NA3HL Alumni Update: Caleb Cross

Cross as a member of the Butte Cobras (Photo: Cross//Butte Cobras)

By Merrick Parnell

Fans will remember Caleb Cross from his time with the Butte Cobras (now Butte Irish) in the North American 3 Hockey League's (NA3HL) Frontier Division. Cross played for Butte from 2021 until 2023 and was regarded as a premier NA3HL netminder. After the end of his final NA3HL season, the Mankato, Minnesota native has moved on to the college hockey ranks with Northern Illinois University (Dekalb, Illinois) to play Division One (DI) in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).

Cross said the opportunity to play college hockey came during the NA3HL showcase in Minnesota. He had spoken to coaches and scouts across the NCAA and ACHA levels but selected NIU because it was close to his hometown of Mankato, and he would have the opportunity to get many games and reps. NIU is a younger team with a bright future with some skilled freshman talent.

"The level of play is fast-paced with lots of skill [in ACHA DI] hockey. There are tons of really skilled players in this league, and you have to come into every game ready to compete," said Cross.

Cross with NIU (Submitted Photo: Cross)

Cross gives a lot of credit to Butte for preparing him to compete with NIU and in the ACHA. "Playing in Butte prepared me for college hockey by coming in and playing in many close games and games with tons of pressure," Cross said. "I learned how to stay calm in games, and it gave me time to develop into the player and person I am today." Cross even got an opportunity to play at a higher level when he appeared in a North American Hockey League game with the Kenai River Brown Bears in the 22-23 season. Read that story here

When comparing the NA3HL and ACHA D1, the goalie from Mankato said the ACHA is a lot bigger, faster, and stronger as the ACHA has a lot of NA3HL players that are just bigger, faster, stronger, and older.

Cross with NIU in ACHA DI Hockey (Submitted Photo: Cross)

Cross said his goals for this season are to continue to develop as a player and work to make NIU successful. He hopes to have a .900 Save Percentage or higher. He also said that he wants to help the club reach the ACHA D1 National Tournament with this core group of freshmen he is playing with.