HELENA — The Helena Bighorns are making another trip to the North American 3 Hockey League Fraser Cup Championship to defend their 2024 title. Ahead of their first game on Wednesday, a Bighorns fan and the organization are reflecting on the team’s success so far this season.
While Steed Arena will be empty come Wednesday evening, the Bighorns will need all the in-spirit support they can get as they play the first of two round-robin pool games at the league tournament in St. Louis, Mo. They’re getting it from fans like Rachel Jobes. Take one look at the trunk of her car and it’s clear Jobes bleeds Bighorn blue.
“Once you’re in it, it’s just a community that grabs you," said Jobes, who is also the treasurer of the Bighorns Booster Club.
The community is one that extends beyond the stands.
“We have many moms that we're personally friends with, and they are texting us from the games. We're Face Timing, we're screenshotting, we're messaging back and forth in real-time as the games are going on; we send the boys with all kinds of supportive things and posters and bracelets and all kinds of stuff. And we'll post from Facebook fan pages on different social media. We're constantly posting and sharing pictures and words of encouragement throughout the series,” said Jobes.
Among the FaceTime and video calls bound to be made while the boys are on the road is Bighorn’s goalie Malik Johnson’s mom. Johnson took part in a Bighorn fan tailgate tradition virtually before the final game of the Frontier Division championship. Helena won 4-1, over the Great Falls Americans.
Bighorns owner Mike Greene told MTN News the group’s commitment to bring Helena another Fraser Cup banner has been unwavering throughout the 2024-25 campaign.
“The fact that we are Fraser Cup champions going back to St. Louis like the mission has been that we don't want the trophy to leave Helena. We want the Fraser Cup to be back in Helena. That was the goal from the beginning of the year. The Fraser Cup is on the bus, and we really want it on the bus on the way home.”
Greene credits the team’s success since 2021 in part to the level of support the Bighorn faithful provide when the team skates at Steed Arena.
“Going back to year one, if we didn't have home ice, and an advantage in the playoffs, I don't know if we would have made it to the Fraser Cup Championship. Every single year, our fans never seem to surprise us with how much they love and have embraced the Helena Bighorns. And that's a mutual feeling our players love playing in Helena at Steed Arena."
Many of those who typically fill seats at Steed Arena will be watching their team on screens for the rest of the playoff run, hoping their support will help propel Bighorn players to back-to-back titles.
