Photo: Courtesy of Tom Wylie, MTN Sports (KRTV)
By Tom Wylie, MTN Sports (KRTV)
GREAT FALLS, Mont., Sept. 13, 2016 — The puck drops on the 2016-17 junior hockey season on Friday night when your reigning NA3HL Frontier division champion Great Falls Americans host the Glacier Nationals at the upgraded Ice Plex.
Jeff Heimel enters his fifth year as head coach and has seen his team improve each year — from a team that only managed one win in 2011 to an NA3HL National Silver Cup semi-finalist a year ago.
This year’s team sees nine returners from last year’s squad that fell to the Metro Lions 5-4 in the Final Four of the national tournament Chicago. And they have a very clear goal entering the season.
“I think everyone here wants to win nationals this year,” said third-year forward Brendan Jester. “That’s the only goal. It’s not just about winning the division anymore.”
Heimel says he’ll lean on his veteran players to bring along the new faces on the roster.
“We have enough guys back that were right there and it was such a great experience,” Heimel said. “So close just not quite there. So yeah, we have a goal of getting back and finishing the job.”
Friday’s contest begins at 7:30 p.m.
Story Courtesy: MTN Sports (KRTV): MontanaSports.com (September 13, 2016)