The new North American 3 Hockey League season is underway! Butte Irish opened play on their home ice last weekend with a two-game sweep of the Sheridan Hawks.
Four different players scored in the opener where Butte earned the 5-3 victory. Weston Villers (two goals, one assist) led all scorers while Brennan Morgan, Toby Kerr and Loghan Weber each chipped in with a goal.
Rookie goaltender Tim Nanson earned his first NA3HL victory by stopping 26 of 29 shots faced.
After the victory the Irish welcomed local rocker Tim Montana to their locker room to celebrate.
Gillette jumped out to a 2-0 advantage on Saturday before the Irish responded with a five-goal run. The Wild battled back with a four-goal rally to retake the lead 6-5 before Andrew Browe netted his third goal of the game to force overtime.
A high sticking penalty was whistled on the Wild just :43 into overtime and the Irish made them pay when Weber scored the game winner at 1:56. Final score was 7-6.
Browe got the comeback underway with the first of host three in the game. Browe finished the game with five points and leads all league scorers after one week with nine points. For his efforts Browe was named NA3HL Player of the Week in the Frontier Division.
Nine points on the weekend for Andrew Browe!
Highlights from your #NA3HL Stars of the Week! pic.twitter.com/LdLLlsU25X
— NA3HL (@NA3HL) September 9, 2024
Weber also had five points in the Saturday affair, including a pair of goals. Kazden Stineff and Kerr each scored a goal while adding a pair of helpers. Villers added to his point total with two assists as well.
Next up for the Butte Irish is an exhibition game with the Montana Tech University Orediggers on Tuesday.
The team returns to league action next weekend with a home-and-home series against defending NA3HL champion Helena Bighorns.