The Great Falls Americans, along with the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), have released their regular season game schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The NA3HL is entering their 16th season, and the league serves as the only certified USA Hockey Tier III Junior league that consists of six divisions spread across 20 states with 38 teams playing 47 regular-season contests from September 5, 2025, until March 8, 2026.
The Americans returned to postseason play during the 2024-25 season. Great Falls will return many players from their playoff squad, along with some new signees who hope to continue their regular season success from last year and qualify for the playoffs again. The 2025-26 season schedule is highlighted by a rematch from their rivals, the Helena Bighorns, who played at the 2025 Fraser Cup National Tournament in March 2025.
Great Falls (29-17-4-2) faced off against the Helena Bighorns (45-7-1-1) in the 2025 Frontier Division Finals, where they fell in two games in the best-of-three series. Helena went to the Fraser Cup National Tournament with the Bighorns going 0-2 and failing to repeat as National Champions like they did during the 2024 season.
This season, Great Falls faces Helena six times, with three occurring during the month of September. The Americans open up the season against the Bighorns on September 5th before traveling to Helena, Montana, on September 19th, and then will play in Great Falls on September 27th. All contests against the Bighorns will begin at 7:05 PM (MST).
On Saturday, February 7th, the Americans “home” game against the Butte Irish will take place at the Havre Ice Dome in Havre, Montana, with the puck dropping at 7:05 PM.
The league released the Frontier Division’s 47-regular season game schedule in addition to the other five divisions (Central, East, Southeast, West, and South) on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. All regular season games, which begin on Friday, September 5th and will end on Sunday, March 8, 2026, are subject to change. All teams will also play three regular season games (neutral site) at the league-wide 2025 NA3HL Showcase taking place in December 2025, at the Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. Opponents will be chosen closer to the tournament (see press release when available).
Great Falls is entering their fifteenth season of junior hockey (2011-12 – Present) and will have 21 home dates at the Great Falls Ice Plex (plus one “home” date at the Havre Ice Dome in Havre, Montana in February 2026) as they begin their twelfth season of competition in the Frontier Division of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The Americans will begin their first month of the season playing five of their seven games in Great Falls. The Americans will face the Helena Bighorns (three times) and the Bozeman Ice Dogs twice, along with two home games against the Badlands (SD) Sabres. Great Falls will open up the season in front of their home fans with a single game against the Helena Bighorns and the Bozeman Ice Dogs on September 5-6. Most of the home games will begin this season at 7:05 PM (MST) with the exception of the New Year’s Eve game on Wednesday, December 31st vs. Butte Irish at 6:05 PM, February 28th contest with the Gillette Wild (7:35 PM) and Sunday, March 1st contest against the Butte Irish that starts at 1:05 PM.
The Americans will report this season at the end of August under the direction of Head Coach/General Manager Greg Sears, who enters his eighth season at the helm of the Great Falls junior hockey squad.
“We are excited to get going on the new season. The schedule is balanced this year, so we will play each other six times and the Butte (Irish) eight (times), plus the NA3HL Showcase,” said Great Falls Americans Head Coach and General Manager, Greg Sears. “We are also excited to have more home games later in the year. We look forward to hosting Helena to kick things off.”
There were no new teams added to the NA3HL’s Frontier Division for the upcoming season. Great Falls will compete against three other Montana NA3HL squads including the Bozeman Ice Dogs, Helena Bighorns and the Butte Irish as well as three from the state of Wyoming (Yellowstone Quake from Cody, WY, Gillette (WY) Wild and the Sheridan Hawks) and one from Rapid City, South Dakota (Badlands Sabres).
The NA3HL also announced three events during the 2025-26 season, including the annual NA3HL (league-wide) Showcase taking place in December 2025, in Blaine, Minnesota, that features all 38 teams. The NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament will return in February 2026. The season concludes with the 2026 NA3HL Fraser Cup Championship Tournament that crowns the NA3HL’s playoff champion (March 2026) in St. Louis, Missouri.
In December’s Showcase tournament in Blaine, Minnesota, each of the 38 league members will play against other division teams, featuring three games in three days. The contests will count in the overall standings and feature coaches and scouts from the NCAA, junior college ranks, and the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
The second major event of the season in February 2026 is the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament (TPT) will highlight the NA3HL’s best players in an ‘all-star’ setting. This season, the TPT will once again take place in Plymouth, Michigan.
Finally, the NA3HL will finish off their postseason with a national tournament in late March, with the 2026 NA3HL Fraser Cup Tournament held on March 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri, that will crown a national champion. Prior to the national tournament, the Divisional playoffs will decide which team(s) represents each division at the five-day round-robin tournament.
