Teddy Bears Rain, Norsemen Reign in Bulls' 4-2 Loss

December 4, 2021 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
North Iowa Bulls News Release

Only two occasions have seen the Bulls faithful hang onto their furry and feathered friends past the first intermission - the first of those came on the very first Teddy Bear Toss night in 2012. The second one was Friday night at the Mason City Arena, but the wait was worth it as the stuffed toys came bearing down on the players at 4:34 of the second period.

The final score didn't quite bear out how North Iowa had hoped, though, with the St. Cloud Norsemen earning a 4-2 victory to snap a four-game losing skid and climb back above .500 for the season. The loss dropped the Bulls back to 13-7-0-2 for the year, with the road team taking the win in each of the first two meetings between the teams.

The pace was firmly in St. Cloud's hands in the opening 20 minutes, with the Norsemen firing off the first seven shots of the game and taking a 13-2 shots-on-goal advantage back to the locker room.

On their seventh shot of the game, the Bulls delivered, and so did their fans. With Jack Whitmore serving a too-many-men penalty at the 4:10 mark of the period, the Bulls needed just 24 seconds to strike - Michael Mesic's goal on a wrist shot out front hit the net to Tomas Bolo's glove side and put North Iowa in front first, bringing several large bags' worth of bears onto the ice in the process.

Dylan Gajewski hit his mark in his Bulls debut just 84 seconds later, firing a wrist shot from the left half-wall that beat Bolo for a 2-0 North Iowa lead.

That was the last time the Bulls would reach the scoreboard - Blake Mesenburg's second-chance wraparound tally less than two minutes later trimmed the lead in half. Just 40 seconds later, Mesenburg closed out his shift with another goal, banging home a setup pass from Blake Perbix on the doorstep and finishing an 11-second power play for the Norsemen.

With the game squared at 2-2, St. Cloud took the lead for good with 3:12 remaining in the period, as Nik Hong pushed in the puck through a collision in front of the net. North Iowa set up to begin a pivotal power play with 5:30 remaining after a slashing call against St. Cloud's Broten Sabo, but Nick Young's clearing attempt down the right-wing glass set up a 2-on-1, and Hong's one-timer from Logan Kittleson hit the back of the net to make it a 4-2 game.

The Norsemen won the shots-on-goal battle by a 33-23 count, and Mesenburg and Hong headlined the scoring with a couple of goals apiece. The Bulls enjoyed a few milestones in the game - not only did Gajewski score in his first game as a Bull, Andrew Stacey's assist on that tally was his first point in a North Iowa uniform. Casey Roepke earned his first point as a Bull as well, notching the secondary assist on Mesic's marker moments before.

Carsen Stokes made 29 saves, taking his first loss for the Bulls in the North American Hockey League. Bolo earned his sixth win of the season with 21 saves. Each team earned its lone power play goal quickly, as the Bulls went 1-for-4 on the man-advantage and St. Cloud finished 1-for-3.

The loss was the first for the Bulls after earning nine straight victories in their annual Teddy Bear Toss tilt. The teams get together again Saturday night at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud, with the opening puck drop set for 7 p.m. North Iowa returns home to wind down the 2021 home schedule next weekend with Friday and Saturday bouts against the Springfield Jr. Blues.

St. Cloud 0 3 1 - 4

North Iowa 0 2 0 - 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Peterson Stn (high sticking-minor), 2:50.

2nd Period-1, North Iowa, Mesic 7 (Scott, Roepke), 4:34 (PP). 2, North Iowa, Gajewski 4 (Vlasich, Stacey), 5:58. 3, St. Cloud, Mesenburg 3 7:56. 4, St. Cloud, Mesenburg 4 (Perbix, Murr), 8:36 (PP). 5, St. Cloud, Hong 4 (Lajoie, Sabo), 16:48. Penalties-served by Perbix Stn (too many men-minor), 4:12; Mesic Nio (cross checking-minor), 8:25.

3rd Period-6, St. Cloud, Hong 5 (Kittleson, Young), 14:39 (SH). Penalties-Peterson Stn (tripping-minor), 9:27; Sabo Stn (slashing-minor), 14:30; Scott Nio (holding-minor), 17:38; Mesic Nio (roughing-minor), 18:26.

Shots on Goal-St. Cloud 13-11-9-33. North Iowa 2-15-6-23.

Power Play Opportunities-St. Cloud 1 / 3; North Iowa 1 / 4.

Goalies-St. Cloud, Bolo 6-3-0-0 (23 shots-21 saves). North Iowa, Stokes 2-1-0-0 (33 shots-29 saves).

A-1,142

Referees-Cameron Giancarlo, Jake Jackson.

Linesmen-Devin Kasperek, Cameron Johnson.

North Iowa Bulls goaltender Carsen Stokes (Alissha Ames)

North American Hockey League Stories from December 4, 2021

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• Wings Shutout Bruins 3-0 Friday - Aberdeen Wings
• Mesenburg & Hong Tally Two Apiece as Norsemen Best Bulls - St. Cloud Norsemen
• Teddy Bears Rain, Norsemen Reign in Bulls' 4-2 Loss - North Iowa Bulls
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