The North Iowa Bulls survived a determined comeback attempt by the Breezy Point North Stars on the way to a 7-5 win.
North Iowa made the score 7-4 on a goal by Austin Jackson at 6:00 in the third period, and Breezy Point got as close as 7-5 when Jordan Carey scored 16:54 into the third period.
Brett Gravelle had two goals and two assists to lead the Bulls. Gravelle scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 3:52 into the second period to make the score 3-2 North Iowa. North Iowa earned a power play opportunity when Ryan Herbert was put in the box for roughing. Joe Kleven provided the assist. Gravelle\’s next tally on the power play made the score 4-4 with 7:25 left in the second period. The Bulls had gained a power play chance when Alex Mimmack was whistled for slashing. Johnny Panvica assisted on the tally.
North Iowa\’s offense rang up 46 shots on the North Stars\’ net. The Bulls\’ defense let in more goals than it usually has this year. North Iowa averages 1.5 goal allowed per game.
North Iowa also got points from Panvica, who also registered one goal and two assists and Carmen Dalesandro, who also tallied one goal and one assist. North Iowa also got a goal from Joe Burgmeier as well. In addition, North Iowa received assists from Adam Orn, who had two, Sam Naegele, who had three, and John Chorzempa and Dylan Zins, who each chipped in one.
Breezy Point\’s penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled nine minors and one major for 53 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 30.0 minutes per game the North Stars had been spending in the box. Breezy Point bested its season scoring average. This season, the North Stars average 2.7 goals per contest. Breezy Point was ineffective while on the power play, as it was held to one goal off of nine man advantages.
The North Stars were led by Tyler Larwood, who racked up two goals. Larwood scored the first of his two goals at 14:33 into the first period to make the score 2-2. Ryan Mezera provided the assist. Larwood\’s next tally made the score 4-3 Breezy Point with 9:56 left in the second period. Nick Blanchette assisted on the tally. Others who scored for Breezy Point included Brooke Evans and Joe Costello, who scored one goal each. More assists for Breezy Point came via Linder Kenyon, Sean Viti, Crosby Steen, Felix Conrads, and Seyia Hayata, who contributed one each.
The Bulls took out Jordan Moran after he had made 10 saves and installed Tommi Ahlgren in goal, where he finished with 11 saves and the win. North Iowa incurred 20 minutes in penalty time with 10 minors. Breezy Point\’s Joe Licata stopped 39 shots out of the 46 that he faced. For the North Stars, Carey was ejected from the game.