The Minnesota Flying Aces was within striking distance after one period, but the North Iowa Bulls put the pedal down in the second en route to a 6-0 victory.
North Iowa was boosted by Jared Schletty, who turned in a shutout with 25 saves. Schletty managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 2.11 prior to the game.
Minnesota\’s six penalties came back to haunt it, as the Flying Aces let up four goals while on the penalty kill.
The Bulls stifled Minnesota\’s power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. North Iowa\’s offense rang up 47 shots on the Flying Aces\’ net.
The Bulls were helped by Zach Jones, who grabbed one goal. Jones scored 15:41 into the first period to make the score 1-0 North Iowa. Austin Jackson picked up the assist. North Iowa additionally got points from Kyle Krueger, who also racked up one goal and one assist, Matt Kroska, who also registered one goal and one assist, and Brandon Anderson, who also had one goal and one assist. Others who scored for North Iowa included Ian Penvose and Timothy Santopoalo, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for North Iowa were Sam Naegele, Kurt Halbach, Matthew Fosdick, and Logan Murphy, who contributed one a piece and Ron Lindgren and Taylor Brown, who each chipped in two.
Minnesota was held below its usual level of production. The Flying Aces average 2.4 goals per game.
North Iowa ended with 11 minutes in penalty time with three minors and one major. Jaxson Gosnell made 41 saves for Minnesota on 47 shots. The Flying Aces totaled 25 minutes in penalty time with five minors and one major and went 0-for-4 on the power play. Minnesota ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Tyler Leverty was ejected from the game.