MASON CITY, Iowa – For the best player this past week in the North American Tier 3 Hockey League’s West Division, North Iowa defenseman Caleb Huffman had quite the under-the-radar performance against the New Ulm Steel.
He scored a goal and notched an assist in Friday’s 7-2 win. Fine, but Jack Campion scored two goals back-to-back in the second and third periods. He notched three assists in Saturday’s 7-1 victory over the Steel. Yes, but so did Campion, and Carson Jones scored two goals of his own.
The Star of the Week award isn’t about one night’s work, though – it’s about the overall body of work for the weekend, and Huffman’s resume for the two nights was more than enough to earn the Bulls’ latest Bauer Hockey West Division Star of the Week award. It’s the team’s fourth such award this season, and Huffman is the fourth different North Iowa player to haul in the hardware since the 2020-21 campaign began.
The native of Anchorage, Alaska and former Meijer AAA standout in the North American Prospects Hockey League cracked open the scoring column in Friday’s game, burying a chance less than eight minutes into the victory. His pass to Hayden Fox helped set up the fellow Alaskan’s beauty of a backhand goal with 1:04 remaining to bookend the scoring.
One night later, Huffman helped out on Brayden Uttech’s eventual game-winner in the first period before tacking on helpers on goals from Jones and Carter Newpower. His five points over the weekend tied for the Bulls’ best mark along with Campion and Max Savaloja.
With that scoring outburst, Huffman has settled into second place among the team’s defensemen in scoring, behind overall Bulls scoring leader Cal Nauss. He is now one of four North Iowa players with at least a point-and-a-half per contest.
The Bulls are tentatively scheduled for a road visit to Granite City on Saturday, but that game is in doubt thanks to the most recent COVID-related mandates from the Governor of Minnesota. Stay tuned to the North Iowa Bulls’ website and social media for the latest on the Bulls’ schedule heading out of the Thanksgiving holiday.
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