St. Cloud, MN – The North Iowa Bulls earned a thrilling overtime win on Friday night at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex against a St. Cloud Norsemen unit desperate for points in the playoff race.
Santo Simmchen led the way in net for the Bulls, recording 45 saves on 47 shots faced from the Norsemen to earn the Bulls’ third overtime win this season and sixth win in extra time this season with three shootout winners in their ledger.
St. Cloud opened the scoring with defenseman Tyler Geyer recording his first goal in the NAHL late in the first period. That score held through the entire second period and into the early minutes of the third when the Bulls’ power play struck. Jack Seaverson recorded the first goal of his night with a top-shelf ripper that broke Norseman goalie Ryan Manzella’s shutout hopes.
About five minutes later, the Bulls capitalized on another power play chance. Eli Miller potted a rebound goal following a Charles Beland shot that dislodged Manzella’s helmet from his head. The officials originally ruled the play as no goal but reversed their decision after some discussion. Friday night’s game marks the fifth consecutive game and ninth out of eleven games in which the Bulls’ power play recorded a score.
Hagen Moe tied the game up off a feed from former Bull Ethan Lindahl 10:05 into the third period thanks to a spectacular bar-in shot.
In the extra session, the Bulls ended their eight game losing streak when Seaverson recorded his 11th goal of the year and second OT winning tally this season.
North Iowa gets their 10th win of the season while the Norsemen fall two points behind the Austin Bruins for the final playoff spot in the NAHL’s Central Division.
The Bulls and Norsemen conclude their weekend home-and-home series at the Mason City Arena on Saturday night. Puck drops at 7:10 PM. Click on the link here to get your tickets here. The game will also be broadcast on NAHLTV.com and on the North Iowa Bulls’ Mixlr Feed.