North Iowa Bulls vs St. Cloud Norsemen
Date & Time: 10/24, 7:10 PM – 10/25, 6:30 PM
Location: 10/24 – Mason City Arena, 10/25 – St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex
Season Series: First Matchup this Season.
So far this season: In the first 11 games of the 2025-26 season, the North Iowa Bulls sit at a 6-4-0-1 record after splitting a two-game weekend series against the Central Division leading Aberdeen Wings last weekend.
Scoring Balance: Four Bulls skaters are producing at a point-per-game pace or better. Captain Mike Malatino (5G/6A/11P) leads the team in total scoring while playing in all 11 games. He is currently tied for the Bulls’ NAHL Career Power Play Goals record at 10 with former Captain & current University of Maine forward Max Scott.
Rookie Ivan Bercik (9GP: 6G/4A/10P) has the best points-per-game pace of any Bull skater this season. The Brezno, Slovakia, native has scored in 8 of his 9 games this season.
Fellow Slovakian and Assistant Captain Denis Hodas (10GP: 3G/7A/10P) leads the Bulls in assists this season. Hodas is riding a 5-game point streak and is coming off the second multi-point weekend of his season, with a goal and two assists in the series split vs Aberdeen.
University of Vermont commit Jack Sullivan (6GP: 1G/5A/6P) scored his first NAHL goal this past weekend and assisted on two goals the Bulls scored in the Saturday win.
Aside from the four top producers, six other skaters have contributed six or more points to the Bulls’ scoring efforts. Assistant Captain Fuji Suzuki (10GP: 4G/5A/9P), forwards Vitaliy Koroluyk (11GP: 4G/4A/8P), Denis Kuzmenkov (11GP: 2G/4A/6P), and Parker Osborn (7GP: 2G/4A6P) have all brought offensive contributions.
Third year Bull defenseman Carter Davis (11GP: 3G/5A/8P) leads the blue line in scoring. He netted the game winning goal on Saturday against Aberdeen, with a coast-to-coast highlight goal.
Scouting the Norsemen: St. Cloud enters the weekend with a 5-5-1-0 record after splitting a weekend series against the Minnesota Mallards.
Goaltender Beck Liden (3.09 Goals Against Average, .914 Save Percent) earned the overtime win on Saturday with a 24 save effort. The Alexandria, MN, native has taken the net for all 11 of the Norsemen’s games this season. He is one of two goaltenders in the NAHL to clear 600 minutes played, only trailing Rochester’s Jensen Carlson (675) for the NAHL’s lead in minutes played. His 5 wins rank him
Second Year Norseman forward Alex Sandhu (11GP: 3G/10A/13P) leads the team in scoring and notched an assist in each game of last weekend’s Mallards series.
Third year NAHL defenseman Will Estabrook (11GP: 3G/9A/12P) leads the Norsemen’s blue line scoring push. His three-game scoring streak was snapped on Saturday against the Mallards. The Hermantown, MN, native played for the Kenai River Brown Bears each of the last two seasons.
This is the first matchup between the Bulls and Norsemen this season.