By Kevin Scott
GREAT FALLS, Mont., July 18, 2017 — The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) recently announced the league schedule for the upcoming 2017-18 hockey season including 22 home dates for the Great Falls Americans Junior A squad at the Great Falls Ice Plex.
The Americans, who begin their seventh season of junior hockey and their fourth season of competition in the Frontier Division of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) open their hockey season on at home when they challenge the Bozeman Ice Dogs on Saturday, September 16th. On September 22-23, Great Falls plays host to the Helena Bighorns for a pair of games before they make their first road trip of the season when they face the Gillette Wild in Wyoming on September 29-30. All 22 home contests begin at 7:30PM and can be seen on the league’s webcast subscription service, HockeyTV.
The NA3HL Frontier Division this season consists of three other Montana teams including the Bozeman Ice Dogs, Helena Bighorns, and Missoula Jr. Bruins along with two teams from Wyoming (Gillette Wild and the Yellowstone Quake).
The NA3HL will be conducting two prestigious tournaments starting with the NA3HL Showcase in December (17-19) and the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament on February 27th and 28th. The top four teams in the middle of March will face off in the Divisional Semi-Finals with the winners advancing to the Finals to determine who will advance to the national tournament. The NA3HL Silver Cup Championship Tournament at the end of March (27th through the 31st) will crown a national champion.
The Showcase tournament will feature each of the 47 NA3HL clubs playing against teams from the other divisions. Coaches and scouts from the NCAA and the ACHA will attend this tournament in Blaine, Minnesota.
The second major event is the Top Prospects Tournament that will be conducted once again at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. The event features the best talented players battling against each other in an ‘all-star’ setting.
The Silver Cup Championship Tournament holds a five-day tournament (March 27-31) to crown a league playoff champion.
The 2017-18 Americans season schedule is below.
| Day/Date | Game | Time | Location |
| Sat. Sept. 16 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Sept. 22 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Sept. 23 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Sept. 29 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Sat. Sept. 30 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Fri. Oct. 6 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Oct. 7 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Oct. 13 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Sat. Oct. 14 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Fri. Oct. 20 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Oct. 21 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Oct. 27 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Oct. 28 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 3 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 4 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 10 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Sat. Nov. 11 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 17 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Sat. Nov. 18 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 24 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 25 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Dec. 1 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Sat. Dec. 2 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Fri. Dec. 8 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Sun. Dec. 17 | NA3HL Showcase | Schwan Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| @ Mid Cities Jr. Stars (TX) | 2:45PM (MST) | ||
| Mon. Dec. 18 | NA3HL Showcase | Schwan Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| vs. La Crosse Freeze (WI) | 2:30PM (MST) |
| Tues. Dec. 19 | NA3HL Showcase | Schwan Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| @ Oswego Stampede (NY) | 8:30AM (MST) | ||
| Sat. Dec. 30 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Jan. 5 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Jan. 6 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Jan. 12 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Jan 19 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Sat. Jan. 20 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Fri. Jan. 26 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Jan. 27 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Feb. 2 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Sat. Feb. 3 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Fri. Feb. 9 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Sat. Feb. 10 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Feb. 16 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Feb. 17 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Fri. Feb. 23 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Feb. 24 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Tues. Feb. 27 | NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament | USA Hockey Arena, Plymouth, MI | |
| Orange (East/Midwest) vs. Green (Northeast/South) | 7:00AM (MST) | Orange Roster l Green Roster | |
| Selects White vs. Blue (Central/Coastal) | 8:15AM (MST) | Selects White Roster l Blue Roster | |
| Selects Red vs. Grey (Frontier/West) | 9:00AM (MST) | Selects Red Roster l Grey Roster | |
| Selects White vs. Orange (East/Midwest) | 2:30PM (MST) | Selects White Roster l Orange Roster | |
| Grey (Frontier/West) vs. Green (Northeast/South) | 4:30PM (MST) | Grey Roster l Green Roster | |
| Selects Red vs. Blue (Central/Coastal) | 6:30PM (MST) | Selects Red Roster l Blue Roster | |
| Wed. Feb. 28 | NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament | USA Hockey Arena, Plymouth, MI | |
| Selects White vs. Grey (Frontier/West) | 6:00AM (MST) | Selects White Roster l Grey Roster | |
| Selects Red vs. Green (Northeast/South) | 8:00AM (MST) | Selects Red Roster l Green Roster | |
| Orange (East/Midwest) vs. Blue (Central/Coastal) | 10:00AM (MST) | Orange Roster l Blue Roster | |
| Fri. Mar. 2 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Sat. Mar. 3 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Fri. Mar. 9 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Mar. 10 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| End of Regular Season | |||
Click here to view the entire 2017-18 team-by-team schedule and league schedule press release.
Story Courtesy: North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL): NA3HL release 2017-18 regular season schedule (July 18. 2017)