The North Iowa Bulls had a two-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 5-1 win over the Alexandria Blizzard.
North Iowa\’s Tommi Ahlgren was a brick wall in net, as he came up with 29 saves and let only one puck past him. The solid play of Ahlgren will be reflected in his goals against average, which pre-game was 1.28.
The Bulls were paced by Joe Burgmeier, who registered one goal. Burgmeier scored 8:45 into the first period to make the score 2-0 North Iowa. Brett Gravelle assisted on the tally.
North Iowa\’s penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled seven minors and one major for 39 minutes in penalty time. The Bulls surpassed its season average of 19.0 penalty minutes per game. North Iowa\’s penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on three Alexandria power plays. Alexandria was unable to stop the Bulls from sending pucks towards the net, and North Iowa eventually piled up 37 shots on goal.
North Iowa also had goals scored by Kohei Sato and Trey Gardner, who scored two goals each. In addition, North Iowa received assists from Johnny Panvica, Ryan Durant, and Soren Colstrup, who each chipped in one and Zachary Johnston, Sam Naegele, and Travis Johnston, who contributed two each.
The Blizzard were often in penalty trouble, totaling 10 minors and two majors for 50 minutes in penalty time. Alexandria had been averaging 24.0 minutes in penalties per game. The Blizzard were held below their usual level of production. Alexandria puts an average of 4.4 pucks into the net per game.
The Blizzard were led by Tyler Sworsky, who scored the team\’s only goal. Sworsky scored 17:27 into the second period to make the score 3-1 North Iowa. Tom Monteiro provided the assist.
The Bulls registered one goal on six power play opportunities. Evan Bisek made 32 saves for Alexandria on 37 shots.
