The time has come for the #3 Great Falls Americans (28-15-4-2) to pick up a victory or else call it a season.
Playoff hockey has arrived in Great Falls as Game Two of the 2025 NA3HL Frontier Division Semi-Finals came to the Great Falls Ice Plex on Friday evening. Great Falls needed a win to keep their (post) season alive as they hosted the #2 Sheridan (WY) Hawks (29-16-3-1).
During the opening game on Thursday (March 13th) of the Frontier Division Semi-Finals played inside Sheridan’s Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, both teams spent the first twenty minutes scoreless. Sheridan’s offense scored the first two goals in the second period as Hawks forward Josh Serino lit up the lamp twice and Zach Longnecker collected assists on both scoring drives. Sheridan added two more goals by Anthony Lauderville and Kiefer Dunham in the final period for the 4-0 shutout victory over Great Falls. Both teams combined for just six infractions. Sheridan outshot the Americans, 46-41. John Simon was unstoppable in the net for the Hawks as he swatted away all 40 shots attempted by visiting Montana squad. Kaden Rhyder of the Americans contributed 42 saves in the Game 1 loss.
In the other Frontier Division Semi-Final, the #1 Helena Bighorns played against the #4 Badlands (SD) Sabres with Game 1 on Wednesday night (March 12) in Rapid City, South Dakota. Helena had the top overall record in the division all season long and are the current NA3HL National Champions but the Sabres came ready to play in front of their home fans at Roosevelt Park Ice Arena where they edged the Bighorns, 5-4 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Badlands and Helena each scored once in the first stanza, but the host team outscored the visitors, 3-2 in the second period. Both Frontier teams scored once in the third period. Badlands standout Ryan Jordan led the way with two goals. Jeffrey Hershberger, Caden Fenstein, Finn Theriault and Austin Uecker accounted for the four goals for Helena. Jackson Roethler (Badlands), who is now 7-5-1-0 including the first playoff contest, played all sixty minutes finishing with 42 saves for the Sabres Tyler Miller (14-3-1-0) took the rare loss by swatting away 26 shots in his first appearance against Badlands this season.
The top two finishers in each of the five NA3HL divisions (East, West, Frontier, South and Central) meet in the 2025 NA3HL Divisional Playoffs will meet next week for the Frontier Divisional Finals (March 20-23) for a best-of-three series.
The winning team in each of the divisions plus one wild card team will be invited to play at the 2025 NA3HL Fraser Cup (National) Championships slated to start on March 26-30, 2025, in St Peters, Missouri at the St. Peters Rec Plex. The national tournament features each team playing two (round robin) games followed by a semifinal round (two games) and the national championship game.
The #3 Great Falls Americans avoided elimination in their second game of their best-of-three series against the #2 Sheridan (WY) Hawks on Friday in Great Falls by downing the Wyoming NA3HL franchise, 4-2 to even the series and kept their season alive.
The Americans scored the opening goal four minutes into the contest when Zac Orwig and Garren Narvaez each received an assist on the score by Sebe Perez. Aiden Kennedy gave the home team a 2-0 lead with Aiden Kennedy’s first scoring drive of the playoffs. Cooper Clouse and Matt Beazley set up the second scoring drive of the contest. The Americans offense amassed 21 shots while allowing Sheridan to take 11.
Sheridan’s offense evened up the score with a pair of goals by Kiefer Dunham and Vlad Zubriichuk after the first intermission. Zach Longnecker assisted on Dunham’s score with 15:17 remaining and Kiefer Dunham added a helper to Zubriichuk’s scoring drive three minutes later. Sheridan took twice as many shots (18-9) as Great Falls did during the penalty-free period.
Great Falls broke the tie seven minutes into the third frame as Aiden Kennedy got the puck past Sheridan netminder TJ Wonnacott for the 3-2 advantage. Jurzy Allard and Cooper Clouse registered the assists. The Americans produced their fourth goal 43 seconds after Kennedy’s lamplighter. Gavin Denis, with assistance from Cooper Clouse and Ty O’Bey, added to the Americans lead while Sheridan was in the sin bin. The Hawks and the Americans played the final twelve minutes without putting the biscuit in the basket.
Despite scoring two second period goals, the visiting Hawks outshot the Americans, 45-39.
Both squads each committed five minor penalties resulting in ten minutes spent off the ice. Both playoff teams each had three power play opportunities, but Great Falls’ Gavin Denis was the only player that scored on one of those chances in the third period.
Kaden Rhyder made 43 saves while allowing two second period goals on Friday after struggling in Thursday’s road loss to Sheridan.
TJ Wonnacott played in his first playoff game with the Hawks this season. He accumulated 35 saves in the net for Sheridan.
FRONTIER DIVISION UPDATE: The #1 Helena Bighorns evened up their series with the Badlands Sabres on Friday night in Helena after suffering a 5-4 setback in Rapid City, South Dakota on Wednesday night in a rare setback for the defending NA3HL National Champions. Austin Uecker, Austin Tyler, Finn Theriault, Clint Isakson, and Trey Pareja each lit up the lamp once for the Bighorns before the third period. Badlands standout Rylan Olson stopped the shutout four minutes into the third period when he put the puck between the pipes. Helena netminder Branson Appelman was flawless during the first and second periods, allowing one goal in third period to finish with 20 saves in his first postseason appearance. Riley Swanson and Jackson Roethler combined for 39 saves for Badlands.
