Bighorns goaltender Appelman makes college commitment

The Helena Bighorns of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) are proud to announce that goaltender Branson Appelman has committed to play ACHA Division I college hockey for the University of Kentucky.  

Appelman, 20, is in his second season with the Bighorns of the Frontier Division and has quickly established himself as a key presence in net. After an outstanding 14-2 record in the 2024-25 regular season, the ‘05 netminder helped lead Helena to the Frontier Division title and a trip to St. Louis to compete for the Fraser Cup.

This season, Appelman has continued his strong play, posting a 7-2 record with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. His best performance yet this season came in mid-January, backstopping Helena to a 7-1 win over Gillette with 23 saves on 24 shots for a .958 nightly save percentage.

With the playoffs looming, Appelman is looking to keep that momentum rolling and remain solid in goal as the Bighorns aim for another deep run in St. Louis. Before making the jump to junior hockey, he developed through the NAPHL T1ER league, spending four seasons with CarShield from 15U to 18U.

Appelman is the first player from the Bighorns to make a college commitment this season.