The month of February has treated the Great Falls Ameicans (26-13-1-1) to lots of success! Great Falls has wins over the Bozeman Ice Dogs, Butte Irish, and the Gillette (WY) Wild prior to tonight’s game. The combined three games to begin February has produced 25 goals scored while allowing just two through that span. The Americans have earned a pair of 11-0 shutout victories against Butte and Gillette within the past week.
Great Falls’ opponent on Saturday was the Badlands (SD) Sabres (20-16-3-2), based out of Rapid City, South Dakota. In their five meetings this season, the Sabres have made it difficult on the Americans on the scoreboard. Great Falls is 2-3-0-0 when facing the South Dakota NA3HL squad.
Saturday’s game was the final head-to-head meeting of the season between these two foes unless they meet in the NA3HL Playoffs in a few weeks.
In order to pick up a weekend sweep after Friday’s 11-0 win over the Gillette Wild, Great Falls would have to stop the likes of Dayton Niedert, Rhylan Olson, and Maddox Harn. Niedert, an Iowa native, leads the team with 28 goals, while Olson and Harn have combined for 47 assists for head coach Brooks Mitzel’s team.
Cooper Clouse (56 assists) and Ethan Miller (32 goals) are the standouts on the ice for the Americans.
After Saturday’s showdown, Great Falls’ Cooper Clouse and Fisher Hannesson, along with Badland players, Dayton Niedert and Gaven Marx, will all be playing for Team White at the 2026 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament (TPT) on Monday (Feb. 16) and Tuesday (Feb. 17) in Plymouth, Michigan. The TPT is an “all-star” like tournament where the players showcase their skills in front of many scouts from the NCAA, and junior scouts are in attendance to watch the top prospects in one location.
Great Falls was looking for their fifth consecutive victory on Saturday evening in front of their home fans. Would their winning streak continue?
Aiden Mulharen scored the go-ahead goal and Ethan Miller put in the empty net score at the end of regulation to lift the Great Falls Americans past the Badlands (SD) Sabres, 3-1 at the Great Falls Ice Plex on Saturday evening. The win ensured Great Falls would clinch a spot in the upcoming Frontier Division playoffs in the middle of March after the #5 Bozeman Ice Dogs fell 6-3 to the top-ranked Sheridan (WY) Hawks in Bozeman, Montana.
Both teams combined for 13 shots-on-goal but no points after the first twenty minutes.
During the middle frame, Great Falls and Badlands each buried the puck in the net once. Matthew Cordis lit up the lamp as the Sabres took the early lead. Patrick Gosselin and Rylan Salo set up the Sabres first scoring drive five minutes after the first intermission. Cooper Clouse kept his scoring streak alive with an assist on a goal by Fisher Hannesson. AJ Prioli got credit for the secondary assist on the game-tying score (1-1) with 6:41 left on the clock. Clouse, who scored his 55th assist on the first goal for the Americans, has either scored and/or earned an assist in his 30th straight game. Both teams skated away the rest of the period. Badlands took twice as many shots (19-9) in the second stanza.
Great Falls’ Aidan Mulharen broke the tie within the first five minutes of the third period. Jase Troyer and Kiefer Lundmark each assisted on the play that gave the home team their first lead of the contest (2-1). The home team came up with many defensive stops in the final minutes. Ethan Miller ensured the victory by scoring on an empty net as time expired. Cooper Clouse and AJ Prioli tacked on their second assists of the game.
Despite scoring one goal, the Sabres attempted a dozen more shots (34-22) than the Americans. Great Falls was held to 17 shots after the first period.
Five minor penalties dotted the stat sheet in the final regular season clash between Badlands and Great Falls. Three power play chances went unanswered, accounting for ten minutes spent off the ice.
Three different players each put the biscuit in the basket for the winning team. Fisher Hannesson, Aidan Mulharen, and Ethan Miller were responsible for the tallies. Cooper Clouse and AJ Prioli accrued two assists apiece. Matthew Cordis prevented the shutout with his ninth goal of the season, coming in the middle stanza for the visiting South Dakota team.
Kaden Rhyder was spectacular in the net as he allowed just one second period goal by Badlands. He registered 33 saves in 60 minutes as he moved his record to 15-5-0-1 and received his first victory over the Sabres this season. Jackson Roethler (21 saves) was denied his tenth victory by allowing one goal in the second and third periods, respectively. Roethler, one of six players from Canada on the Sabres roster, fell to 9-9-2-1, including one loss to Great Falls in three meetings.
