With the push towards the Robertson Cup Playoffs well underway, the Norsemen looked to stay in the hunt as they took on Central Division foe the North Iowa Bulls in a weekend home-and-home series.
Game one of the weekend would occur in St. Cloud as the Norsemen and the Bulls matched up at the MAC. North Iowa would draw first blood as Cole Wirun would find the back of the net for his 12th goal of the year. Sangyeob Kim and Evan Johnson would combine on the assist. That would be the lone goal for the Bulls, as St. Cloud Goalie Beck Liden would bear down and shut down everything thrown his way.
After a scoreless second period, the Norsemen would get their first of the night at 9:34 in the third period to tie things up at 1-1. Mason LeBel ripped a shot past North Iowa Netminder Kyle Ozgun to collect his 15th goal of the season. Moments later, the Norsemen would find themselves on the Play It Again Sports Powerplay and it would be Air Force Academy commit Sam Crane would tip his 8th goal of the year and prove to be the eventual game-winner. LeBel and Tyler Wishart would pick up the assist on Crane’s goal. Beck Liden would pick up his 12th win of the year while turning aside 21 of the 22 shots he would face.
Saturday night’s weekend finale would shift down to Mason City, Iowa as the Norsemen looked to cap off the weekend. It did not take long for St. Cloud to turn it on as at 2:02 in the first period, Martins Klaucans would snap a shot past Jack Hirshorn to give the Norsemen the early 1-0 lead. Sam Crane and Tyler Geyer would be credited with the assists on Klaucans’ goal. From there, the Norsemen would never look back, Mason LeBel would find the back of the net twice in the first period, one of the powerplay, to collect his 16th and 17th goal of the season.
The 2nd period would see a combined total of 5 goals scored as North Iowa’s Evan Johnson would tally his 4th goal of the season while on the power play to give the Bulls some life. That goal would spark a three-goal run for the Norsemen in a three-minute run. Wyatt Farrell would sneak his 1st career goal in the North American Hockey League past Hirshorn at 7:29 in the period. Hudson Blue and Tyler Wishart would then both find the back of the net to make it a 6-1 St. Cloud lead. Evan Johnson would net his 2nd of the period at 13:11 to cut the deficit down to 4 for North Iowa.
Sanyeob Kim would get his 14th of the season for the Bulls at 4:14 in the 3rd to give some late life to North Iowa, but moments later Tyler Wishart would collect his 2nd of the game, 6th of the year, to seal a 7-3 win and a weekend sweep over the North Iowa Bulls. With the win, the Norsemen now find themselves 5 points behind the Aberdeen Wings for 4th in the Central Division Standing and looking to keep their playoff hopes alive with 24 games remaining in the NAHL Regular Season.
Up next, the Norsemen are back on the road down in Forest Lake, MN to take on the Minnesota Mallards, a team that they have not seen since September 21st. Game time for both games is set for 7:00 PM CST with all the action live on the Lyon Sheet Metal and Heating Norsemen Media Network.
