MASON CITY, Iowa – With games wrapping up in the NA3HL Division Finals, the Bulls now know who they will be up against in the round robin portion of the Silver Cup Championship Tournament in Romeoville, Illinois this week.
North Iowa will be in Pool B as the 6th ranked team overall in the tournament, matched up with the Binghamton Junior Senators, the Long Beach Sharks and the Yellowstone Quake.
The Bulls have not played against any of these teams this season, but did meet the Quake a year ago in this tournament, North Iowa winning that game 6-2. Yellowstone advanced on Saturday after defeating the Great Falls Americans 4-3 in overtime of the deciding Game 3 of the Frontier Division Finals. Their 83 points and record of 40-4-0-3 paced the eight-team division and granted them a first round bye in the six-team playoff.
The Binghamton Junior Senators are one of the newest additions to the NA3HL and they clobbered opponents in the Northeast Division, obtaining a record of 45-1-0-1. They breezed through the playoffs, winning all four games by a combined score of 36-6. They boast three 100 point scorers in Conor Landrigan, Dominik Bogdziul, and Ryan Riefler. The three Senators finished third, fourth and fifth in the NA3HL points race, respectively.
Another newcomer into the league, the Long Beach Sharks enjoyed success in their first NA3HL season, winning the Coastal Division with a record of 35-10-1-1. They had to work slightly harder to get to Chicago, sweeping Northeast in the first round and needing three games to dispatch the New England Stars. Forward Martins Vitolins and Oskar Lindberg are having the two best seasons in league history as Vitolins scored 163 points, while Lindberg settled for 149. Both of those marks obliterating the record of 122 points set by North Iowa’s Matt Kroska during the 2013-14 season.
Here’s the schedule for North Iowa as they look to win their 4th Silver Cup in franchise history:
ALL GAMES IN ROMEOVILLE, ILLINOIS
Wednesday March 29th vs. Yellowstone Quake – 7:30PM
Thursday March 30th vs. Binghamton Junior Senators – 7:30PM
Friday March 31st vs. Long Beach Sharks – 7:30PM
The Silver Cup Semifinals will be held on Saturday with the Pool B Runner-Up playing at 2:00PM and the Pool B Champion playing at 5:00PM for the right to play in the Silver Cup National Championship game on Sunday at 1:00PM.