WOODRIDGE, Ill. — The Helena Bighorns saw their 2018-19 hockey season come to an end inside Seven Bridges Ice Arena on Friday afternoon. The Bighorns fell to the North Iowa Bulls, 8-2, to finish third in pool play at the 2019 Fraser Cup Playoffs.
The winner of Friday’s game earned a berth in Saturday’s semifinals. North Iowa came out of the gates hot, scoring two goals in the first 12:15 of the game to lead 2-0 after the first period. North Iowa would score twice in the first four minutes of the second period to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
Helena cut into the deficit briefly on a goal by Ian Zaleski with just under six minutes to play in the second period, but North Iowa scored with 56 seconds left to lead 5-1 entering the final period. Three more goals for the Bulls gave them an 8-1 lead before Helena would score with 1:23 left on the game clock.
North Iowa was dominant throughout, out-shooting the Bighorns 51-30. Seven different players scored for North Iowa, as only Jarod Blackowiak had multiple goals.
North Iowa will play the loser of Friday night’s game between the St. Louis Jr. Blues and the Texas Brahmas on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals.
