By Kevin Scott
GREAT FALLS, Mont., July 30, 2018 — The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) recently announced the league schedule for the upcoming 2018-19 hockey season including 22 home dates for the Great Falls Americans Junior A squad at the Great Falls Ice Plex.
The Americans, who begin their eighth season of junior hockey and their fifth season of competition in the Frontier Division of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) open their hockey season on the road when they travel to Missoula, Montana to challenge the Junior Bruins on Friday, September 7th. The following weekend (Sept. 14-15), they travel to Cody, Wyoming to face the defending Frontier Division champion, the Yellowstone Quake for a 7:30PM (MST) start each evening. The Americans begin 20 of their 22 home dates at 7:30PM except for the November 30th game against the Helena Bighorns (8:00PM) and a home date with the newest Frontier Division team, the Butte Cobras on Sunday, February 10th starting at 4:00PM (MST). All home and away games can be seen on the league’s webcast subscription service, HockeyTV.
The NA3HL Frontier Division this season consists of four other Montana teams including the Bozeman Ice Dogs, Helena Bighorns, Missoula Jr. Bruins and new league member, the Butte Cobras along with two teams from Wyoming (Gillette Wild and the Yellowstone Quake).
The NA3HL will be conducting two prestigious tournaments starting with the NA3HL Showcase in December (16-18) and the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament on February 18th and 19th. The top four teams in the middle of March will face off in the Divisional Semi-Finals with the winners advancing to the Finals to determine who will advance to the national tournament. The NA3HL Fraser Cup Championship Tournament at the end of March will crown a national champion.
The Showcase tournament (December 16-18th) will feature each of the 37 NA3HL clubs playing against teams from the other divisions. Coaches and scouts from the NCAA and the ACHA will attend this tournament in Blaine, Minnesota.
The second major event is the Top Prospects Tournament (February 18th-19th) being held at their new venue, the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts that features the best talented players battling against each other in an ‘all-star’ setting.
The Fraser Cup Championship Tournament holds a five-day tournament to crown a league playoff champion.
The 2018-19 Americans season schedule is below.
| Day/Date | Game | Time | Location |
| SEPTEMBER | |||
| Fri. Sept. 7 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 8:00PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Fri. Sept. 14 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Sat. Sept. 15 | @ Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Riley Arena, Cody, WY |
| Fri. Sept. 21 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Sept. 22 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Sept. 28 | vs. Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Sept. 29 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| OCTOBER | |||
| Fri. Oct. 5 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Oct. 6 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Thurs. Oct. 11 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Oct. 12 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Sat. Oct. 13 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Fri. Oct. 19 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat, Oct. 20 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Oct. 26 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Oct. 27 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:05PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| NOVEMBER | |||
| Fri. Nov. 2 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 10 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 17 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 23 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Nov. 24 | vs. Gillette Wild | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Nov. 30 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 8:00PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| DECEMBER | |||
| Sat. Dec. 1 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:05PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| Fri. Dec. 7 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Butte Community Ice Arena, Butte, MT |
| Sat. Dec. 8 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Fri. Dec. 14 | vs. Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sun. Dec. 16 | NA3HL Showcase | Schwan Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| vs. Louisiana Drillers | 12:00PM (MST) | ||
| Mon. Dec. 17 | NA3HL Showcase | Schwan Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| vs. Skylands Kings (NJ) | 12:15PM (MST) | ||
| Tues. Dec. 18 | NA3HL Showcase | Schwan Super Rink, Blaine, MN | |
| @ Northeast Generals (MA) | 8:00AM (MST) | ||
| Fri. Dec. 28 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Sat. Dec. 29 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Butte Community Ice Arena, Butte, MT |
| Mon. Dec. 31 | @ Missoula Jr. Bruins | 6:00PM | Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula, MT |
| JANUARY | |||
| Fri. Jan. 4 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Sat. Jan. 5 | @ Gillette Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Fri. Jan. 11 | vs. Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Jan. 12 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Butte Community Ice Arena, Butte, MT |
| Fri. Jan. 18 | vs. Helena Bighorns | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Jan. 19 | vs. Missoula Jr. Bruins | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Jan. 26 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| FEBRUARY | |||
| Sat. Feb. 2 | @ Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Butte Community Ice Arena, Butte, MT |
| Fri. Feb. 8 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Sun. Feb. 10 | vs. Butte Cobras | 4:00PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Fri. Feb. 15 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Sat. Feb. 16 | vs. Yellowstone Quake | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| Mon. Feb. 18 | NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament | New England Sports Village, Attleboro, MA | |
| Northeast Division vs. Frontier Division | 8:00AM (MST) | Northeast Roster l Frontier Roster | |
| Coastal Division vs. Frontier Division | 1:45PM (MST) | Coastal Roster l Frontier Roster | |
| Tues. Feb. 19 | NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament | New England Sports Village, Attleboro, MA | |
| Central Division vs. Frontier Division | 6:00AM (MST) | Central Roster l Frontier Roster | |
| Fri. Feb. 22 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| MARCH | |||
| Fri. Mar. 1 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Sat. Mar. 9 | vs. Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex |
| End of Regular Season | |||
Click here to view the entire 2018-19 team-by-team schedule and league schedule press release.
Story Courtesy: North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL): NA3HL releases 2018-19 regular season schedule (July 30, 2018)
