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BALDY’S PUCK DROP Weekly E-Newsletter (September – August) |
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Baldy’s Puck Drop” Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Volume 93: January 29, 2026
PDF Printable Download: Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Dear Great Falls Americans Enthusiast: It seems strange to say coming off the recent holiday break, but the Americans are headed into a much-needed break this weekend. The January stretch of games has always seemed to be the “dog days” of the season and has been a struggle – even though the Americans did go 5-3 during this stretch this season. Battling the flu bug, mostly colder weather and the perception that there is no end in sight provides a mental challenge that is difficult to overcome. Getting a few days off after practice Thursday – for many players it is a chance to get away – provides an opportunity to regroup both physically and mentally for the final ten games of the regular season and playoffs. For those 2005 birth year players, the realization that their competitive Junior Hockey careers are nearing the end provides some bittersweet motivation to leave it all on the ice and in the ideal world, the younger players want to win for their age-out teammates.
The squad is coming off a split weekend where they had a less than expected effort while finishing the December 6th Bozeman game with the 2-1 loss. They never really got things going in the 8:30 that remained in the game. They followed that up with a gritty – but not exactly pretty – effort in a 3-2 win over Butte on Saturday night. On the positive side, Cooper Clouse’s scoring streak is intact at 26 games and counting. The result for the standings is the two losses to Badlands and then the completion loss to Bozeman placed the Americans in 3rd place and a few points behind both Sheridan and Helena. We’re pretty much going to have to run the table the final ten games to have a chance to secure the coveted home ice for the first round of the playoffs. Can we do it – for sure as we have the team to be able to get on a roll – we did it earlier this season. However, we are going to need all hands-on deck and rowing the boat in the exact same direction, so coming back from the break ready to go to work will be critical.
The Great Falls Americans are delighted to be part of the community and support initiatives that contribute to our culture and well-being. During the 1st intermission Saturday, I was able to welcome Tammy Comer from “Think Pink For the Girls” to center ice to present a check for $1824 as a donation to the local Breast Cancer Support Group as a result of our “Think Pink” Breast Cancer Awareness weekend back in October. Including the raffle baskets, Jersey Auction and Booster Club 50:50 donations, the Americans will have raised just under $3000 this year for a 3-year total of over $10,000 for this worthy cause. Thank you, Tammy, for allowing the Americans to be a part of “Think Pink for the Girls” and for all you do to the breast cancer impacted families!
The Americans are very proud to announce that defenseman Fisher Hannesson (left) and forward Cooper
Clouse (right) have been selected to represent the Americans at the 2026 NA3HL Top Prospects tournament at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan on February 16th and 17th. Fisher and Cooper are both from Fargo, North Dakota and are serving as captains during their 2nd season with the Americans. The Top Prospects event is a chance to showcase the top 2005 and 2006 birth year players in front of college scouts from all levels. They will be playing on team White with other players from the Frontier Division and will play two games over the course of the two-day event. We’ll provide more information but for now we want to offer our sincere congratulations for the recognition that was well-earned.
Monday’s practice this past week was the start of the GFA Hockey League. For the remaining Mondays of the season, the players have been divided into four teams and will play a regular league schedule of 10-minute mini-games played 3 vs 3. Standings are kept, along with scoring records and a champion will be declared at the end of the season. And, yes, there may be some exchange of cash involved for the winners.
Next up for the Americans is a Friday night, February 6th, game in Bozeman where you can catch all the action at our official watch party at
Buffalo Wild Wings. Saturday sees the Americans host Butte in Havre. This is the second year we have partnered with Havre Youth Hockey to host a game at the Havre Ice Dome as it is a great way to promote the game and Junior Hockey in the community. Northwestern Energy has jumped on as our presenting partner and our players look forward to seeing our friends in Havre and putting on a good show. We’ll have more info for our game in Havre, the February 6th trade deadline, some exciting Valentine’s weekend fan activations and I’ll touch on the Olympic Games a bit, as well. In the meantime, enjoy the weekend off.
Player Profile – #18 Jase Troyer Asst. Captain (Great Falls, MT) 5’9” 145 lbs. DEF/FOR – Shoots Right DOB 08/02/2006
Favorite Team: Colorado Avalanche 
Favorite Player: Gabe Landeskog
Favorite Movie: Super Bad
Favorite Actor/Actress: Chuck Norris
Favorite Food: Spaghetti
Favorite Pre-Game Meal: Chicken and Sweet Potatoes
If you were animal: Tiger — So no one will mess with me.
Musical Group You Won’t Miss in Concert: Beach Boys
Pre-Game Hype Music: Rock
One Person to be stuck with on a deserted island: Keegan Hanson
Hobbies other than Hockey: Fishing, Hunting, Golf
Three People you would invite to Dinner: Paul Bissonette, Bo Nix, John Daly
College/University of Choice: Montana State University
Like Most About Great Falls: It is a great central location!
How would you define a successful season: Winning the Frontier Division!
Here are the upcoming dates to add to your calendar:
- January 30th-31st – The Americans have a weekend off – enjoy the Montana
- February 6th – Away game at Bozeman. 7:30 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party.
- February 7th – Home game versus Butte at the Havre Ice Dome presented by Northwestern Energy. 7:05 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party for those who don’t make the trip to Havre.
- February 13th – Home games versus Gillette. 7:05 PM Puck drop with special performance by Great Falls Figure Skating Club and Valentine’s Weekend activations.
- February 14th – Home game versus Badlands. 7:05 PM Puck drop with Valentine’s Weekend activations.
- February 20th – Away game at Helena. 7:05 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party.
- February 21st – Away game at Bozeman. 7:30 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party.
- February 28th – Home game versus Gillette. Special 7:35 PM Puck Drop and featuring the Point S Tire & Auto Tricycle races.
- March 1st – Home game versus GIllette. Special 1:05 PM Puck Drop and “Skate with the Americans” after the game!
- March 7th – Away game at Butte. 7:30 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party.
- March 8th – Home game versus Butte. 7:05 PM puck Drop. Toyota Fan and Billet Appreciation Night!
Thank you to our corporate partners for their continued support.
Eagle’s Nest Level
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Diamond Level
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Platinum Level
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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 | MNoel Photography |
| 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 |
| Sip-N-Dip Lounge* | Special Olympics of Montana* | TDS Fiber |
| Hoglund’s Work and Western Wear |
Thank you for being a part of our hockey family!
Matt Leaf
Great Falls Americans HC Inc
MattL.GFAmericans@gmail.com