By Kevin Scott
GREAT FALLS, Mont., April 18, 202 — The Great Falls Americans of the North American 3 Hockey League’s (NA3HL) are pleased to announce that defenseman Sam Duehlmeier has decided to stay in Montana and continue his education and play hockey collegiately at a ACHA Division I school for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
Duehlmeier, a native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, will join the University of Providence Argos men’s hockey team starting in fall of 2024. The University of Providence (UP) is a Liberal Arts and Science school located in Great Falls, Montana’s third most populous city. The Catholic school offers eleven undergraduate degrees and three graduate majors and competes at the NAIA level for most of their sports programs.
The varsity team is a Division II member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and is guided by Christian Vivian. The Argos compete in the Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League (MWCHL) comprising of schools in Montana, Idaho, and Utah. The Argos finished with an 18-8-0-0 record. They won two of their three contests at the MWCHL Conference Tournament and won both games they played at the West Regionals that took place in Logan, Utah. They appeared in the 2024 ACHA Division II National Tournament in Missouri.
Sam played in 110 regular season and two playoff games as a member of the Great Falls Americans in three seasons. The Canadian defenseman scored four goals and dished out 19 assists since the 2021-22 season. He helped lead the Americans to twelve wins at the Great Falls Ice Plex and an overall record of 22-24-0-2 during his final season at the junior hockey level this past season. Great Falls fell in two games to the Helena Bighorns, the eventual 2024 NA3HL Fraser Cup National Champions, in the NA3HL Frontier Division Semi-Finals.
Duehlmeier received a Frontier Division Honorable Mention Star of the Week for the week ending October 22, 2023. He scored two goals to help lead the Great Falls Americans to a 5-3 road victory over the Butte Irish on October 20, 2023.
“We are really excited Sammy gets to stay in Great Falls and play college hockey for Providence,” said Great Falls Americans Head Coach and General Manager, Greg Sears. “Sam is a great kid and has a bright future! He has come a long way as a person and a hockey player during his time with us.
Click here to view Sam Duehlmeier’s statistics for the 2021-24 seasons.
Click here for a full listing of the NA3HL college commitments.