North Iowa Tops Minto, 5-4
Published on September 20, 2025 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release
The Minotauros' 15th season in franchise history began on Friday night as Minot took home ice to square off against Central Division foe North Iowa Bulls to commence the 2025-26 regular season in the Magic City.
Friday night also marked first-year head coach Tyler Ebner's regular-season debut in the North American Hockey League as the 5th head coach in Tauros' franchise history.
The first period in the season opener saw no scoring as both teams were deadlocked in a scoreless tie through the first 20 minutes of play on the Pepsi Rink. Shots on net favored Minot 12-9.
Both penalty kill units held strong through the opening period of play, fending off a power-play aside.
The middle stanza featured the game's first goal when Tauros' second-year forward Dane Ramirez scored on a wraparound shot from the goal line, beating Bulls' netminder Harry Byers five-hole and putting the Tauros ahead.
That lead wouldn't last long, however, as the Bulls responded just over two minutes later as Vitaliy Korolyuk found nylon to pull the score even at aces. Assisting on Korolyuk's goal were Michael Malatino and Marat Mikhin.
With just under 13 minutes remaining in the second period of play, the Bulls would add another as Malantino found the point sheet for the second time of the night, slipping one past Magnus Loponen to give the Bulls their first lead of the night.
That score would hold as both teams hit the second period intermission with the Bulls leading 2-1. Despite trailing on the scoreboard, the Tauros would outshoot the Bulls 13-9 in the second frame to bring overall shot totals to 25-18.
Malatino would find the back of the net for his second goal of the night just 30 seconds into the final period of regulation, shoveling one past Loponen from the corner off a faceoff.
North Iowa would tack on two more goals in the third period by way of Korolyuk and Ivan Berčik to ice a 5-1 victory in the regular season opener.
Shot totals would finish in favor of the Tauros 35-34, with the lone power-play goal of the game coming in favor of the Bulls.
Saturday night would feature a seesawing high-scoring affair as the Tauros looked to pick up their first win of the regular season and to salvage a weekend split against the Bulls.
The scoring would open up in the first period as Artem Prima found the back of the net off assists from Brady Zugec and Philip Wiklund just 19 seconds into play in the opening period.
That goal would stand as the lone goal of the period as the Bulls would outshot the Tauros 14-12 as the Bulls hit the first intermission trailing.
The first period would see the Bulls' penalty kill unit fight off three shorthanded shifts as the Tauros' power-play went 0/3 through the first 20 minutes of play.
The scoring would pick back up again just under seven minutes into the second period as Lucca Ori cashed in on a power-play opportunity, cleaning up a rebound and tucking it home to give the Tauros a two-goal advantage.
14 seconds later, the Bulls would draw back within one as Berčik would net his second of the weekend, beating Rustlie's blocker-side from deep in the slot. Assists on the goal would be credited to Bobby Thornton and Denis Hodas.
Under three minutes later, it was Fuji Suzuki scoring the second unanswered goal for North Iowa as the '05 returned for his second year in North Iowa.
The Bulls would add another with 7:53 remaining in the period off the stick of Denis Kuzmenkov to tilt the game 3-2 in favor of North Iowa as they gained their first lead of the night.
The Tauros would respond on the power-play as Marlon Edwards found twine, putting one past Byers' blocker to convert the Tauros' power-play goal. Assisting on the equalizer were Ori and Mario Fate.
39 seconds later, it was Carter Davis striking back for the Bulls on a rocket thrown into the back of the net from the right faceoff circle to regain the North Iowa advantage.
Marlon Edwards would answer the call again for the Tauros in the waning moments of the period on a power-play opportunity as he found the scoresheet for the second time of the night to send the contest into the intermission knotted up at 4-4.
Shots through 40 minutes on Saturday night were to the advantage of the Bulls, 31-29. The second frame had shots even at 17 aside, with the combined 7 goals scored between the two teams.
Despite a chaotic and raucous second period, the third period would offer no scoring as the game was sent to overtime on the Pepsi Rink.
The 3-on-3 overtime session couldn't settle it either, as neither team was able to convert. The Tauros controlled much of the 5-minute overtime period, outshooting the Bulls 3-1.
In overtime, it was Korolyuk winning it for North Iowa in the second round, putting one past Rustlie's right side to complete the weekend sweep for the Bulls.
With the shootout loss, the Tauros were able to salvage a point on the weekend as their record moved to 0-1-1.
Newly acquired Devin Rustlie would end the night, saving 38 of 42 shots faced in the loss. The winning netminder, Harry Byers, would pick up his second win on the weekend, padding away 43 of the 47 shots thrown his way.
The Tauros will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon at the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota, as they square off against the Oklahoma Warriors at 4:30 PM. The Tauros will then take on the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Friday at 3:00 PM and then close out the weekend against the Anchorage Wolverines on Saturday at 2:30 PM.
The Tauros will return home on October 24th to take on the Aberdeen Wings. Tickets for those games and all Tauros' home games can be purchased on tickets.minotauroshockey.com.
All home & road games will be broadcast live on NAHLTV.com with a free live audio broadcast on the Tauros' Facebook, YouTube, and Mixlr pages.
North American Hockey League Stories from September 20, 2025
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