The North Iowa Bulls capped off 2011 in a dominating fashion against the Twin City Steel Friday, December 30 in front of a packed ice arena in Mason City.
The Bulls jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Steel as forward Matt Kroska found the back of the goal on a powerplay. The Bulls would come back minutes later to make the game 2-0 as Patrick Sivets scored on an assist from Eric Behrend and Andrew Halama. Twin City was able to get on the score board late into the first period making the score 2-1 at the end of the first period.
North Iowa would control the rest of the game from the second into the third period as they scored three unanswered goals in the second period. The scoring in the second started with Bulls forward Nick Marsh extending the lead to 3-1 on assists from Justin Gregory and Brian Harrison. Bulls forward Eric Behrend would close out the second period with two goals of his own extending the lead 5-1 at the end of the second period.
With a healthy lead going into the third period the North Iowa Bulls showcased their defense and stopped any attempt by Twin City Steel of scoring. The Bulls held onto the lead and came out victorious 5-1. Overall, Bulls goalie Matthew Bartels had 24 saves on 25 shots which helped push the team to victory.