When the Great Falls Americans (5-6-0-1) and the Badlands (SD) Sabres (5-4-1-1) met during the second weekend of the 2025-26 NA3HL season last month in Great Falls, each team recorded a win at the Great Falls Ice Plex.
Wyatt Pink and Patrick Gosselin made successful scoring drives in the 2-0 blanking over the Americans on September 12th. Jackson Roethler made 37 saves while Kaden Rhyder (26 saves) made his season debut with the home team in the loss. The Americans offense played better in their second meeting on September 13th and needed a shootout to pick up their first victory. The 4-3 win was highlighted with scoring drives from EJ Sanchez and Tallon Caron in the first period and a game tying score by Cooper Clouse in the third that sent it to overtime (where neither squad lit up the lamp), but Jase Troyer converted his goal over Badlands netminder Gavin Peery in the one-on-one shootout for the win.
Badlands currently sits in fourth place in the NA3HL Frontier Division standings and has won two of their seven contests since their weekend series against Great Falls. Great Falls is one spot below the Sabres in the current NA3HL standings and is 4-3-0-1 since the second weekend of competition.
Ethan Miller, playing in his first game with the Americans, scored three goals and made two assists, and Cooper Clouse scored twice and dished out two assists to lead the Great Falls Americans to a convincing 6-2 win over the Badlands Sabres during Friday’s junior hockey game inside the Roosevelt Park Ice Arena in Rapid City, South Dakota. Goaltender Cole Murphy finished with 30 saves for Great Falls.
Cooper Clouse and Tallon Caron provided the visiting Montana team a 2-0 advantage with their goals coming during the first ten minutes of the first period. Clouse’s score occurred during the first 25 seconds of the game, while Caron tacked on another goal with 9:35 left before the first intermission. Ethan Miller, Gavin Denis, Jaxen Savage, and Bryce Webb each earned assists for the visiting team. The Sabres cut the lead in half when Logan Salo and Sawyer Vann found Everett Horrocks open for the lamplighter with four minutes remaining. Both NA3HL opponents combined for 27 shots.
After the first intermission, Americans forward Cooper Clouse scored his second goal of the night. Gordon Jennings picked up his third assist of the season, while Ethan Miller added his second assist. Dayton Niedert put the puck between the pipes for the Sabres. Newcomer Ethan Miller recorded his first score set up by Gordon Jannings and Bryce Webb as Great Falls maintained a two-goal advantage (4-2) prior to the second intermission. The penalty-free stanza saw each squad attempt 12 shots-on-goal.
Americans forward Ethan Miller, who made his debut tonight with Great Falls after seeing time last season with the NA3HL’s Binghamton (NY) Buzz, scored not one but two third period goals for Great Falls during a span of nine minutes. Gavin Denis and Cooper Clouse both added assists on Miller’s tallies.
In addition to Ethan Miller’s three goals (two assists) and Cooper Clouse’s two goals (two assists), Gavin Denis earned three assists while Gordon Jennings, Bryce Webb, and Cooper Clouse each tallied two assists. Everett Horrocks and Dayton Niedert scored in the first and second periods, respectively, for the Sabres.
The Americans outshot the Sabres, 39-32, with 28 shots coming prior to the third period.
Cole Murphy has been the winning goaltender for the Americans in their five victories. The Minnesota native is now 5-2-0-0 and prevented 30 of 32 shots from getting by him. Parker Kelly (1-1-0-0), who was credited with the win in Badlands’ 4-0 win over the Gillette Wild on September 20th, fell in his second outing. He accumulated 33 saves in the loss.
By Kevin Scott: October 17, 2025 – Rapid City, SD
