you for being a part of our family and we look forward to seeing you at the rink. Matt Leaf
Great Falls Americans HC Inc