NEW ULM, Minn. – After taking apart Breezy Point by a 7-2 final on Friday evening, the Bulls were looking to keep the momentum rolling against the New Ulm Steel on Saturday. Peter Verstegen (Oshkosh, Wis./North Iowa Bulls) was especially impatient, scoring on the game’s first shot on goal just 31 seconds into the contest to start a 5-1 win for the Bulls.
Matt Dahlseide (Maplewood, Minn./North Iowa Bulls) took a pass from Evan Junker (Elk River, Minn./Elk River H.S.) up the left wing but couldn’t tap it in, leaving it for Verstegen to push the puck in and light the lamp for the game’s opening goal. Cooper Hoheisel tied it nine minutes later, after a brief scramble at the front of the net set up by a right-wing shot from Deniss Berdniks.
After the first 20 minutes, it was all North Iowa, and the next 20 minutes belonged solely to Cam Fagerlee (St. Anthony, Minn./North Iowa Bulls). Fagerlee sprinted up the right wing and buried a tight-angle shot at the 6:17 mark, pushing the Bulls back into the lead.
Back-to-back penalties and a lengthy 5-on-3 chance gave Fagerlee another opportunity. Sam Ayd was whistled for a charging penalty at the 9:26 mark of the second period, and less than 40 seconds later, Oliver Hoeschen picked up a high-sticking minor. North Iowa needed barely 20 seconds for a goal to double the lead, with Fagerlee putting away a rebound on Brendan Studioso‘s (Mukilteo, Wash./North Iowa Bulls) tough-angle shot.
A 2-on-the-goalie chance allowed the Bulls to make it 4-1 at the 6:38 mark of the third period. Jack Giddings‘s (Anoka, Minn./Anoka H.S.) pass found Matt Rozman (Edina, Minn./Edina Jr. Gold), who dangled it to his left before slipping it in past Steel goalie Henry Baribeau for North Iowa’s third unanswered goal.
The fourth and final unanswered goal came with 1:24 remaining, on a final power play set up by Hoheisel’s high-sticking minor with three minutes showing on the third-period clock. Verstegen bookended the scoring with a mid-slot one-timer set up by Dahlseide for a 5-1 final score.
After taking a 6-0 loss last weekend in his NA3HL debut, Dysen Skinner (Billings, Mont./Sioux Falls Jr. Stampede U18) had a whale of a game, stopping 41 of the 42 New Ulm shots that came his way. Baribeau made 29 stops on 34 Bulls shots, taking his first loss with his new team.
The Bulls finished the night 2-for-7 on the man-advantage, but more importantly, killed off all five New Ulm chances with the extra man in the contest.
North Iowa has one more game on its five-game season-opening road swing, heading to Rochester for its first-ever meeting with the rebranded Grizzlies this Friday night. The opening puck drop at the Rochester Recreation Center is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Live streaming coverage of all North Iowa Bulls games, home and away, is available on HockeyTV.
New Ulm and North Iowa will meet again Saturday, September 29 as the Bulls open their 22-game home schedule at the North Iowa Ice Arena. For advance tickets to Saturday’s game, or any future Bulls home game, click here.
North Iowa 1 2 2 – 5
New Ulm 1 0 0 – 1
1st Period-1, North Iowa, Verstegen 3 (Dahlseide, Junker), 0:31. 2, New Ulm, Hoheisel 1 (Oare, Berdniks), 9:32. Penalties-Berdniks Num (hooking-minor), 1:12; Blackowiak Nio (hooking-minor), 5:01; Escobar Nio (head contact-minor), 13:14; Giddings Nio (high sticking-minor), 14:23.
2nd Period-3, North Iowa, Fagerlee 4 (Bogach), 6:17. 4, North Iowa, Fagerlee 5 (Studioso, Stewart), 10:25 (PP). Penalties-Andrade Num (too many men-minor), 3:29; Ayd Num (charging-minor), 9:26; Hoeschen Num (high sticking-minor), 10:05; Studioso Nio (high sticking-minor), 15:47; Johnson Nio (cross checking-minor), 18:51.
3rd Period-5, North Iowa, Rozman 1 (Giddings, Studioso), 6:38. 6, North Iowa, Verstegen 4 (Dahlseide, Escobar), 18:36 (PP). Penalties-Savelkoul Num (goalie interference-minor), 6:38; Ayd Num (unsportsmanlike conduct-minor), 9:39; Hoheisel Num (high sticking-minor), 17:00.
Shots on Goal-North Iowa 11-13-10-34. New Ulm 17-17-8-42.
Power Play Opportunities-North Iowa 2 / 7; New Ulm 0 / 5.
Goalies-North Iowa, Skinner 1-1-0-0 (42 shots-41 saves). New Ulm, Baribeau 1-1-0-0 (34 shots-29 saves).
A-782
Referees-Sam Heidemann.
Linesmen-Richard Eaman, Nicholas Seppala.