The Missoula Maulers could not stop the Great Falls Americans' Craig Bufford, who tallied a hat trick in a 5-3 win.

Bufford's first goal came 6:04 into the first period. He then added goals at 10:20 into the second and at 15:02 into the second.

Great Falls pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 16 penalty minutes.

The Americans found the back of the net more times than it usually has this season. This season, Great Falls averages 2.8 goals per contest.

Great Falls also got points from Lucas Lomax, who also registered one goal and one assist. Nate Bastian also scored for Great Falls. In addition, Great Falls received assists from Daniil Kulikov, who had four and Doug Keller, Billy Grillo, Jakub Cmolik, and Connor Barta, who each chipped in one.

Missoula's offense rang up 43 shots on the Americans' net.

The Maulers were led by Michael Cummings, who grabbed two goals. Cummings scored the first of his two goals at 8:05 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Cody Ogrin assisted on the tally. Cummings' next tally made the score 2-2 with 2:53 left in the first period. Ogrin provided the assist. Missoula also got a goal from Joey Sundgren as well. Other players who recorded assists for Missoula were Jordan Wheatley, who had two and Tyler Zandhuisen and Donovan Mattfeldt, who contributed one a piece.

Evan Hauser recorded 40 saves for Great Falls. The Americans registered two goals on six power play opportunities. Missoula's Mckinlee Baum stopped 22 shots out of the 27 that he faced. The Maulers incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with eight minors.