THIS WEEKEND’S GAMES:
FRIDAY – St. Louis @ North Iowa, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY – St. Louis @ North Iowa, 7:30 p.m.
ST. LOUIS JR. BLUES, 27-13-0-1 (ROSTER, STATS)
@ NORTH IOWA BULLS, 30-7-2-0 (ROSTER, STATS)
COVERAGE: HockeyTV (video/$), Mixlr (audio/free)
BULLS vs. ST. LOUIS ALL-TIME: 19-7-2
THIS WEEK’S PROMOTIONS: The Bulls return home on Friday and Saturday, February 14 and 15 for a series against the St. Louis Jr. Blues – Bulls fans are invited to “Show Your Love” at Friday’s Valentine’s Day game, with date-night packages and a singles’ party deck available. Saturday’s game showcases the area’s Hometown Heroes, with an on-ice recognition after the first period and free admission for all veterans, active military and first responders. For a schedule of upcoming promotions, click here.
ST. LOUIS SPOILERS: As the Jr. Blues battle for positioning in the Central Division race, they’ll also have a major say in the West Division championship hunt as well. Four of their final six games of the regular season will be against either the Bulls, or current West front-runners Granite City (Feb. 28-29, at St. Louis).
WHAT A WEEKEND!: North Iowa had last weekend off from play, but three Bulls skipped the opportunity to enjoy their weekend’s worth of down-time. Lucas Wahlin made the most of his Kenai River Brown Bears debut, scoring three goals over the weekend in his second NAHL stint of the season. Two of those, including the eventual game-winner, came in the third period of last Saturday’s 7-2 win over the Janesville Jets. Newcomer goaltender Owen Carlson earned an emergency call-up to the United States Hockey League’s Cedar Rapids Roughriders for their Friday-Saturday set against the Des Moines Buccaneers, the second Bulls goalie to be called up to Cedar Rapids this year. Defenseman Daniel Eckerline returned to the Minnesota Magicians’ lineup, and is expected to remain with the Magicians for the remainder of the season.
POINTING ANOTHER ONE TOWARD UWSP: Since the Bulls’ last on-ice appearance, another North Iowa player has chosen Wisconsin-Stevens Point as his college destination. Justin Daly made the Pointers his college choice last week, becoming the third North Iowa player this year to pick UWSP, after Jordan Roo and Harrison Stewart. In all, eight Bulls have made college commitments this year, with seven choosing either UW-Stevens Point or UW-Stout.
SWEEPS AND SPECIAL TEAMS: The power play may not carry much power this weekend, with two of the league’s top three penalty-killing units doing battle in this series. The Bulls will be aiming for their first season sweep of St. Louis since North Iowa won all four of its meetings with the Jr. Blues during the 2013-14 season.
MEDIA NOTES: