Through the first two periods and to the 16:57 mark of the third period, the North Iowa Bulls appeared headed to defeat against the St. Cloud Norsemen. In the first meeting this season between the teams, St. Cloud outshot the Bulls 24-11 in the first two periods. The Norsemen potted the game’s first goal 4:27 into the second period thanks to Tyle Dysart punching in a loose puck.
Even in the third period when the Bulls trailed, St. Cloud carried the play and extended the lead to 2-0 9:20 into the final frame with Braden Panzer landing his third goal of the season and seemingly put the game out of reach. The shots at that point in the game were 28-13 for St. Cloud and the Bulls were struggling to get offensive rhythm. But late in the third, the Bulls found their answer.
Head Coach Nick Bruneteau pulled goalie Connor Graham for the extra attacker with four minutes left. St. Cloud almost ended the night with an empty-netter, but Justin Mexico saved the night by stopping the puck in the crease ahead of the open goal. Then, with 3:03 left to go in the night, Teddy Richardson punched in his second goal of the season to get the Bulls on the board. 24 seconds later, Jordan Newpower, who was called up from the Mason City Toros for the weekend, glided into the attacking end and flung a puck across the zone to Jack Seaverson. The Chaska, MN, native landed his first goal of the season and the equalizer that sent the Mason City Arena crowd into a frenzy.
For the first time this season, the Bulls needed overtime. After a goal-less extra session, the teams needed a shootout that lasted seven rounds. Louis Wehmann and Lucca Munoz scored shootout tallies for the Norsemen. Justin Mexico and Teddy Richardson matched St. Cloud with goals of their own. On the final round of the shootout, Connor Graham stopped Wes Berg cold. At the other end, Ethan Lindahl flew a backhander over Ryan Manzella and under the crossbar to end the night with a 3-2 shootout victory for the North Iowa Bulls.
Connor Graham stopped 33 of 35 shots to get the win. Ryan Manzella stopped 15 of 17 shots in the St. Cloud net.
The Bulls improve to 3-9. St. Cloud falls to 5-4-5.
These teams complete their two-game weekend set at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7:10 PM.