 |
BALDY’S PUCK DROP Weekly E-Newsletter (September – August) |
 |
Baldy’s Puck Drop” Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Volume 73: September 4, 2025
PDF Printable Download: Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Dear Great Falls Americans Enthusiast: Well, supporters and fans – the season is officially here, and the team is super excited to get into a real game after three very challenging weeks of practice. There is no better way to measure where we are at than versus the four- time defending division champs who have eliminated the Americans from the playoffs three of the last four seasons. We follow that up with another test versus a perennial playoff team that always competes hard. It should be a great weekend of hockey, and we hope you can all make it out to the rink and support the 2025-26 version of the Great Falls Americans Junior Hockey Club.
Saturday’s game brings our 3rd Annual Tailgate Party presented by Bish’s RV of Great Falls as the Band “After Five” takes
the stage at 5:00 PM and will play up until game time. Our Booster club will provide free food for all who attend and there will be beverages available for purchase. The weather forecast looks good, so planning on coming out early and sharing your pre- game prep in a fun atmosphere before the game.
For those who can’t make it to the Ice Plex, you can still check out the games live, or on demand, on NAHL TV. The league’s live stream service will broadcast all our games live this season and if you miss the live version, or want to relive the game,
you can always go back and watch the game on demand. A very special thank you, in advance, goes out to our live Stream production team Sky Motion Productions with Ryan Siders on the play-by-play call and JD Pearson manning the camera from the Northwestern Energy Broadcast Booth. For our away games, you can join other fans at our “Official Watch Party” at Buffalo Wild Wings and enjoy great food and beverage while taking in the game on multiple TV’s.
Now is the perfect time to secure your pucks to chuck for the season as you can reserve your pucks for each game
through DASH (QR Code to the right). On each game night, you can then simply stop at the chuck-a-puck table to pick up your bag of Montana Air National Guard chuck-a-pucks. Thank you to our prize partners from Play It Again Sports, Montana Rib & Chop House, Fire Pizza, Teriyaki Madness and the world- renowned Sip-N-Dip Lounge who have provided the targets and the prizes available for our fans to win at each home game.
The Americans are also welcoming our Life/Resource Coach, Shawn Hayes, who is joining the team this week and will be here for the weekend games. Shawn’s role is to support our players and families by being a problem-solving coach, listening ear and resource director. He’ll meet with each of the players to get to know them and open the lines of communication so they know they will always have someone they can talk to confidentially about almost anything. Mental health is an important part of these young men’s future and providing them with a resource to help manage life’s daily challenges will set them up for success on and off the ice. Shawn will also spend some time with our billet families and will do regular check-ins throughout the season to support the team. This type of resource is unique in Junior Hockey, and the Americans are proud to invest in our players futures.
Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom is our “Official Gathering Spot” after all home games this season. This activation is a great way for our fans to
mingle with our players after a successful home game and enjoy some great food and drink with other passionate fans. It is a chance for our players to refuel after the game and give our billet families a break from having to cook after a long game-day. Plan on joining us after all home games at Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom as all fans are welcome.
Stay tuned to our social media channels and we will be launching our newest player video profiles produced by Gentle Thug Visual Media. These short vignettes are a fun way to get to know the players a bit and I must say I am extremely proud of how they handled the challenge presented to them while having a little fun with it. Which leads us to our first Baldy’s Puck Drop player profile of the season.
Player Profile – #3 Logan Mese (Kenai, AK) 5’7” 145 lbs. FOR– Shoots Right DOB 08/03/2006
Favorite Team: Colorado Avalanche Favorite Player: Nathan McKinnon
Favorite Movie: Nacho Libre Actor/Actress: Kevin Hart
Favorite Food: PBJ Sandwich Favorite Pre-Game Meal: PBJ Sandwich
If you were an animal: A Wolverine – because they are small and fast!
Musical Group You Won’t Miss in Concert: Bayside
Music Guaranteed to get you hyped: Anything by Breaking Benjamin
Person stuck with on a deserted Island: Luke – Outdoor Boys
Hobbies other than Hockey: Golf, Disc Golf
Three People you would invite to Dinner: Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Michael Scott
College/University of Choice: University of Alaska Anchorage
Like Most About Great Falls: The Hockey Community.
How would you define a successful season: Win the Frontier Division!
Here are the upcoming dates to add to your calendar:
- September 5th – Home opener versus Helena for start of 2025-26 7:05 PM Puck Drop!
- September 6th – 3rd GFA Tailgate party presented by Bish’s RV of Great Falls prior to the game versus The Band “After Five” will be playing from 5:00-6:45 with plenty of food, drink and camaraderie. Puck drop is 7:05 PM.
- September 12th – Northwestern Energy Salute to Eagle Mount Therapeutic Recreation Sled Hockey during home game versus Badlands Sabres. 7:05 PM Puck Drop!
- September 13th – USA Hockey’s National “Try Hockey for Free” 9:15 AM at the Ice
- September 13th – Home game versus Badlands Sabres featuring “Point S Tire & Auto” Tricycle Race during 1st
- September 19th – First Away game at 7:05 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party location for all away games this season.
Thank you to our corporate partners for their continued support.
Eagle’s Nest Level
 |
 |
Diamond Level
 |
 |
 |
|
Platinum Level
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Tammy Quintrell-Stubbs |
Gold, Silver and Bronze Level Partners (* new this season)
| All-State Signs | Beacon Ice House | Eagle Mount Therapeutic Recreation* |
| Floors & More Abbey Carpets | Central Avenue Meats | Craftmaster Cabinets |
| Havre Youth Hockey | Central MT Lock & Safe | Century Gaming |
| Life in Bloom Floral @ Gift Boutique | Hotel Arvon/Celtic Cowboy | Stifel l Finnicum Financial Group |
| Coca-Cola* | Craftmaster Cabinets | Culligan Water |
| Comparion Insurance | Play It Again Sports | Open Door Wellness |
| Big Sky Laboratory | Cascade Electric | Hampton Inn & Suites |
| Ferrin’s Furniture | Great Falls Hospital | She Bare Wax & Sugar Boutique |
| Jersey Mike’s | Karma Coffee | Murphy Law |
| Scheels | Stockman Bank | Traynor Capital |
| Voices of Hope* | Johnson Distributing | Mountain Title Company |
| Fire Pizza* | Montana Rib & Chop House* | Visit Great Falls |
| Croxford Funeral Home and Crematory | Bish’s RV of Great Falls* | StaRadio |
| Benski Towing & Recovery | Westgate Repair, Inc. | Annie’s Taphouse |
| MNoel Photography | Sip-N-Dip Lounge* |
Thank you for being a part of our hockey family!
Matt Leaf
Great Falls Americans HC Inc
MattL.GFAmericans@gmail.com