By Tribune Sports Staff
March 15, 2017
GILLETTE, Wyo. – Superstar forward Tanner Congdon scored a hat trick, and the Great Falls Americans earned a 6-2 victory over the Gillette Wild as the Frontier Division semifinals kicked off here Wednesday night.
“He’s a veteran, a leader and a captain and a guy that has been in a wide variety of playoff situations,” Great Falls head coach Jeff Heimel said. “I expected nothing less.”
Great Falls, the two-time defending Frontier Conference champions, improved to 39-4-2-3 on the season.
Congdon, the team leader in points during the regular-season, found the back of the net just seven minutes in, then followed nine minutes later to put the Americans up 2-0 after the first period.
The first goal, No. 42 on the year for the standout, was assisted by Payton McSharry and Brendan Jester, while the second one was credited as an unassisted tally.
Jester had three assists on the night.
Congdon’s third goal of the night, with 15:30 left in the third, came off a feed from Jester.
Congdon, who also added two assists, has now accounted for 44 goals on the season.
McSharry tallied two goals, and Michael Fary added the other for Great Falls. Net minder Nick Nast redirected 24 of 26 shots for the win in net. The Wild goaltenders faced the same amount.
Great Falls and Gillette are set to meet in Game 2 of their best-of-three Frontier Division semifinal series Friday night at the Great Falls IcePlex. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30.
Story Courtesy: Great Falls Tribune: Congdon scores hat trick as Great Falls defeats Gillette (March 15, 2017)