THIS WEEKEND’S GAMES:
FRIDAY – New Ulm @ North Iowa, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY – North Iowa @ New Ulm, 7:10 p.m.
NORTH IOWA BULLS, 17-3-1-0 (ROSTER, STATS)
vs. NEW ULM STEEL, 8-5-2-1 (ROSTER, STATS)
COVERAGE: HockeyTV (video/$), Mixlr (audio/free, Friday only)
BULLS vs. NEW ULM ALL-TIME: 45-9-3
THIS WEEKEND’S PROMOTIONS: Friday marks the Bulls’ final Friday night game at the “Barn” as the New Ulm Steel come in for a visit. Friday’s game is the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss – fans who bring a stuffed toy to the game will receive $2 off their game-night admission, and will toss their stuffed toys onto the ice after the Bulls’ first goal. All toys tossed onto the ice will be donated to the Salvation Army. For a schedule of upcoming promotions, click here.
LEAVING TOWN FOR THE HOLIDAYS: North Iowa will be down a couple of players this week, thanks to call-ups to the North American Hockey League. Lucas Wahlin and Sean Sullivan were both called up early Tuesday, heading to opposite ends of the NAHL map. Sullivan has been a regular on the Bulls’ top defensive pairing, and will be heading west to Kenai River to join the Brown Bears. The Middleton, Wisconsin native has been nearly a point-per-game producer for the Bulls, with 18 points and appearing in every North Iowa game to date. Wahlin is heading east to the Jamestown Rebels, after the Woodbury, Minnesota native posted 32 points and grabbed the team lead in goals heading to Thanksgiving.
FAMILIAR FACES IN NEW PLACES: North Iowa will face a couple of familiar players when the Bulls square off with New Ulm this weekend. One is forward Mason Enright, who tallied a goal against the Breezy Point North Stars last weekend in his Steel debut. Enright notched 13 points as a Bull, including two goals against the North Stars in September in his junior debut. Davis Smidt joined the Steel roster alongside Enright two weeks ago, yielding six points in his 14 appearances as a Bull.
FINAL FOUR: Cam Fagerlee is on the verge of landing on the Bulls’ all-time “Mount Rushmore” of players heading into a busy holiday weekend. With 141 career points, he needs only three to pass Brendan Studioso and Marshall Barnes and move into #4 on the team’s all-time scoring list. One more assist would break a tie with Brett Gravelle for sixth all-time, and three would put him in the top four in that category. One goal would break a tie with Studioso, also for sixth, and three would put him alone in fourth on the team’s all-time list.
JUST SIT TIGHT: North Iowa has one game to make up after a postponement on Wednesday evening – a major winter storm forced the Bulls and Willmar to call off their Thanksgiving Eve showdown on the WarHawks’ home ice. That game will be rescheduled, but no makeup date has yet been announced. That same storm also cost New Ulm and Alexandria their scheduled matchup on Wednesday.
100, NOTHING LEFT: Friday’s game marks another “last” for the Bulls at the “Barn” – this weekend’s home game against New Ulm marks the 100th and final Friday night Bulls home game in the North Iowa Ice Arena. North Iowa’s record in those first 99 is impressive, with a mark of 81-14-2-2 in Friday night home games coming into this one. Next Saturday’s game against Alexandria is the final home game at the “Barn” for the Bulls.
MEDIA NOTES: