By Kevin Scott
Printable PDF: Garret Weisenburger inks with the University of Montana to continue hockey career
GREAT FALLS, Mont., April 2, 2023 — The Great Falls Americans of the North American 3 Hockey League’s (NA3HL) are excited to announce that Garret Weisenburger will continue his education and hockey career at a ACHA Division II school in Montana.
Weisenburger, a 5’7” forward originally from Grand Forks, North Dakota, will join the University of Montana (UM) Grizzly men’s club hockey team beginning in the fall of 2023. The University of Montana is in Montana’s second most populous city, Missoula, which is about 170 miles from Great Falls. UM has an enrollment of 10,000 students and offers many undergraduate and graduate degrees. The Griz men’s hockey team, co-coached by Mike Anderson and Will Grossman, will enter their third year as a Division II member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). The Griz finished their 2022-23 season with a 20-9 record.
“I am very excited about attending college now that I have found a major (Diesel Technology) and playing college hockey is going to be a part of that,” said the former American standout.
“We are very excited to be bringing Garret aboard. He brings an energy and presence we love and his style of play fits with what we are building here,” said Grizzly Co-Head Coach Mike Anderson.
Garrett played in 120 regular season and six postseason contests in three years with the Americans junior hockey team. The newest member of the Grizzly hockey team provided 20 goals and dished out 31 assists from 2020-2023 including seven goals and nine assists during his final season.
“Growing as a person and seeing myself mature as a player during my three-year career with Great Falls,” stated Weisenburger in a phone interview as one of his accomplishments playing at the junior college level. “I had a great experience and a lot of fun playing for the Americans.”
Weisenburger was recognized by the NA3HL for his playing efforts with Great Falls. He earned Frontier Division Honorable Mention Star of the Week honors five times and was named as a Frontier Division Honorable Mention Star of the Week in February 2022.
He enjoyed (Head Coach) Greg Sears’ coaching style and said he would motivate his team daily in preparation for that week’s game(s) where his teammates would have to plan and then execute that (game) plan to be successful on the ice. Garret liked that his teammates had to be held accountable in order to have a positive outcome.
Prior to his time with the Americans, Weisenburger played three years (2017-2020) with the Coeur D’Alene Hockey Academy in Idaho scoring 26 goals and acquiring 28 assists in 71 games.
Weisenburger is looking forward to a new chapter in his life and is excited to get started as a Montana Grizzly. He will be joined on the team by former Great Falls American and Great Falls native, Clay Walker (2019-2021) and a few other friends from rival NA3HL teams.
Although he did not have a host family since his family resided in Great Falls, some of his fellow teammates stayed with him and his family and they were amazing.
Garret will report to the main campus in Missoula in August with classes set to begin on Monday, August 28th.
The newest Americans college signee wanted to thank all the fans for coming out to the Great Falls Ice Plex and making it a great atmosphere and supporting the team. “It was a great three years being a part of the Great Falls Americans junior hockey team.”
“We are very excited for Garret to continue his education and hockey career at Montana, “said Great Falls Americans Head Coach and General Manager, Greg Sears.” Garret poured his heart into the club for three years. He is an outstanding young man, and we look forward to following along. He will be missed!”
Garret is the son of Nate and Renae Weisenburger and brother to Westin, who also suited up for the Americans this year.
Great Falls goaltender Josh Koziol is the only other player committed to play college hockey so far this season. He started the Spring (2023) Semester with the Augsburg University Auggies based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Click here to view Garret Weisenburger’s statistics for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons and click here for his statistics from the 2020-21 season.
Click here for a full listing of the NA3HL college commitments.
