GF Americans: Game Change Updates
(Video Courtesy of the Great Falls Ice Plex Facebook Page)
GREAT FALLS ICE PLEX: Americans first home game set for Oct. 22 against the Butte Cobras
GREAT FALLS, Mont., October 11, 2021 — The Great Falls Ice Plex is finally ready to host the Great Falls Americans Junior A Hockey team on Friday, October 22nd against the Butte Cobras at 7:30PM (MST) after having to postpone some contests this season due to leaks in the cooling pipes that help make the ice that needed to be repaired (see original story).
The Americans were originally scheduled to have home games at the Great Falls Ice Plex on September 24th-25th against the Gillette (WY) Wild, September 30th vs. Helena Bighorns and October 2nd-3rd vs. Sheridan (WY) Hawks and October 8th-9th vs. Helena Bighorns. The games were moved to Gillettte, WY, Helena, MT and Sheridan, WY as away games. These games will be rescheduled throughout the season at the Great Falls Ice Plex for home dates. Check back later.
| 2021-22 Updated Schedules (PDF, Printable): | Full Schedule (Home/Away) | Home Schedule |
GAME SCHEDULE CHANGE: Americans home games moved to Sheridan, WY (Oct. 1-2, 15-16) and Helena, MT (Oct. 8-9); Home Opener set for Oct. 22 vs. Butte
GREAT FALLS, Mont., October 11, 2021 — Due to the leaks in the cooling system pipes that help make the ice for the Great Falls Ice Plex (see original story), the Great Falls Americans have had to revise their schedule and move their homes games again. The Americans were originally scheduled to have home games at the Great Falls Ice Plex on October 24th and 25th against the Gillette (WY) Wild, September 30th vs. Helena Bighorns, October 2nd and 3rd vs. Sheridan (WY) Hawks, and October 8th and 9th vs. Helena Bighorns.
Those plans have now changed as they will play their sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh consecutive games on the road on road in Sheridan, Wyoming against the Hawks on Friday, October 1st and Saturday, October 2nd, Friday, October15th and Saturday, October 16th (7:30PM MST each night). Great Falls will also face the Helena Bighorns on the road for a pair of games on October 8-9 at 7:05PM (MST). The original home date that was scheduled for Thursday, September 30th against the Helena Bighorns will be rescheduled for a later date.
As for the home opener, Great Falls will make their home debut on Friday, October 22nd when the Butte Cobras come to town for a 7:30PM (MST) start. Please check back on the Great Falls Americans website for any updated changes.
Here is the schedule for the following weeks (Oct. 1-2, 8-9,15-16, 22) for the Americans (as of Oct. 11, 2021):
| Thurs. Sept. 30 | Home Game with Helena Bighorns: To be rescheduled at a later date | ||
| Fri. Oct. 1 | @ Sheridan (WY) Hawks | 7:30PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Sat. Oct. 2 | @ Sheridan (WY) Hawks | 7:30PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Fri. Oct. 8 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Sat. Oct. 9 | @ Helena Bighorns | 7:05PM | Helena Ice Arena, Helena, MT |
| Fri. Oct. 15 | @ Sheridan (WY) Hawks | 7:30PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Sat. Oct. 16 | @ Sheridan (WY) Hawks | 7:30PM | Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center, Sheridan, WY |
| Fri. Oct. 22 | vs. Butte Cobras | 7:30PM | Great Falls Ice Plex, Great Falls, MT
(Regular Season Home Opener) |
GAME SCHEDULE CHANGE: Americans home games on Sept. 24-25 moved to Gillette, WY
GREAT FALLS, Mont., September 16, 2021 — Due to the leaks in the cooling system pipes that help make the ice for the Great Falls Ice Plex (see original story), the Great Falls Americans have had to revise their schedule and move their first home game. The Americans were originally scheduled to make their 2021-22 home debut at the Great Falls Ice Plex on Friday and Saturday, October 24th and 25th against the Gillette (WY) Wild. Those plans have now changed as they will play their fourth and fifth consecutive games on the road (two games at Yellowstone Quake and one game in Bozeman) in Gillette, Wyoming on the weekend of September 24th and 25th starting at 7:30PM (MST) each night.
As for the home opener, Great Falls is still hopeful that they will make their home debut on Thursday, September 30th when the Helena Bighorns come to town for a 7:30PM (MST) start. Please check back on the Great Falls Americans website for any changes.
NOTE: The Great Falls Americans and Gillette (WY) Wild haven’t indicated when the Gillette (WY) Wild will make the trip to Great Falls for the rescheduled game. The teams might play their six meetings (3 weekends) in Wyoming. Gillette is scheduled to host the Great Falls Americans on two weekends this season including November 19th and 20th and December 10th and 11th. Great Falls may be hosting one of those weekends.
Here is the rest of the September 2021 schedule for the Americans (as of Sept. 16, 2021):
| Sat. Sept. 18 | @ Bozeman Ice Dogs | 7:30PM | Haynes Pavilion, Bozeman, MT |
| Fri. Sept. 24 | @ Gillette (WY) Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
| Sat. Sept. 25 | @ Gillette (WY) Wild | 7:05PM | Spirit Hall Ice Arena, Gillette, WY |
GF Ice Plex Updates
By Great Falls Community Ice Foundation (GFCIF)
NOTE: All Posts Courtesy of the Great Falls Community Ice Foundation Great Falls Ice Plex Facebook
GREAT FALLS, Mont., October 9, 2021 — An update from the Great Falls Community Ice Foundation (GFCIF) was provided today on the Great Falls Ice Plex Facebook Page:
RINK UPDATE AND CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
AMERICANS READY FOR FIRST HOME GAMES OF THE SEASON (10-11-21) ~Monday, Oct. 11 The ice is back up at the Great Falls Ice Plex and the Great Falls Americans are excited to welcome back their fans for the 2021-22 season. Opening weekend games are scheduled for Friday (Oct. 22nd) against the Butte Cobras starting at 7:30PM (MST).
PLENTY OF HELP; AMERICANS LOOKING TO MAKE THEIR HOME DEBUT THIS WEEKEND (10-10-21) ~ Sunday, Oct. 10 It looks like we have all the help we’ll need to get the ice painted & lined. Barring any (further) unexpected complications, we expect to open Friday night to host the GF Americans vs. Sheridan Hawks!
PAINTING OF THE ICE (10-09-21) ~ Saturday, Oct. 9 Volunteers are needed on Monday (Oct. 11th) to paint the ice. Check back on the Great Falls Ice Plex Facebook Page for details.
ICE PREPARATION/PAINTING OF THE ICE (10-08-21) ~ Friday, Oct. 8 We will soon be ready for an important part of preparing the ice for the season: painting it to have that nice white “rink” look! We will need a good crew of volunteers –all ages welcome: if you can hold a hose over your head and walk back and forth as instructed, you can help! Watch our page for a call for volunteers –it is difficult to anticipate exactly when the floor will be ready to paint, so it’s usually a bit last minute 
We’re tentatively planning on Sunday (Oct. 10), but it could possibly be a day earlier or later.
ICE PLEX VOLUNTEER DAY (10-01-21) ~ Saturday, Oct. 2 Starting 10am, ALL AGES WELCOME! Bring a rake if you have one -we’ll be leveling sand and starting post-repair clean-up (I’ve never seen the facility this bad, even after we put in the new boards!) Here is what the rink looked like at 3:45pm today (Friday)
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED SUNDAY (9-26-21), starting 10am and going most of the day so drop by any time you can! Bring a shop-vac (and long extension cord) if you have one –we are trying to get as much of the remaining sand out from under the pipes so they will lay flat. We are also replacing insulation along the boards to improve/accelerate building of “edges” of the ice. (Great Falls Ice Plex Facebook Page)
We are so grateful to all the volunteers who helped us get the sand out of the rink! We are waiting on repairs to the header pipe to be completed, then we’ll start putting fresh sand in… and making ice! Stay tuned here: we expect to need more help (spreading sand) next week. (Great Falls Ice Plex Facebook Page)
NOTE: Click here to view previous Great Falls Americans Game Schedule Changes and Great Falls Ice Plex updates.
By Great Falls Community Ice Foundation (GFCIF)
GREAT FALLS, Mont., September 14, 2021 — An update from the Great Falls Community Ice Foundation (GFCIF) was provided today on the Great Falls Ice Plex Facebook Page:
RINK UPDATE AND CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
We have a trailer-vac removing sand from the rink, but by itself it will likely take until the end of next week to finish the job. If we can get some manual labor up there to help clear out sand by hand, we think we can be done by this weekend (September 18-19).
We need equipment: please let Chris know ASAP (rinkmanager@gf-ice.org or (406) 505-0594) if you have a wheelbarrow and/or blunt edged shovel(s) we can borrow! Or bring your own when you come to volunteer!
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! Teenagers and adults only, please (youth volunteers must be mature enough to focus on the task at hand and be attentive to instructions). Please use this link to sign up for a spot:
By Great Falls Community Ice Foundation (GFCIF)
Great Falls, Mont., September 8, 2021 — The Great Falls Community Ice Foundation posted the following on their Facebook page on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 about the leaks at the Great Falls Ice Plex.
NOTE: No word on how this will impact the Great Falls Americans home opening weekend scheduled for September 24-25th against the Gillette (WY) Wild.
The health of these pipes is essential to the operation of our rink. Due to the leaks, we’ve had to halt ice making and are removing several inches of sand to expose the pipes and make repairs.
We had planned to have ice ready and begin our season this week, but the leaks will delay our opening day.
We are not sure precisely how long this repair process will take but, based on current estimates, we anticipate opening for the season in October.
Our facility was constructed more than 10 years ago with a sand floor, and it’s long been a goal of the foundation to install a concrete floor that will be more stable, allow us to hold more events in the space, and also potentially expand our operational months beyond the normal September-March ice season.
The foundation launched its capital campaign for the master plan improvements in January and the concrete floor was included in that long-range plan.
Due to the leaks in the existing pipes, fundraising the estimated $700,000 to $1 million to install a concrete floor is now our top priority.
The Great Falls Community Ice Foundation thanks our user groups and the community for their patience with these repairs and their continued support of local ice sports.
If you’d like to donate toward the concrete floor installation, visit www.greatfallsiceplex.com or contact President@gf-ice.org
Additional Media Coverage: September 8, 2021: ABC/FOX MONTANA (KFBB): Opening day for Great Falls Ice Plex delayed after leaks found in cooling system
Additional Media Coverage: September 9, 2021: MTN Sports (KRTV): Leaks delay start of the season at Great Falls Ice Plex
Additional Media Coverage: September 9, 2021: Great Falls Tribune: Regional Briefs: Ice-making issues at Ice Plex may impact Americans schedule
Additional Media Coverage: September 14, 2021: ABC/FOX MONTANA (KFBB): GF Ice Plex forced to make major repairs after noticing multiple leaks
Additional Media Coverage: September 23, 2021: ABC/FOX MONTANA (KFBB): GF Ice Plex needs help
Addtional Media Coverage: September 28, 2021: Great Falls Tribune: Ice making repairs require Americans to reschedule more home games
