MASON CITY, Iowa – One of the Bulls’ newest players stole the show Friday night with a hat trick in the opening period. In Saturday’s game, it was one of the veterans who took care of the big scoring plays, and brought a few hats onto the ice as well, in a 9-0 victory over the Breezy Point North Stars.
One night after Sota Isogai (Nagano, Japan/Okanagan Europe U20) racked up a hat trick in the first period, Matt Dahlseide (Maplewood, Minn./North Iowa Bulls) ended the night with one of his own, surging past Bulls legends Josh Arnold and Tyler Bump into the team’s all-time top 10 in scoring. Six other Bulls added a goal apiece, including Evan Sivets’s (Medina, Minn./Tampa Bay Juniors) first as a Bull. His older brother, Patrick, is a North Iowa legend in his own right, one of the original players during the 2011-12 season and a star on the 2013 national championship squad.
Harrison Stewart (Rockford, Ill./Amarillo Bulls) sniped one through from the right point to beat Griffin Foster on the glove side just 44 seconds into the contest to put the Bulls in front. As it turned out, North Iowa got all the scoring it needed on that goal, but they added on early with Dahlseide’s first goal at the 4:30 mark. Cam Fagerlee (St. Anthony, Minn./North Iowa Bulls) led an odd-man rush into the Breezy Point zone and fed a pass for Dahlseide to finish off with a one-timer.
Sivets tapped one in on a pass from Fagerlee at the 8:20 mark of the period to make it 3-0, and Sean Sullivan (Middleton, Wis./Madison Capitols 18U) roped one through from the left wing for a 4-0 lead barely five minutes later. The Bulls took a five-goal lead to the locker room, though, with Dahlseide tucking one in past Foster’s left leg with 4:40 remaining in the period.
The hat trick goal seemed lost in the fray, though, with a fracas in the neutral zone. Dahlseide rushed the Breezy Point net and tucked one in under the crossbar for a 6-0 lead with 1:44 remaining in the period, but the previous play in the neutral zone escalated after an initial high hit on Fagerlee from Robin Praetz.
By the time everything was sorted out, Fagerlee was being checked out by the medical staff, Praetz had been ejected for his check to the head, Bulls defenseman Davis Smidt (Brentwood, Tenn./Kenai River Brown Bears) was escorted out for his role in the scrum, and Breezy Point’s Laauli Tosi was also tossed for coming back onto the ice to get involved in the middle of an earlier misconduct penalty.
“I think we’re built pretty well (for physical games),” said Dahlseide. “We have depth as a team, and we’re rolling four lines every night, so everyone’s getting playing time to keep their confidence up. The physical games are harder because you have to be that much more mentally engaged,
The Bulls’ third-period work only added to their fans’ delight, with back-to-back setup plays on the doorstep allowing Isogai and Lucas Wahlin (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray H.S.) to push the lead to 8-0 before the halfway mark of the period. Zach Simon (Orono, Minn./North Iowa Bulls) capped the night with a goal of his own with 2:13 on the third-period clock.
Dysen Skinner (Billings, Mont./North Iowa Bulls) made his return to the ice at the “Barn” by picking up another shutout with 11 saves, earning his third win of the season. Foster was forced to settle for 48 saves and the loss in the North Stars’ final game on the North Iowa Ice Arena rink. The next time the teams face off against each other in Mason City will be on January 3, a game scheduled to be the Bulls’ second-ever home game in their new downtown arena currently under construction.
“This one really helps,” said Skinner. “It was the first game back for me in the ‘Barn,’ with the great atmosphere. I really missed it.”
With a 9-1 record and a four-game winning streak in tow, the NA3HL West Division leaders hit the road to St. Louis for a weekend set against the Jr. Blues next week. Saturday night’s game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. faceoff, followed by a Sunday game at 1 p.m.
The Bulls return to the home ice on Saturday, October 26 for “Hat Tricks and Treats” Night against the New Ulm Steel. The opening puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with live streaming coverage on HockeyTV and free audio streaming on Mixlr.
For updated news and information on North Iowa Bulls hockey, visit www.northiowabulls.com, or follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. To purchase advance tickets, call 641-423-4625 or click here.
Breezy Point 0 0 0 – 0
North Iowa 5 1 3 – 9
1st Period-1, North Iowa, Stewart 3 (Isogai, Roo), 0:45. 2, North Iowa, Dahlseide 4 (Fagerlee, Stewart), 4:32. 3, North Iowa, Sivets 1 (Fagerlee, Isogai), 8:21. 4, North Iowa, Sullivan 3 (Fagerlee, Sivets), 13:38. 5, North Iowa, Dahlseide 5 (Bowlin, Roitman), 15:21. Penalties-Wagner Nio (high sticking-minor), 6:07; Bourassa Bzp (tripping-minor), 6:11; Linder Bzp (slashing-minor, high sticking-minor), 11:43; Wagner Nio (roughing-minor, slashing-minor), 11:43; Wagner Nio (cross checking-minor), 15:57; Curran Bzp (holding-minor), 16:32; Wahlin Nio (roughing-minor), 16:32; Bourassa Bzp (roughing-minor), 19:43; Roitman Nio (roughing-minor, high sticking-minor), 19:43.
2nd Period-6, North Iowa, Dahlseide 6 (Bowlin), 18:18. Penalties-Praetz Bzp (tripping-minor), 4:31; Tosi Bzp (roughing-minor), 10:09; Bourassa Bzp (tripping-minor), 11:02; Tosi Bzp (holding-minor, unsportsmanlike conduct – 10 minute), 12:37; Bourassa Bzp (head contact-minor), 16:27; Praetz Bzp (head contact-major, head contact-gm), 18:18; Tosi Bzp (leaving penalty box-major, leaving bench-gm), 18:18; Smidt Nio (checking from behind-gm), 18:18.
3rd Period-7, North Iowa, Isogai 5 (Wahlin), 8:54. 8, North Iowa, Wahlin 8 (Roo, Isogai), 9:28. 9, North Iowa, Simon 4 (Enright, Cichosz), 17:47. Penalties-Kingery Bzp (bench-minor), 4:38; Sivets Nio (slashing-minor), 6:18; Linder Bzp (unsportsmanlike conduct-minor), 13:36; Fagerlee Nio (unsportsmanlike conduct-minor, interference-minor), 13:36; Slepica Bzp (roughing-minor), 16:51; Hempel Nio (cross checking-minor), 16:51.
Shots on Goal-Breezy Point 3-5-3-11. North Iowa 20-22-15-57.
Power Play Opportunities-Breezy Point 0 / 5; North Iowa 0 / 7.
Goalies-Breezy Point, Foster 1-3-0-0 (57 shots-48 saves). North Iowa, Skinner 3-0-0-0 (11 shots-11 saves).
A-619
Referees-Charles VanKula.
Linesmen-Jared Cummins.