SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Along with Dysen Skinner and Evan Babekuhl, Connor Poczos is one of the North Iowa Bulls’ “three musketeers” in net for 2018-19.
This week, though, Poczos will actually get to be a Musketeer…in Sioux City. Poczos has earned a call-up to the United States Hockey League and will serve as an emergency backup for Sioux City over the next week.
The Austin, Minnesota native has been unbeatable in net for North Iowa, earning three wins in as many starts, plus a postseason win last season against the Wausau RiverWolves. In four total appearances, Poczos has posted a goals-against average of 1.80, and made saves on almost 94 percent of the shots he’s faced.
A handful of Bulls players have earned emergency USHL call-ups in years past. Most recently, Zack St. John earned a Christmas practice call-up to the Waterloo Black Hawks during the 2015-16 season, and Josh Benson earned a next-man-in assignment for the Black Hawks the following season. Drew Scites also landed a one-game emergency slot with the Fargo Force during their 2016-17 Clark Cup playoff run.
Luke Strand’s “Muskies” find themselves in the middle of a busy portion of their schedule. After hosting the Des Moines Buccaneers on Tuesday night, the week continues with a home-and-home set on Friday and Saturday against the Sioux Falls Stampede. Poczos will also be available next Tuesday night, as the Black Hawks make their way to Sioux City for a weeknight game.
Should Poczos be called upon, he would become the first North Iowa Bulls alumnus to appear in a USHL contest.
The North Iowa Bulls congratulate Connor Poczos on his call-up to the USHL, and wish him the best during his stint with the Sioux City Musketeers.