By Kevin Scott
GREAT FALLS, Mont., July 29, 2019 — Are you ready for another season of junior hockey, Great Falls?
The Great Falls Americans Junior A team along with the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) has announced their 2019-20 North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) regular season game schedule recently that is highlighted by six matchups with the new Frontier Division member, the Sheridan (WY) Hawks, two Thursday night contests along with one Tuesday night contest all on the road and one Sunday afternoon contest in Great Falls. The league released each team’s (December 31st) 47-regular season game schedule on Monday, July 29, 2019.
Great Falls will have 22 home dates for their upcoming ninth season of junior hockey at the Great Falls Ice Plex. The Americans, who enter their sixth season of competition in the Frontier Division of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), open up the hockey season at home with a pair of contests against the Gillette (WY) Wild on September 13-14th at the Great Falls Ice Plex with a start time of 7:30PM (MST). The following Thursday (September 19th) they travel to Butte, Montana for their first road test of the season when they invade the Butte Community Ice Center to challenge the Cobras at 7:30PM. The Americans home games begin at 7:30PM (MST) except for their lone Sunday matinee that will begin at 3:00PM on Sunday, October 20, 2019. All home and away games can be seen on the league’s webcast subscription service, HockeyTV.
“The Americans arrive in town on September 2nd and we will begin practice the following day at the Great Falls Ice Plex,” said Great Falls Americans Head Coach and General Manager, Greg Sears.
In addition to the four other Montana-based NA3HL squads (Bozeman Ice Dogs, Helena Bighorns, Missoula Jr. Bruins and the Butte Cobras) and two Wyoming squads (Yellowstone Quake, Gillette Wild), the Frontier Division will consist of a third team from Wyoming, the Sheridan Hawks this season.
The NA3HL also announced four events during the 2019-20 season including a new East Showcase tournament held on October 6-8, 2019 in Attleboro, Massachusetts that several NA3HL clubs will participate in and the annual NA3HL (league-wide) Showcase taking place from December 15-17, 2019 in Blaine, Minnesota that feature all of the teams. In February 2020, the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament returns to Attleboro, Massachusetts and the 2019-20 season will be capped off by the 2020 NA3HL Fraser Cup Championship Tournament that crowns the NA3HL’s playoff champion (March 25-29) in Chicago, Illinois.
In December’s Showcase tournament in Blaine, Minnesota, each of the 36 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).
Two months after the Showcase tournament, the second major event is the Top Prospects Tournament hosted for the second consecutive season at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts that will highlight the NA3HL’s best players in an ‘all-star’ setting.
The 2020 NA3HL playoffs in March will feature the top four teams in each division facing off in the Divisional Semi-Finals with the two winning squads advancing to the Divisional Finals. Since the Frontier Division has eight teams, there will be six teams heading to the postseason with the third, fourth, fifth and sixth seeds squaring off against one another with the winners meeting the top two seeds in the Divisional Semi-Finals before the Divisional Finals. The winning team in the Finals will automatically advance to the six-team 2020 NA3HL Fraser Cup Championship Tournament that will crown a national champion. The five-day round-robin tournament will be hosted in Bensenville, Illinois.
View the NA3HL’s press release here for more information and the NA3HL Divisional breakdowns for all six divisions.
The 2019-20 Americans season schedule is below.
Great Falls Americans Game Schedule (Printable PDF)
Click on the link below for a PDF Printer-Friendly Version for the 2019-20 Great Falls Americans Game Schedule:
2019-20 Great Falls Americans Game Schedule (Printable PDF)
| Day/Date | Game | Time | Location |
| SEPTEMBER | |||
| Fri. Sept. 13 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Sept. 14 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Thurs. Sept. 19 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Butte Community Ice Center, Butte, MT |
| Sat. Sept. 21 | vs. Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Sept. 28 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| OCTOBER | |||
| Fri. Oct. 4 | @ Sheridan Hawks | 7:30PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Sat. Oct. 5 | @ Sheridan Hawks | 7:00PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Fri. Oct. 11 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Oct. 12 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Oct. 19 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 3:00PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sun. Oct. 20 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 1:00PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Thurs. Oct. 24 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Butte Community Ice Center, Butte, MT |
| Sat. Oct. 26 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 3:00PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| NOVEMBER | |||
| Fri. Nov. 1 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 2 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 8 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Sat. Nov. 9 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Fri. Nov. 15 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 16 | vs. Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 22 | vs. Sheridan Hawks | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 23 | vs. Sheridan Hawks | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 29 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 30 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| DECEMBER | |||
| Fri. Dec. 6 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Dec. 7 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Dec. 13 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Butte Community Ice Center, Butte, MT |
| Sun. Dec. 15 | NA3HL Showcase | NSC Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| @ Granite City (MN) Lumberjacks | 3:15PM (MST) | ||
| Mon. Dec. 16 | NA3HL Showcase | NSC Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| @ Alexandria (MN) Blizzard | 5:35PM (MST) | ||
| Tues. Dec. 17 | NA3HL Showcase | NSC Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| vs. L/A (Lewiston/Auburn) Nordiques (ME) | 10:45AM (MST) | ||
| Tues. Dec. 31 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| JANUARY | |||
| Fri. Jan. 3 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Sat. Jan. 4 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Fri. Jan. 10 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Sat. Jan. 11 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Jan. 18 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Jan. 24 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Sat. Jan. 25 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Jan. 31 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| FEBRUARY | |||
| Sat. Feb. 1 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Feb. 7 | @ Sheridan Hawks | 7:30PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Sat. Feb. 8 | @ Sheridan Hawks | 7:00PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Fri. Feb. 14 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Sat. Feb. 15 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Mon. Feb. 17 | NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament | New England Sports Village, Attleboro, MA | |
| Frontier Division vs. South Division | 9:00AM (MST) | Frontier Roster l lSouth Roster | |
| Frontier Division vs. Coastal Division | 3:00PM (MST) | Frontier Roster l Coastal Roster | |
| Tues. Feb. 18 | NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament | New England Sports Village, Attleboro, MA | |
| Frontier Division vs. West DIvision | 6:00AM (MST) | Frontier Roster l West Roster | |
| Fri. Feb. 21 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:05PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Sat. Feb. 22 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Feb. 28 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:05PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Sat. Feb. 29 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:05PM | Butte Community Ice Center, Butte, MT |
| End of Regular Season | |||
Click here to view the entire 2019-20 team-by-team schedule and league schedule press release.