Not since 2002, when the now-defunct Iron Range Yellow Jackets lost in OT of the national championship game, had a MNJHL team reached the finals. It was 1999 when the Edina Lakers Junior Hockey (then the East Metro Lakers) won the USA Hockey National Championship.
A quick start for the Northern Lights seemed to put the team on track in the first period. Zach Hayes (Canyon Lake, CA) scored at 6:38 for a 1-0 lead. Gleb Kulikov (Russia) and Dylan Blankenship (Fairbanks, AK) assisted on the goal. Twin Cities carried that momentum for most of the period until a late North Iowa goal tied it at 18:41.
North Iowa, the NA3HL Silver Cup champions, came into the second period with energy and got their reward on a powerplay goal at 10:43. A little over five minutes later, the Bulls took a 3-1 lead and momentum into the second intermission.
A flat start to the third period called for a Northern Lights timeout from Head Coach Erik Largen. The team responded and at 13:13 Hayes again found the back of the net. Jonas Fredriksson (Sweden) and Seth Gustin (Phoenix, AZ) earned the helpers on the goal, which made the score 3-2.
Two quick goals at 16:53 and 17:06 sealed the deal for North Iowa, who also added an empty net goal for a final of 6-2.
Bulls goaltender Matt Bartels made 38 saves in net for the victory. Isaak Tjaden (Northfield, MN) finished with 30 saves for Twin Cities.
