Aberdeen, SD- The North Iowa Bulls dropped their series opener against the Aberdeen Wings on Friday night in a 6-2 final.
The teams combined for 15 penalties and 51 total penalty minutes, continuing a trend of chippiness between these units. That sequence of special teams play resulted in the game’s first four goals, split between the teams. Leonid Bulgakov opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally while Drew Mackie extended the Wings’ lead with a power play score. Jack Seaverson got one goal back on a power play with his 9th goal of the season before the intermission and Nolan Grier evened the score with his 6th goal of the year.
Aberdeen bounced back with two even strength goals in back end of the second period. Wings Captain Riley Sharun picked the top corner of the net off his backhand while Grant Winkler extended the lead 31 seconds before intermission.
The Bulls buzzed in the offensive zone early in the third period, creating chances and rushes against the Wings. However, Croix Kochendorfer held the Bulls of the scoreboard, ending his night with 23 saves on 25 shots faced, and at the end of a back-and-forth sequence, Bennet Koupal extended the Wings’ lead to 5-2. Nikolai Tischkevich ended the scoring later in the third.
Bulls goalie Connor Graham recorded 35 saves on the night.
North Iowa wraps up their series against the Wings on Saturday night at the Odde Ice Center. Puck drop is at 7:15 PM.