Friday night started with an explosive first period. At 9:26 into the first, Kie Vahakangas would get the Wings on the board, assists being credited to Drew Mackie and Adam Dybal. Exactly one minute later, Jibber Kuhl would extend the early lead for the Wings with Mattew Wisener and Grant Winkler assisting. It was then, at 12:39, that Kie Vahakangas would get his 7th goal of the season, and 2nd of the night. Assists going to Salvatore Collora and Logan Gravink. However, the Wings did not stop there. Nikolai Tishkevich, at the 16:07 mark, would get the Wings their 4th of the night, granting assists to Kie Vahakangas and Matthew Wisener. The Bulls then had their chance at getting on the board, and Teddy Richardson was able to find the hole. To finish the first period, Jackson Anderson would continue to extend the Wings lead. The Wings head into the second with a 5-1 lead.
The second period almost went entirely scoreless until Eli Miller of the Bulls would give them their second goal of the night. The period then ended with the score 5-3, still in favor of the Wings.
The third period also was an explosive one for the Wings. Leonid Bulgakov would start the scoring at the 1:28 mark, earning his 16th goal of the season. Then, at the 7:16 point, Jibber Kuhl would get his third of the season, and 2nd of the night. North Iowa’s Blake Ulve would respond leaving the score 7-3 (Wings). To end the game, Salvatore Collora would score, with Jackson Anderson and Logan Gravink assisting. The final score was 8-3.
In net, Adam Dybal was able to stop 15 of 18.
Although Saturday was not as explosive offensively, the Wings made sure not to back down when it came to being on the defensive end. The first period went scoreless, with the Bulls outshooting the Wings so far. In an on-ice player interview with Drew Mackie, he explained that the team just needed to remember how they play the game, and how keeping the puck in the offensive zone was going to be a key to success for them.
At 5:09 in the second period, Salvatore Collora would be the first to score for the night, with assists going to Leonid Bulgakov and Nikolai Tishkevich. The Wings, throughout the second period, stayed disciplined and out of the penalty box. Which helped with their offensive push. The score would remain 1-0 (Wings) heading into the third.
Right away in the third, Riley Sharun would extend the Wings lead, granting the assist to Wes Turner. With the Bulls not able to respond, at the 5:09 mark, Tyler Dahms of the Wings scored his first goal as an Aberdeen Wing – assists given to Kie Vahakangas and Bennett Koupal. Again, and without any response from North Iowa, Riley Sharun scored his 8th of the season, and second of the night getting assists from Logan Gravink and Wes Turner. The scoring for the night ended when Sangyeob Kim of the Bulls would find the back of the net. And, after many penalties in the third, the score ended 4-1, in favor of the Wings.
Croix Kochendorfer was in net for the Wings, and had huge saves all night – only allowing one of 24 shots on goal.
The Wings head to Austin next weekend, but will be back in the Odde Feb. 9th and 10th to face the Bulls again. The Wings will have a Specialty Jersey Auction on Saturday, Feb. 10 – more details to come.
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