The North Iowa Bulls took about a period to get going in their opening round match-up with the Minnesota Flying Aces, but were able to stave off frustration and ended up skating away with a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the Silver Cup Playoffs.
The teams were held scoreless in the first period, but the Bulls carried the play, taking a 15-8 shots advantage to the room after the opening period of play. Some might say the teams were "feeling each other out" a little bit in that opening frame with each team taking 2 minors in the period, but neither team was able to secure the game's first goal.
The Bulls came out of the dressing room for the second period ready to rock. Two quick goals in the first five minutes of play, one from Captain Matt Kroska and the other from Forward James Hughes, set the tone for the rest of the contest. North Iowa continued to carry the majority of the play, and had they been able to bury a few more chances, might have taken a larger lead than 2-0 to the third and final frame.
With the Aces trailing by a pair in the third, they amped up the forecheck a little bit and were rewarded with a penalty call on Bulls forward, Conor Jonasson. The Aces used the man-advantage to claw back in to the game, and cut the lead in half with just under 14 minutes to play. Some key stops by Bartels down the stretch allowed Bryan Broders to pot the empty netter and send the Bulls to the Game 1 win.
Game 2 of the West Division Semi-Finals is tomorrow, Saturday night, at the barn! Puck drops at 7:30pm so come on out and cheer on your Bulls! The Bulls will also have a pre-game "St Pattys Day Party" in the beer garden of the barn from 6-7pm presented by Budweiser. So come out early, be loud, be proud, and let's go get 'em Bulls!
