The Aberdeen Wings hosted the North Iowa Bulls in two fast and physical games.
To start the night on Friday, North Iowa’s Billy Moloney would be the first to get on the board. Just over a minute later, the Wings would have a response. The goal was scored by Luke Backel, granting assists to Luke Melnik, who was playing in his first NAHL game, and Bennett Koupal. At the 5:42 mark, North Iowa would take the lead thanks to Zach Laurila, but the period would end with two more goals being scored by the Wings. The first was by Drew Mackie, with assists going to Simon Pollock and Isak Holmstrom. The second was an unassisted goal by the AIC commit Nikolai Tishkevich. The score would be 3-2 heading into the second period.
The second period was full of offensive plays for the Wings. Starting at the 5:53 mark, Bennett Koupal would get his 6th goal of the season with assists going to Luke Backel and Grant Winkler. Next, Jibber Kuhl would help to extend the Wings lead, getting assists from Drew Mackie and Matthew Wisener. Then, Simon would tally a multipoint night, scoring at the 8:34 mark, assists coming from Isak Holmstrom and Logan Gravink. The Wings would go into the third period with a 6-3 lead.
At the 4:15 of the third period, North Iowa’s Eli Miller would find the back of the net. Then, to end the game, North Iowa would pull their goalie which would give Matthew Wisener for the Wings a chance at the empty net. The score would end up 7-3 in favor of the Wings.
The recent RMU commit, Croix Kochendorfer, was in net stopping 24 of 27.
Three stars for Friday night’s matchup were Luke Backel (1 goal, 1 assist), Simon Pollock (1 goal, 1 assist), and Drew Mackie (1 goal, 1 assist).
Saturday’s game would have the same start as Friday. Just 1:49 into the first period, North Iowa’s Blake Ulve would get them on the board. But, at the 6:42 mark, Gavin Reed for the Wings would even the scoring, having scored his first NAHL goal – assists going to Luke Melnik and Bennett Koupal. Although there would be no extra scoring in the first period, there would be plenty of physical matchups between the players, accumulating 40+ PIM in the first period alone for both teams. Still, the score was 1-1 heading into the second period of the night.
The second period would have a slow start. It would not be until the 11:39 mark until North Iowa’s Jack Seaverson would find the back of the net, leaving the score 1-2 in favor of the Bull’s heading into the final period of the weekend.
The third period would be the turning point for the Wings, however. Salvatore Collora would be the first to add to the scoring for the Wings, assists going to Grant Winkler and Logan Gravink. Then, Jibber Kuhl would score, giving the Wings their first lead of the night, assists granted to Isak Holmstrom and Lucas Lidstrom. Shortly after, Wes Turner would continue the Wings scoring, assists going to Riley Sharun and Salvatore Collora. In response to the three goals, North Iowa’s Yibin Yoo would find the back of the net. With the score being 4-3, the Bulls’ pulled their goalie, and again gave an opportunity for Salvatore Collora to send one into the empty net, giving him his 7th goal of the season. The game would end with a score of 5-3, and with the Wings going without a penalty since the first period.
Adam Dybal was in net for the Wings, stopping 22 of 25.
Three stars of the night were Wes Turner (1 goal), Gavin Reed (1 goal), and Salvatore Collora (2 goals, 1 assist).
The Wings head to Bismarck to take on the Bobcats next weekend, but will be back in the Odde for the last Regular Season Home Games!
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