2017-18 Bulls Preview: Game 43 vs. New Ulm

Feb 24, 2018

THIS WEEKEND’S GAME:

SATURDAY – New Ulm @ North Iowa, 7:30 p.m.

NEW ULM STEEL, 27-10-3-2 (ROSTER, STATS)
@ NORTH IOWA BULLS, 32-4-2-2 (ROSTER, STATS)

 

COVERAGE: HockeyTV (video/$), Mixlr (audio/free)

BULLS VS. NEW ULM ALL-TIME: 38-7-2

THIS WEEKEND’S PROMOTIONS: Saturday’s game is “Wild About Hockey Night” at the North Iowa Ice Arena – free merchandise will be available for the loudest section in the building, and the loudest fan receives a Bulls cowbell. A North Iowa jersey will go to the game’s wildest-dressed fan.

MILESTONE WATCH: Colin Cain is just one win away from tying the franchise record for the most wins in a single season, coming into the weekend with 24 wins to his credit in 2017-18. Cain has stopped more than 93 percent of the shots he’s seen, while allowing only 1.77 goals per 60 minutes.

HOW SWEEP IT WOULD BE: With two games to go, North Iowa still has a chance to sweep the Steel for the first time in team history. The Bulls scored three wins in four tries last year, the fifth season in six that the Steel have avoided a season sweep against their longtime division counterparts by a single game. New Ulm will host one final regular-season meeting with North Iowa on March 10.

DISCIPLINED TEAMS: With 14 penalty minutes per game, North Iowa enters the weekend fourth from the bottom of the NA3HL’s penalty-minute list. New Ulm has been even more adept at avoiding the penalty box – the Steel have only been dinged for 10.3 penalty minutes per game, the lowest mark in the league.

UPSIDE DOWN: North Iowa has the second-stingiest penalty-killing unit in the league, but the Bulls also have one of the league’s deadliest penalty kills. With 18 shorthanded goals, including two last weekend against St. Louis, the Bulls have scored as many goals while down a man as their opponents have scored up a man against them.

 

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