The North Iowa Bulls completed their second straight weekend sweep.
North Iowa capped a four point weekend Saturday November 10th against the Twin City Steel knocking off the Steel 6-1. The Bulls were paced by forward Eric Behrend who scored a power play and shorthanded goal, the power play goal proved to be the game winner. "This was a complete team effort from our goaltender forward" commented Behrend. Matt Bartels made 31 saves in notching his 8th win of the year. The corps of defensmen were solid keeping most the shots to the outside and played very solid in and near the front of our net. Bulls defensman Connor Langfield tallied a goal and 1 assist. Several Bulls forwards found the scoresheet, Jimmy Hughes opened the scoring banging in a powerplay goal on a rebound, Hughes also added a shorthanded assist. Patrick Sivets and Taylor Brown each had a goal and an assist. Jared Ramstead chipped in two helpers and was a +3 on the night. North Iowa scored a pair of goals in each period on Saturday night.
On Friday, November 9th the Bulls opened the weekend in Little Falls, MN against the Flying Aces. North Iowa caught a bit of luck late in the third period scoring the game winner with 13 seconds left in regulation time. Taylor Brown converted a Matt Kroska feed from low in the Aces zone to put the Bulls up 2-1, Bryan Broders also assisted on the play. Similar to Saturday night, Jimmy Hughes opened the scoring for the Bulls. Jimmy ripped a wicked wrist shot over Aces netminder Allen Patten. Jake Johnson and Tyler Burg provided assists on the Hughes goal. Friday's theme was each teams goaltenders, Patten made 28 saves for the Aces. North Iowa netminder Joe Moza was solid in his 3rd start as a Bull. "Joe responded to challenges sent by the North Iowa coaching staff this week. It's hard when you are not getting regular starts. Joe's work ethic and attitude the last few weeks has been excellent. We need two guys that can win us games regardless who is in there". "Joe played with unwavering confidence making several key stops en route to a 32 save victory, his 3rd of the season".
The North Iowa Bulls want to extend a hearty thanks to our fans who made the road trip to Friday and Saturday nights games on the road. "The energy our fans provide is definitely a boost to us and they are what make this an unbelievable team to play for" commented Bulls defenseman Connor Langfield.
The North Iowa Bulls are home again this coming weekend for a pair of divisional games. Friday night the Twin City Steel will make their first trip into the "Barn". On Saturday night the Granite City Lumberjacks will be back for another round of festivities hosted by the "Loudest, Proudest Crowd in the 3HL". Both games are scheduled to start at 7:30pm. There is the possibilty of a new species being revealed this weekend at the North Iowa Events Center. There has been a sighting near the "Barn" recently. What this creature is has yet to be determined, it walks upright with a slight gait. It appears when the North Iowa Bulls are in or near the "Barn". It gets excited by large crowds and is said to be attracted to loud noisy hockey arenas. Let's get out and make some noise and cheer on your North Iowa Bulls this weekend.