Alexandria hosted North Iowa over the weekend and salvaged a weekend split with a 4-2 win on Saturday, after a 4-1 loss on Friday.
Friday night’s game saw new goaltender Atticus Kelly get the start in net. Kelly kept the Blizzard within striking distance for most of the game making numerous saves. North Iowa finally got on the board at the 14:23 mark of the 2nd period. Alexandria came right back with Caleb Strong hammering home a one timer from the high slot off a beautiful feed from Sean Kenny. Tied 1-1 heading into the 3rd period, North Iowa took control with three 3rd period goals for a 4-1 win. Kelly finished with 43 saves in his Blizzard debut.
Saturday night unfolded similar to Friday night, except for the 3rd period. This time it was the Blizzard who scored three 3rd period goals fueling their 4-2 victory. Colin Tushie tied the game at 1-1 midway through the 2nd period. Cole Lehman and Jared Sanborn picked up the assists. Caleb Strong scored his team leading 14th of the year off a beautiful feed from Tushie for a 2-1 Blizzard lead midway through the 3rd period. North Iowa came right back to tie it at 2-2, but the Blizzard wouldn’t relent, scoring two more goals in a half minute span to secure the victory. Carter Rieland sprung Tushie on a breakaway for his 2nd of the game and a 3-2 lead with just over two minutes to play, then Nikolai Rajala gave the Blizzard some insurance with his 4th of year. Tushie had a 3 point night, and Cole Lehmann picked up two assists. Joey Greilich made 37 saves for the victory in net.
The Blizzard (10-13-1 – 21pts) are in 4th place, one point behind Granite City (11-7 – 22pts) in the West. That’s where they’ll travel to on Wednesday for a noon (12 pm) puck drop. The Blizzard remain on the road this weekend Saturday and Sunday against the North Iowa Bulls (19-5-1 – 39 pts). Saturday night’s game is at 7:30 pm and Sunday’s is at 1 pm. Catch the action on hockeytv.com