Wings Split In Mason City Over The Weekend

MASON CITY, IA (AberdeenWings.com) [FRI] – The Aberdeen Wings traveled to Mason City for the last set of weekend games of 2024 and were able to win in overtime after the Bulls scored with barely any time left in the third period.

Scoring would start just barely in the first period when North Iowa’s Fuji Suzuki would find the back of the net. At the 1:22 mark, the Bulls would already be up 1-0 with their first shot on goal. Then, at the 4:47 mark, Cole Wirun for the Bulls would score, extending their lead. After that goal, and for the rest of the first period, it was all Wings. They were able to keep it in their offensive zone and build up their shots on goal. Then, at the 7:32 mark, Finn Safir would get his first goal of the season – which would be a correction from scoring from Friday night. Grant Winkler and Gustas Zemaitis would get assists for this goal. Just over 30 seconds later, Luke Backel would score, getting assists from Cooper Anderson and Nikolai Tishkevich. The score would be tied at 2 heading into the second period.

The second period would remain to be all Wings, as they only allowed the Bulls 2 shots on goal to their 12 the entire period. With this effort, at the 12:55 mark, Nikolai Tishkevich would get his 3rd goal in 3 games with help from Gavin Reed and Luke Backel. This would be the only goal of the period. The Wings would have the lead with a score of 3-2 heading into the third period.

The Wings would come out strong in the third, but the Bulls would come out stronger than they did in the second ensuring they put up a better fight. The whole period would be a back and forth match between the two. Towards the end of the period, the Bulls would pull their goalie, and the Wings would take a holding penalty, creating a 6 on 4 chance for the Bulls. Then, Noah Diemer for the Bulls would shoot and the puck would cross the goal line, lighting the lamp right before time would expire, sending the game to overtime.

The overtime period would start, and right away, Damon Cunningham would have a huge save for the Wings. Again, it would start as a back and forth match, but at the 2:30 mark, it would be Nikolai Tishkevich who would score, winning the game for the Wings. This goal would be assisted by Cooper Anderson and Cade Moxham.

Damon Cunningham was in net for the Wings, stopping 15 of 18 shots sent his way.

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MASON CITY, IA (AberdeenWings.com) [SAT] – After taking a thrilling overtime win on Friday night, the Wings took a 4-3 loss on Saturday in Mason City. The team had huge efforts to try and tie the game, but they came up short in the end.

Scoring in the first would start at the 6:18 mark when North Iowa’s Joseph Coghlin would fire and find the back of the net. Just a few minutes later, the Wings would take a penalty and put the Bulls on the Power Play. Then, Austin Osiowy would score for the Bulls extending their lead. After this goal, the Wings would go on the Power Play, but would not be able to capitalize on any of their chances. The score would be 2-0 in favor of the Bulls leaving the first period.

The start of the second period would seem to be all Wings. They would put on a lot of pressure, and keep it within their offensive zone. Finally at the 5:13 mark, Gustas Zemaitis would get the Wings on the board getting assists from Kyle Murray-Smith and Cole Saterdalen. Just over 10 seconds later, Nikolai Tishkevich would even the score, getting help from Cade Moxham and Elvis Laskovs. Just as it was seeming like it was starting to go the Wings way, the Bulls would regain control of the game. Matthew Munro would score for the Bulls reclaiming their lead, and shortly after, Vince Kalscheur would score, extending the lead further. The score would be 4-2 heading into the final period of 2024.

In the third period, the Wings would try to give it their all in hopes to either tie the game, or win it. As the game would go on, it went back and forth between the two teams the entire period. Neither team would score early in the period, however. Towards the end, Aberdeen would pull their goaltender, and the Bulls would attempt to score on the empty net. But, it was found that it was scored with a high-stick so the goal was called off and the Wings would go on the Power Play. Then, at the 19:24 mark, as the Wings had a 6 on 4 advantage, Leonid Bulgakov would score making the score 4-3. But, the Bulls would still be in the lead. The Wings would still have the man advantage, and would still get a few good shots in before time ran out, but would unfortunately not find the back of the net. The game would end, and the Bulls would win this one.

Willum Braun was in net for the Wings, stopping 17 of 21 shots sent his way.

The Wings will have a week away for their Holiday Break before returning back to Aberdeen. Once they are back, they will return to the Odde Ice Center on January 3rd and 4th, 2025 to take on the Minnesota Mallards.