GREAT FALLS — Much of the statewide sports focus might be on the gridiron as fall camps get rolling, but fall also marks the start of the junior hockey season. And the Great Falls Americans held their first practice and hosted a media day on Monday.
The Americans enter their second year under the ownership of Matt Leaf, a former USA hockey official, and seventh season under the tutelage of head coach Greg Sears.
“Just want to thank our community and our corporate sponsors and partners for the support that they've shown,” Leaf said. “Really gives us a chance to support our players and create the best possible environment for the kids that are part of our team.”
This year the Great Falls Ice Plex opened a week earlier than usual, allowing the Americans to begin training camp a full three weeks ahead of their first game.
“I think it helps a lot. Right away, it's like the first day of school, right? Half of these guys know each other ... the other half don’t,” Sears said. And the extra time that we're given, it's huge. These guys can start to form that brotherhood in the locker room, and that's just as important as the skill work.”
As for the on-ice results, the Americans finished 22-23-0-2 a year ago before losing in the first round of the Frontier division playoffs to the eventual NA3HL national champion Helena Bighorns. The Americans return 15 players on the 32-man roster. The hope is that with more experience and more time to prepare, the Americans can close the gap on their Interstate 15 rivals.
“It's no secret that the champs are in our division and we have to go up to them, we don't expect them to come down to us,” Sears said.
“A lot of the rookies are coming back. So now our vets are more experienced. Even if you guys saw today, we all meshed together really well already. And we're definitely at a higher level than we started last year,” said forward Aiden Kennedy. “So I think that's going to put us a step above everyone else and be able to produce and win a lot more games this year.”
The Americans open the season at home on Sept. 6 against the Sheridan Hawks.
