North Iowa Bulls (4-2-1-0) vs Minnesota Vulcans (3-1-1-1)
Game 1 Date & Time: Friday, Oct. 23 – 7:10 p.m.
Venue: Fogerty Ice Arena – Blaine, Minnesota
Game 2 Date & Time: Saturday, Oct. 24 – 6:30 p.m.
Venue: Mason City Arena – Mason City, Iowa
The North Iowa Bulls meet the Minnesota Vulcans for the first time this season with a home-and-home series in Blaine on Friday night & in Mason City on Saturday night.
Bulls Notes:
- The North Iowa Bulls got back into the win column with a 6-2 triumph over the Willmar WarHawks on Saturday, October 17th.
- Bulls Captain & defenseman Grant Harder notched the 4th multi-point game of his season and 12th of his career. The McCook Lake, SD, native recorded a 2 goal, 2 assist, 4-point performance that lifted his season point total to 15. He holds the most power play goals among all NA3HL defensemen and 2nd most of any skater in the NA3HL.
- Wakeley Holzer set a career high in points against Willmar. The Omaha, NE, native posted a three-assist night in the Bulls’ 6-2 win. He ran his season totals to 3 goals, 9 assists, and 11 points. He is tied for the most power play assists in the NA3HL with 6.
- Alex Heinkel put up the first multi-goal game of his junior hockey career against Willmar. His two strikes ran his season total to 3 and gave him 6 points in the first 7 games of his season.
- Jakub Stary earned the win between the pipes for the Bulls. He stopped 29 of the 31 Willmar WarHawks shots to earn the first win of his season.
- North Iowa boasts strong performances on both sides of the special team’s matrix. Their power play rate is 29.37%, 4th in the NA3HL while their penalty kill is 5th in the NA3HL, at 90%.
Scouting the Vulcans:
- Willmar enters the weekend with a 3-1-1-1 record. They took the ice just once last weekend, on Saturday, October 17th, against the Granite City Lumberjacks. They earned a point on the road but dropped the game 2-1 in the shootout. Brooks Skogland scored the Vulcans’ only goal on the night, which served as the first goal of his season.
- Dawson DeJardins took the net against Granite City and played incredibly well. He stopped 37 of 38 shots and earned his team a point in his second consecutive start. He earned a win the prior weekend against the Minnesota Wilderness with a 22 save performance. He’s posted a .926 save percentage in the first three games of his season.
- Kody Zuniga leads the Vulcans in scoring with 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points. He has three multi-point games this season and has scored all but one game so far this season.
- Grady Miller is the Vulcans’ other point-per-game scorer in the early going with 3 goals, 3 assists, and 6 points.
The game will be aired on NAHLTV. Bulls Play-By-Play Voice Chris Lynch has the call of Saturday Night’s game at the Mason City Arena.