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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 96: February 19, 2026
PDF Printable Download: Weekly E-Newsletter with Matt Leaf
Dear Great Falls Americans Enthusiast: Another successful weekend for the Americans is in the books, both on and off the ice. The Americans provided an unwelcome “Friday the 13th “ for the Gillette Wild with their second straight 11-0 win. AJ Prioli led the way with a hat trick plus two assists while 14 different players recorded points with Tallon Caron throwing in two goals and two assists and Gavin Denis adding two goals. Kaden Rhyder recorded the shutout and currently stands 2nd in the entire NA3HL with a .946 save percentage. It was good to get back into a playoff type atmosphere Saturday as the Americans held off the feisty Badlands Sabres 3-1. Goals were scored by Fisher Hannesson, Aiden Mulheran (game winner) and Ethan Miller adding the empty net goal as time expired. For those of you on the Cooper watch – he has extended his scoring streak to 30 games with two more assists on Saturday night. With Saturday night’s win, the Americans officially clinched a playoff spot and will be battling for seeding over the final three weeks of the regular season.
A special thanks goes out to Central Avenue Meats for their donation supporting a very successful Valentine’s Meat Raffle with a little over 300 entries. Our winner is Jason Bosse, a farmer from Cogswell, North Dakota who purchased his ticket through Fisher Hannesson. I would also like to thank She Bare Wax & Sugar Boutique for donating a very nice basket of wines, skin care products and a gift certificate that made for a very nice Valentine’s Day gift to a lucky program winner.
Cooper Clouse and Fisher Hannesson represented the Americans very well at the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament. In Monday’s Team White 6-5 win, Coop and Fish assisted on the game-winner with 16 seconds left in the game while Fish also had an assist on an earlier goal. Tuesday’s 3-2 win saw Coop net the game winning goal in the 3rd period. They returned home on Wednesday and will get right back into the grind with Thursday’s practice as we head into an intense weekend of games.
We head to Helena on Friday night for our final regular season tilt with the Bighorns in what is likely to be a first-round playoff match-up.
Right now, Helena holds the edge for home ice advantage. But two wins this weekend opens a bunch of possibilities and a legitimate chance to sneak into 2nd place. More importantly, the Americans look to play well and stay healthy heading into the playoffs. The season series is tight with Helena recording three wins (one in a shootout) and the Americans with two wins (one in OT), so we are two evenly matched teams that have played some very competitive games. On Saturday, the Americans head back to Bozeman where the IceDogs are battling for their playoff lives in a must win game for them. You can watch both games with other passionate fans and with some great food and drink at our Official Watch Party at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Community service was the theme on Monday as the Americans donated as couple hours of their time to pick up trash along the river downtown.
Finally, $10 DASH Day is set for Tuesday, February 24th. The Americans will have several items up for purchase that will all be $10 on DASH and
there will be items available through DASH at greatly discointed prices from throughout the country. If you haven’t done so already, scan the QR code to get activated with DASH and participate in this amazing sports product activation.
Player Profile – #4 Brennan Pierce (Goffstown, NH) 6’0” 205 lbs. DEF – Shoots Right DOB 06/07/2005
Favorite Team: Colorado Avalanche 
Favorite Player: Cale Makar
Favorite Movie: Miracle
Favorite Actor/Actress: Leonardo DiCaprio
Favorite Food: Grilled Chicken
Favorite Pre-Game Meal: Chicken and Pasta
If you were animal: Dog — they have the easiest life.
Musical Group You Won’t Miss in Concert: Eric Church
Pre-Game Hype Music: Mix of everything.
One Person to be stuck with on a deserted island:
Hobbies other than Hockey: Golf
Three People you would invite to Dinner: Ethan Miller, AJ Prioli, Wyatt Rust
College/University of Choice: University of North Dakota
Like Most About Great Falls: The weather.
How would you define a successful season: Win the Frontier Division!
Here are the upcoming dates to add to your calendar:
- February 20th – Away game at 7:05 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party.
- February 21st – Away game at 7:30 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party.
- February 24th – $10 DASH Day!
- February 28th – Home game versus Special 7:35 PM Puck Drop and featuring the Point S Tire & Auto Tricycle races.
- March 1st – Home game versus Special 1:05 PM Puck Drop and “Skate with the Americans” after the game! Big Brother/Big Sister of Central Montana
- March 6th – Away game at 7:30 PM Puck drop and join our fans at Buffalo Wild Wings for our official Watch Party.
- March 7th – Home game versus 7:05 PM puck Drop. Toyota Fan and Billet Appreciation Night!
- March 11th-15th – First round Dates, times, locations TBD.
- March 18th-22nd – Frontier Division Dates, times, locations TBD.
- March 25th -30th – Fraser Cup Finals in Louis, MO.
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 | High Plains Wealth Management |
Thank you for being a part of our hockey family!
Matt Leaf
Great Falls Americans HC Inc
MattL.GFAmericans@gmail.com