On Sunday, March 8th, the 2025-26 North American 3 Hockey League regular season concludes for all 38 NA3HL clubs spread across six divisions (Central, East, West, Frontier, South, and Southeast).
After each team played 47 games, the top four squads in each division qualified for the postseason. Playoff hockey is in full swing with the 2026 NA3HL Division Semi-Finals, with the semifinal round (March 11-15) this week, with the two winning teams from each division meeting in the Division Finals on March 18-22.
The six division winners (all series are a best-of-three format) will be invited to participate at the 2026 NA3HL Fraser Cup (National) Championships starting on March 25-29, 2026, 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 top-ranked Sheridan (WY) Hawks (36-10-2-1, 73 pts.) face the #4 Badlands (SD) Sabres (23-21-3-2, 51 pts. ) in one semifinal while the #2 Helena Bighorns (34-13-1-0, 69 pts.) meet the #3 Great Falls Americans (31-14-2-1, 65 pts.) in the other semifinal. The two best-of-three winning teams move on to tangle on the ice against each other in the Frontier Division Finals.
The #1 Sheridan (WY) Hawks traveled to Rapid City, South Dakota, on Wednesday, March 11, for Game 1 of the Frontier Division Semifinals against the Badlands Sabres. After a scoreless opening period, Sheridan trailed 2-1 heading into the final period. Badlands standout Dylan Niedert scored both goals, and Elijah Farris scored once for the Hawks. Sheridan held the home team scoreless in the final twenty minutes while adding two goals to overcome the one-goal deficit, thanks to scoring drives by Deagan Watson and Jeff Slivon to help the top team in the Frontier Division take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series. TJ Wonnacott (14-5-1-1) stopped 22 shots after giving up two goals and notched the win for the visiting team. Meanwhile, Jackson Roethler (10-12-2-1) made 30 saves in the setback.
The Hawks closed out the series with the Sabres on Friday night at Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center in Sheridan, Wyoming, in Game 2, but Badlands did not make it easy on the top seed from the Frontier Division. Oliver Giles and Dayton Niedert each scored in the first and second periods, respectively, for the Sabres, and Max Krueger added a second-period goal as the visiting South Dakota NA3HL franchise led 2-1 after two periods of action. After Gaven Marx stretched the lead to 3-1 with eleven minutes remaining in regulation, the home team utilized their home crowd as Jeff Slivon and Deagan Watson each scored before the final buzzer and sent Game 2 into an extra period. Max Krueger, who scored with six seconds to go in the second period, made the right play at the right time and buried the puck in the net for the (4-3) series-clinching win in OT for the Hawks and sent Badlands home for the season. TJ Wonnacott improved his record to 2-0 in the playoffs and 15-5-1-1 overall by gathering 26 saves in the win and guarantees at least two more games for Sheridan as they advance to the Frontier Division Finals to face either the Great Falls Americans or the Helena Bighorns. Jackson Roether finished the season with the Sabres, winning ten games (10-12-2-1) and having 34 saves in the season finale.
The Americans were ready to play on Friday in Helena, Montana, against the Bighorns. Great Falls won two out of their six meetings (2-3-0-1) when facing their Montana rivals this season. Great Falls won 18 games at the Great Falls Ice Plex and picked up their 30th win in the season finale against the Butte Irish on March 7th.
Ethan Miller has come up big throughout the season for Great Falls, and Friday night was no different. Miller scored the game-tying goal in the third period, and Colton Bacon provided the game-winning tally with 11:58 to play in regulation to help the Great Falls Americans escape with a 5-4 victory on the road against the Helena Bighorns on Friday evening for Game 1 of the Fraser Cup Playoffs: Frontier Division Semi-Finals at Steed Arena in Helena, Montana.
AJ Prioli took advantage of the Bighorns’ penalty and scored five minutes into the opening period to give the visitors the early lead. Ethan Miller and Tallon Caron set up the first scoring drive for either team. The Americans would add another score before the first intermission when Tallon Caron earned his second assist of the night, and Kiefer Lundmark provided his first assist on Reid Lezubski’s goal with three minutes to go for the 2-0 lead over their in-state rivals. The Bighorns would not be shut out as Cal Kellenberg cut the deficit (2-1) with 37 seconds remaining, with Blake Chapman and Braden Davis earning the assists on Helena’s first lamplighter of the contest.
Helena’s offense got going after the first period when they scored three of the game’s four second-period goals. Maddux Hale evened the score during the first six minutes of action, with Austin Uecker and Cameron Kimmerly adding the helpers. Less than three minutes later, the Bighorns grabbed a 3-2 hold on the Americans with a goal by Lincoln Kearney. Caden Feinstein and Jeffery Hershberger offered the assistance to Kearney. Helena’s lead lasted five minutes before Gavin Denis put in the equalizer with the Bighorns in the sin bin. Gordon Jennings and Keegan Hanson accrued their first assists of the playoffs. The host team regained the lead again with Chase Berg’s score with 63 seconds left before the second intermission. Ty Schell and Kade Pareja assisted on Helena’s fourth goal of the night. Helena outshot Great Falls, 28-19, after the first forty minutes.
In the third frame, Great Falls’ offense stopped all 24 shots taken by the second-place team in the NA3HL’s Frontier Division and scored two goals. Ethan Miller put the biscuit in the basket for the 4-4 tie. Cooper Clouse, the team leader in assists, and AJ Prioli tacked on the assists early in the third frame. Colton Bacon broke the tie five minutes after Miller’s successful scoring drive. Wyatt Hanna and Brennan Pierce assisted on the eventual game-winning scoring play. Both defenses held up, and neither squad was able to bury the puck in the net for the remainder of the game.
Despite the loss, Helena attempted twice as many shots (52-25) as Great Falls did. The Bighorns accounted for 24 of the final 30 shots of the first game of the NA3HL Playoffs.
The difference of the contest was that Great Falls was able to capitalize on three (out of their five) power play opportunities that they turned into scoring drives. Helena was denied any scoring during their four power play chances.
Kaden Rhyder, playing in his final junior hockey season, came up with a huge effort by redirecting 48 shots by Helena’s offense. Andrew Blake got the start and made 20 saves in 58 minutes in Helena’s loss.
Great Falls is in the driver’s seat and needs one more victory to move on to the Frontier Division Finals next week.
By Kevin Scott: March 13, 2026 – Helena, Mt
