Gameday Central: January 27 vs. Shattuck-St. Mary’s

TONIGHT’S PROMOTIONS: North Iowa turns back the clock with a “Way Back Wednesday” promotion tonight, with adult admission at just $5 and several old-school domestic canned beers for just $2. For a schedule of upcoming promotions, click here.

COVERING SOME NEW GROUND: Due to the teams’ November meeting last season, this is the first-ever battle between the Sabres and the Bulls at the Mason City Multipurpose Arena. Home ice has been far more favorable for the Bulls in this matchup, going 3-3 against Shattuck-St. Mary’s in the former North Iowa Ice Arena, accounting for all three of North Iowa’s wins in the series. Last year’s game saw the Bulls prevail by a 5-3 count, with current North Iowa standouts Sota Isogai and Sean Sullivan notching goals. Evan Babekuhl started that contest, making 12 saves on 14 Sabre chances in a no-decision.

GOING PRO: Shattuck-St. Mary’s is one of the nation’s most noted prep hockey programs, thanks in part to its national championship tradition but also thanks to its status as a pro hockey factory – 34 Sabre alumni are active in hockey worldwide, with 11 currently on National Hockey League rosters. The others play in locales as varied as Hong Kong (Nick Weberg) and Hungary (Joe Basaraba), from third-level leagues in Germany and Sweden all the way up to the Kontinental Hockey League. The Bulls currently have eight on pro rosters from the ECHL to Scandinavia.

HEY, I SAW YOU ON T.V.: The U.S. World Junior team enjoyed a celebrated run to a championship three weeks ago in Edmonton, Alberta, and the Sabres were well-represented on the winning team – five players on that roster have Shattuck-St. Mary’s credentials, combining for 10 goals and 10 assists in the tournament. Former Sabre Cam York was named one of the USA’s top three players on the weekend. As for the Bulls, they indirectly became the only NA3HL team to make an appearance on the NHL Network’s draft coverage this past summer, with the network showing highlights from Shattuck-St. Mary’s 7-5 win at home over North Iowa in January. Those highlights featured Artem Shlaine, who landed an early fifth-round pick from the New Jersey Devils.

PLEASE SIGN HERE…AND HERE…AND HERE…: The national college signing day was good to the Sabres, with three Shattuck-St. Mary’s players inking national letters of intent on November 11 – leading scorer Charlie Lurie and Conner Schneider will both head to Nebraska-Omaha to continue their careers, while Scott Morrow will attend North Dakota. 40 former Sabres and four former North Iowa Bulls are on NCAA Division I rosters or are part of programs that have opted out of play this year.

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