TONIGHT’S GAME:
SUNDAY – Rochester @ North Iowa, 7:30 p.m.
ROCHESTER GRIZZLIES, 32-16-1-0 (ROSTER, STATS)
@ NORTH IOWA BULLS, 33-13-3-0 (ROSTER, STATS)
COVERAGE: HockeyTV (video/$), Mixlr (audio/free)
BULLS vs. ROCHESTER ALL-TIME: 3-4-1
THIS WEEKEND’S PROMOTIONS:
North Iowa will offer two-for-$4 beer specials and sales on Bulls merchandise throughout Sunday evening’s game. For a schedule of upcoming promotions, click the “Game Day Fun” link at NorthIowaBulls.com.
SIXTEEN GOING ON SEVENTEEN: This has been a historic season for the Rochester Grizzlies, finishing above fourth place for the first time and outnumbering their win total from their first three years combined. The history continued last night, as the Bulls snapped a 16-game winning streak in first-round playoff matchups with their first-ever division semifinal loss. The Bulls had swept best-of-three openers against the Twin City Steel, Rochester Ice Hawks and Wausau RiverWolves, and beat the Minnesota Flying Aces in a best-of-five playoff series in 2013 on the way to a Silver Cup title.
THREES ARE WILD: The good news for North Iowa is, history is on the Bulls’ side – Todd Sanden’s team has played four Game 3s in its history, and won three of them. (Three were decisive Game 3s – the Bulls’ Game 3 in 2013 was played as part of a best-of-five series against the Minnesota Flying Aces.) The Bulls lost to the Granite City Lumberjacks in the 2012 West Division finals, in a series where all three games were played in Sauk Rapids. North Iowa had home-ice advantage for their series in 2014 and ’15, and won both at home to move on to the Silver Cup tournament as West Division playoff champs. In postseason elimination games all-time (divisional playoffs and single-elimination tournament contests), North Iowa is 20-6 all-time. In home elimination games, the Bulls’ record stands at 3-0.
MEDIA NOTES: