Great Falls defenseman Cowden makes college commitment
September 10, 2019
The Great Falls Americans, proud members of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) are pleased to announce a ninth member of the 2018-19 Americans squad has committed to play college hockey.
Trent Cowden, a 21-year-old defenseman from Simi Valley, California who played the previous two seasons (2017-19) for the Great Falls Americans, signed a letter of commitment recently to continue his education and play ACHA Division 1 hockey for the Colorado State University Rams in the fall of 2019.
Cowden, the 5’11” defenseman, saw action in 72 regular season contests as a member of the Great Falls Americans in his two seasons with the junior hockey franchise. Trent also played in eight playoff games including six during the 2018-19 season and was a key member of helping Great Falls win 41 games for first year head coach Greg Sears. His best performance of the season came in a 5-0 shutout win over the Yellowstone (WY) Quake on February 15th when he scored one goal and dished out two assists.
“I was very proud of our regular season records (2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons),” said Cowden in a phone interview from Colorado. “We had 34 victories in my first year (34-12-3-0 overall record) and then won 16 straight games in my second season (41-11-0-1 overall record).”
Trent mentioned that playing at the Junior A level made him more mature not only as a player but as a person because he was playing on his own and playing with older teammates that helped him progress his skills.
The Colorado State University Rams, under the guidance of head coach Joel Weeks, are members of the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
The Colorado club hockey Division 1 team plays against seven other regional squads including the University of Central Oklahoma (Edmond, OK), University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK), University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), Missouri State University (Springfield, MO), University of Colorado (Boulder, CO), University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) and Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ).
The California product and newest member of the Colorado State hockey squad scored 23 points (14 goals, 9 assists) for the Americans this past season in 44 appearances. He improved from his 13-point performance during the 2017-18 season.
When asked about what he looks forward to most now playing and attending college in Colorado is developing relationships with his teammates and the college community.
Before coming to play for the Americans, he played for three seasons for the North American Prospects Hockey League’s (NAPHL) California Titans. He accumulated nine points in 56 games for the Midget Minor (16U) and the Midget Major (18U) squads.
“Trent is a great kid and a hard worker,” said Great Falls Americans Head Coach and General Manager, Greg Sears. “He was a very important part of last year’s success and we are glad to see him move on to play at the next level in college.”
