Willmar, MN- The North Iowa Bulls earned their first road win of the 2026-27 season in a 6-2 victory over the Willmar WarHawks.
Defenseman & Captain Grant Harder led the way with two goals and two assists for four points. The goal scoring outburst lifted the McCook Lake, SD, native to the second most career goals by a Bulls defenseman, trailing the record (16) currently shared by Harrison Stewart, Colin Hedland, and Adam Orn by just one goal.
Harder’s first goal came in the first period after Wyatt Garvey opened the scoring for Willmar less than six minutes into the game. Maddux Domagala added a second Willmar goal following Harder’s tally that served as the last score for the WarHawks of the night.
Goaltender Jakub Stary piled up 29 saves on 31 shots faced to secure the first win of his season and first as a Bull.
Alex Heinkel added a remarkable performance of his own with the first multi-goal game of his junior hockey career. His first goal came late in the opening frame to tie the score at 2-2 before first intermission. His second strike served as an exclamation mark to end the scoring in the third period.
Harder’s second goal came early in the second period and served as the game’s winning goal, the first of Harder’s season. Dylan Bieber followed with his second strike of the season to put the Bulls up 4-2 before second intermission.
Christian Plaga joined Alex Heinkel in the third period goal scoring column. The Manhattan Beach, CA, native has recorded at least one point in each of the Bulls’ 7 games so far this season.
North Iowa faces the Minnesota Vulcans for their first matchup of the season next weekend. Friday night’s game is at Fogerty Ice Arena in Blaine, MN, while Saturday sees the Bulls return home for a 6:30 PM puck drop at the Mason City Arena.