North Iowa, Norsemen Lock Horns For First Time Saturday

IN A NUTSHELL:

North Iowa and St. Cloud collide in their first-ever meeting as Central Division rivals.

 

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:­

North Iowa returns home on Saturday, November 27 for the Bulls’ Black Friday Weekend Battle against the Austin Bruins. Special-edition black t-shirts will be available for purchase, and all fans are encouraged to wear black to the game. Fans who attend the Mason City Chamber’s “Jingle Mingle Jammie Crawl” and wear their pajamas to the game will receive $2 off of their admission.

 

JERSEY BOYS:

The Bulls have a new addition to the team this weekend, as Jake LaRusso joins the club from the New Jersey Titans of the NAHL’s East Division. LaRusso, a New Jersey native, comes to North Iowa in the midst of his fourth junior hockey season, all spent with the Titans – in that time, he has racked up 124 games and 69 points, plus an NCAA Division I commitment to Colorado College. He was named the East Division’s Star of the Week twice in a three-week span in April last season.

 

GONE HUNTING:

With 64 saves in 69 chances last weekend, North Iowa goaltender Hunter Garvey has once again earned a Central Division Star of the Week award from the NAHL – Garvey added some flair last week to his second Star of the Week award of the season, with a backhand swat in Saturday’s game chosen as the league’s top play of the week. Three such awards have gone home with North Iowa players this season, with Carter Rapalje’s five-goal effort against the Bismarck Bobcats earning him top honors the previous week.

 

GETTING REPS:

Assuming an appearance Saturday night for North Iowa blueliner Casey Roepke, it would be a milestone moment with his 100^th appearance in a North American Hockey League uniform. The Erin, Wisconsin native started his junior hockey career in Janesville with the Jets, notching eight points in 33 games during the 2019-20 campaign. He picked up 14 points in 60 contests for the Amarillo Bulls over the last two seasons, and is currently hunting for his first points as a Bull after joining the team late last month. Roepke has also registered 16 appearances in the United States Hockey League for Green Bay and Lincoln. Not far behind is fellow North Iowa defenseman Jack Mesic, currently sitting at 97 career NAHL games.

 

GET AHEAD, STAY AHEAD?

The Norsemen have had an offense that can keep up with anyone in the final 40 minutes of games this season, but St. Cloud is prone to sluggish starts – St. Cloud has scored 22 goals in both the second and third periods this season, both above the league average. However, they’ve tallied just 10 goals in the first period, the NAHL’s third-lowest total. There is some latitude to be offered with both of those figures, however – the Norsemen have played just 15 games so far, the fewest in the league, and are playing their only game of the weekend on Saturday. Game-by-game, the Norsemen actually have the league’s fifth-best offense, fifth-best defense, most aggressive offense and second-most aggressive defense.