AFFTON, Mo. – Except for the odd goal this season from a Bulls defenseman, North Iowa’s forwards have been handling the bulk of the scoring work so far this season. Naturally, it was the Bulls’ only returning defenseman from 2017-18 who stepped up and gave his team its biggest goal Friday night when it counted most.
Ivan Bogach (Brooklyn, N.Y./North Iowa Bulls) blasted one in from the point with 12 minutes remaining, sending North Iowa past the St. Louis Jr. Blues for a 3-2 victory, giving the Bulls their first win in Affton in almost two years.
Will Baginski opened the scoring early for St. Louis, putting the hosts ahead just 5:48 into the contest. Baginski added another tally in the final 1:18 of the period, ending the night with both of the Jr. Blues’ goals.
In between those goals, the Bulls briefly found themselves down 5-on-3, following a penalty for too many men on the ice, and a checking-from-behind call on Matt Rozman (Edina, Minn./Edina Jr. Gold). With seven seconds left in the Jr. Blues’ 5-on-3, Jack Giddings (Anoka, Minn./Anoka H.S.) forced a turnover and turned it into an unassisted goal, giving North Iowa its third shorthanded tally on the young season.
After falling behind 2-1 entering the first intermission, Jimmy McDermott (Dubuque, Iowa/Wisconsin Whalers) evened up the contest at 8:21 of the second period, on a face-and-fire after stealing the puck behind the St. Louis net.
North Iowa came up empty on four power-play chances in the second period, but Bogach made his opportunity count at the eight-minute mark of the third period. The second-year defenseman’s shot found its way through the traffic in front of the net, and ended up in the back of the cage for a 3-2 lead. North Iowa held off one final St. Louis power-play chance in the third, following Ian Doner‘s (Mukilteo, Wash./Janesville Jets) hooking infraction with 9:11 to play.
Joey Petronack (White Bear Lake, Minn./Hill-Murray H.S.) made his presence known in his Bulls debut, picking up an assist in setting up Bogach’s eventual game-winning goal. Unfortunately, neither team was able to make its presence known on the power play, with North Iowa and St. Louis combining for an 0-for-11 mark on the man-advantage.
Mikael Foucher stopped 34 of the 37 shots he faced, taking his first regulation loss of the year for St. Louis. Dysen Skinner (Billings, Mont./Sioux Falls Jr. Stampede) made 30 stops to earn his second win of the season.
The Bulls go for their first road sweep at St. Louis since 2014 when the teams get together again Saturday afternoon, with a 2 p.m. puck drop at the Affton Ice Rink. Live streaming coverage of all Bulls games, home and away, is available on HockeyTV.
North Iowa returns to the “Barn” on Friday, Oct. 19 and Saturday, Oct. 20 to face the Breezy Point North Stars and celebrate our first responders. Firefighters will be honored on “Fire and Ice Night” on Friday night, while law-enforcement will be honored at “Light It Up Night” on Saturday night. For advance tickets to those games, or any future Bulls home game, click here.
North Iowa 1 1 1 – 3
St. Louis 2 0 0 – 2
1st Period-1, St. Louis, Baginski 5 (Boccardi, Wilson), 5:48. 2, North Iowa, Giddings 2 12:36 (SH). 3, St. Louis, Baginski 6 (Lodes, Kruger), 18:42. Penalties-Lodes Stl (roughing-minor), 9:49; Fagerlee Nio (too many men-minor), 10:43; Rozman Nio (checking from behind-minor), 12:18; Petronack Nio (roughing-minor), 13:36; Baginski Stl (roughing-minor), 13:36; Papa Stl (charging-minor), 14:47.
2nd Period-4, North Iowa, McDermott 2 8:12. Penalties-Papa Stl (holding-minor), 1:57; Roberts Stl (hooking-minor), 5:31; Papa Stl (slashing-minor, unsportsmanlike conduct-10 minute misconduct), 11:35; Fagerlee Nio (interference-minor), 17:19; Baginski Stl (unsportsmanlike conduct-minor), 19:13; Petronack Nio (hooking-minor), 19:54.
3rd Period-5, North Iowa, Bogach 1 (Petronack, Escobar), 8:00. Penalties-doner Nio (hooking-minor), 10:49.
Shots on Goal-North Iowa 9-15-13-37. St. Louis 13-7-12-32.
Power Play Opportunities-North Iowa 0 / 6; St. Louis 0 / 5.
Goalies-North Iowa, Skinner 2-1-0-0 (32 shots-30 saves). St. Louis, Foucher 2-1-1-0 (37 shots-34 saves).
A-318
Referees-Andrew Bethmann.
Linesmen-Matthias Chernitsky, Nick Sadorf.