NAHL North Iowa Bulls

Bulls, Bobcats Lock up in Offensive Prizefight Friday

Published on January 22, 2022 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
North Iowa Bulls News Release


North Iowa Bulls captain Sean Vlasich
North Iowa Bulls captain Sean Vlasich
(North Iowa Bulls, Credit: Alissha Ames)

BISMARCK, N.D. - Turns out, Friday night was "Turn Back the Clock" Night at the V.F.W. Sports Center.

The uniforms were all current. So was the music. The fans' dress was as contemporary as ever.

The style of play, though? Think of Gretzky, Neely and Bossy.

The North Iowa Bulls and Bismarck Bobcats combined for 16 goals on Friday night, with the Bobcats holding off their visitors for a 9-7 win in a North American Hockey League Central Division matchup. 25 total players finished the night with at least one point as the two offenses slugged it out, leaving some dents in the scoreboard - and each other.

North Iowa held the lead for just 35 seconds of the game, but set the pace early, with Michael Mesic finding Carter Rapalje for a goal on a pass to the weak side just 3:52 into the game. Goals from Adam Pietila, Quinn Rudrud and Drew Holt forced North Iowa to work from behind, but a second goal from Rapalje and a right-wing snipe from Hunter Bulger just 28 seconds apart put North Iowa back in the action with a 3-3 tie going to the intermission.

Michael Neumeier's shot from the right point snuck through the traffic to give the Bobcats the lead at 8:04 of the second period, but a drop pass from Byron Hartley allowed Sean Vlasich the space he needed to snap a tying goal past Oskar Spinnars Nordin with 6:45 left on the second-period clock. Just 21 seconds later, though, Owen Michaels gave the Bobcats the lead back, and this time they would not relinquish it.

Rudrud and Eddie Shepler scored to make it 7-4 just 6:19 into the third period, with Shepler sneaking in a chance between the post and Hudson Hodges's right skate. That three-goal lead was as high as it went, and the Bulls were able to trim the deficit to two goals on a left-point wrist shot from Greg Japchen halfway through the third. Once again, though, Rudrud had the answer, capping the hat trick with a Bismarck response just 26 seconds later.

Goals from Jack Mesic and Brett Morich had North Iowa in the game with 1:54 left, down 8-7, but shortly after Hodges left the ice for an extra attacker, Ben Troumbly dumped the puck into the empty net from just inside the blue line to seal the victory for the Bobcats.

Rapalje had two goals and an assist to pace the North Iowa offense, while Byron Hartley finished with three assists. Seven Bobcats finished with multi-point efforts, led by Rudrud's hat trick, his first since his 2017-18 campaign at Farmington High School in Minnesota. The Bulls' seven goals ties an NAHL-era high for the team, while Bismarck notched nine in a game for the first time since last season's 9-4 win at the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on January 30.

The win bumped the Bobcats' record to 13-19-1-2 for the season, while the Bulls slipped to 16-13-1-4 heading into a rematch Saturday night. The opening puck drop at the V.F.W. Sports Center in Bismarck is slated for 7:15 p.m.

North Iowa 3 1 3 - 7

Bismarck 3 2 4 - 9

1st Period-1, North Iowa, Rapalje 20 (Mesic, Potter), 3:52. 2, Bismarck, Pietila 11 (Neumeier), 4:27. 3, Bismarck, Rudrud 13 (Egan, Chmelevski), 9:55. 4, Bismarck, Holt 7 (Mclean), 14:45. 5, North Iowa, Rapalje 21 (Hartley, Mesic), 17:52. 6, North Iowa, Bulger 10 (Domina), 18:20. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-7, Bismarck, Neumeier 4 (VanRooyan, Huglen), 8:04. 8, North Iowa, Vlasich 4 (Hartley), 13:15. 9, Bismarck, Michaels 6 (Johnson), 13:36. Penalties-Mesic Nio (checking from behind-minor), 16:17.

3rd Period-10, Bismarck, Rudrud 14 (Chmelevski, Ziskie), 1:32. 11, Bismarck, Shepler 12 (Hanson, Huglen), 6:19. 12, North Iowa, Japchen 8 (Hartley, Rapalje), 10:01. 13, Bismarck, Rudrud 15 (Egan), 10:27. 14, North Iowa, Mesic 6 (Potter, LaRusso), 11:56. 15, North Iowa, Morich 4 (Vlasich, Domina), 18:06. 16, Bismarck, Troumbly 4 (Mclean, VanRooyan), 19:18 (EN). Penalties-Johnson Bis (charging-minor), 7:55.

Shots on Goal-North Iowa 11-9-11-31. Bismarck 15-12-14-41.

Power Play Opportunities-North Iowa 0 / 1; Bismarck 0 / 1.

Goalies-North Iowa, Hodges 10-6-1-0 (40 shots-32 saves). Bismarck, Spinnars Nordin 5-2-0-1 (31 shots-24 saves).

A-809

Referees-Eric Arrigo.

Linesmen-Andrew Bartholomay, Kyle Stephens.

Check out the North Iowa Bulls Statistics

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Images from this story

North Iowa Bulls captain Sean Vlasich
North Iowa Bulls captain Sean Vlasich
(Alissha Ames)		   



North American Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2022


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