GAME 3 – WEST DIVISION SEMIFINALS (Tied, 1-1)
April 4, 2021 – 5:30 p.m.
Mason City Multipurpose Arena – Mason City, Iowa
ALEXANDRIA BLIZZARD (17-20-1-2)
@ NORTH IOWA BULLS (27-11-1-1)
ROSTER: NORTH IOWA // ALEXANDRIA
STATISTICS: NORTH IOWA // ALEXANDRIA
ATTENDING THE GAME: MAP TO ARENA // PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE // SEATING CHART
COVERAGE: HockeyTV (video/$), Mixlr (audio/free)
LIVE STATS: CLICK HERE
BULLS vs. ALEXANDRIA ALL-TIME: 41-9-4
TONIGHT’S PROMOTIONS: The Bulls return home tonight for a winner-take-all Game 3, with a spot in the West Division Finals on the line. For a schedule of upcoming promotions, click here.
1-2 PUNCH: A win tonight for Alexandria would make NA3HL history – in the league’s 10 years of divisional play (not including the inaugural 2010-11 campaign, when all teams were in one division), no division final series has ever been without either a #1 or #2 seed. Willmar is the third seed out of the West Division, and awaits the winner of tonight’s Game 3. That history could still be made in the East Division, however – the Mass Titans swept the Springfield Jr. Hat Tricks in their division semifinal, and the division champion Northeast Generals will host the New England Sharks Monday evening. Tonight’s game between the Bulls and Blizzard is the only game on the NA3HL scorecard on this Sunday.
MAKE YOUR DECISION: North Iowa has played four previous Game 3s in their history (not including their 2013 divisional series against the Minnesota Flying Aces, which was played in a best-of-5 format), and have won three of the four. A 3-2 loss at Granite City ended the Bulls’ inaugural season in 2012, while the Bulls knocked off the Lumberjacks to win West Division playoff crowns in 2014 (9-5) and 2015 (4-2). A 4-1 Game 3 victory over Rochester also sent the Bulls on to the 2019 West Division Finals against Alexandria. One important note: all three of those wins took place on the Bulls’ home ice. As for the Blizzard, they come in at 1-5 in decisive Game 3s, falling to Granite City each year from 2014-16 and to New Ulm in 2017 and ’18. They finally broke through in 2019, beating Granite City 4-3 in Sauk Rapids to earn their first-ever playoff series win.
A FOND FAREWELL: With the Bulls’ move to the NAHL next season, tonight’s 55th meeting between North Iowa and Alexandria will mark the last between the teams. As one team departs from the playoffs, this game will mark the end of junior hockey for one team’s steady stable of veterans. The Bulls have six players on their roster who were born in 2000, aging out of junior hockey following this season, while Alexandria has 12 who may see their final junior action tonight.
MEDIA NOTES (click the arrow to expand):