Submitted Photo A Minot Americans player (left) gets ready to do battle during a game several years. Meanwhile, former local resident Byron Mounce remains hopeful in his hunt to acquire a retro Americans jersey in time for the holidays.

This holiday season, a Minot hockey enthusiast explains he is on the lookout for a rare piece of local memorabilia.

Byron Mounce is an RV technician who now lives in Denver, Colorado. For the past 10 or so years, Mounce has been searching far and wide for a game-used Minot Americans hockey jersey. As a youngster in the 1980s and 1990s, he grew up just outside of Minot and recalls going to many hockey games which featured the now defunct junior hockey club that played from 1987 until 1994.

Accompanied by his father, George, Mounce says he attended many of the team’s home games throughout his childhood while attending St. Leo’s Elementary. In fact, the thrill of going to Americans games is what initially sparked his interest in the sport of hockey.

“It was basically my first experience going to an arena and seeing a hockey game,” Mounce tells The Minot Daily News. “I still remember watching the pre-game introductions when the lights would go out and Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ song would come on. It still gives me chills to think back on how exciting it was to be a part of that.”

During his quest to acquire a jersey from his favorite childhood team, Mounce says he has come in contact with some people who still own an old Americans jersey. Unfortunately for the Minot hockey fanatic, those items were not for sale.

“I was able to get a hold of a former player through Twitter, and asked if he had an extra jersey lying around from his playing days. He told me that he did, but it is for his own personal collection and I completely understand that,” Mounce shares.

Mounce says he has embarked on a hockey journey of his own as he now serves as a college game official at both the NCAA and ACHA levels. The father of three says his two youngest children, Maleah (8) and Xavier (6) are just starting to skate, and may eventually take up an interest in hockey themselves.

Regardless of whether or not Mounce’s long search for the vintage junior hockey jersey ends in success this holiday season, he says he will never forget the memories of going to the rink to watch the Americans take the ice.

“Getting that jersey for Christmas would be so nostalgic for me, it would make me feel like a kid again,” Mounce adds. I still remember the red light going off whenever they scored a goal, and of course the fights were always exciting too. It just would be nice to have as a personal memento.”