Iowa Heartlanders Weekly Recap: Fighting Through the Frustration
- bearlymaintainingp
- 28 minutes ago
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The Iowa Heartlanders head into a much-needed week off sitting at 7-11-2 and holding 6th place in the ECHL’s Central Division. It’s been an up-and-down stretch filled with tight games, big swings, and more than a few gloves hitting the ice. This week featured two more battles with the Bloomington Bison and a trip to Kansas City to open December against the Mavericks — and each game came with its own storyline.
Game 1: Black Friday Revenge in Bloomington
Heartlanders win 3–2 (OT)
Coming off a frustrating home loss to Bloomington two nights earlier, the Heartlanders headed into Illinois hungry for payback — and apparently ready to take advantage of whatever Black Friday deals Bison goalie Dryden McKay was offering.
The Landers struck twice in the first period.
At 11:24, Thomas Stewart opened the scoring, assisted by Isaac Johnson and Yuki Miura.
Less than two minutes later, Keltie Jeri-Leon joined the party with help from Matthew Sop, giving Iowa a 2–0 lead.
The period closed with a little holiday family energy as Mark Kaleinikovas and Adam Capannelli dropped the gloves “like a family Thanksgiving over the last piece of pumpkin pie.”
And apparently, the scraps worked — for Bloomington.
The Bison stormed back in the second with goals from Kyle Jackson (8:50) and Kaleinikovas (13:43) to tie it 2–2. The third period, on the other hand, was quieter than the Black Friday shelves at 6 p.m. — no goals, no penalties, just hockey.
Overtime didn’t last long.At 4:25, Matthew Sop said, “That’s enough of this,” and buried the game-winner to give the Heartlanders the win.
Shots: Iowa 38, Bloomington 33
Riley Mercer: 31 saves, 93.9% save percentage
Huge win. Huge response.
Game 2: Bison Bite Back in Iowa City
Heartlanders lose 5–1
Back home, the Bison returned the favor — and they wasted no time doing it.
Shane Ott scored just 1:06 into the game. Eddie Matsushima made it 2–0 at 14:14, and things only got more chaotic from there.
Late in the first, Brenden Datema took a tripping call with 38 seconds left. The very moment the puck dropped to start the second, he picked up a misconduct — gifting the Heartlanders extended power-play time. Jonny Sorenson took full advantage, scoring at 1:40 with assists from Jack O’Brien and Nolan Orzeck.
Unfortunately, that was the only Iowa goal of the night.
Bloomington responded 2.5 minutes later with a strike from Sullivan Mack, then poured on two more in the third from Jonny Evans and Brett Budgell. The rivalry heat was undeniable — the teams combined for 14 penalties, with Iowa racking up 33 PIM and the Bison collecting 43.
Final: 5–1 Bison
Shots: Iowa 32 (outshot them again)
Plenty of fire. Not enough finish.
Game 3: Opening December in Kansas City
Heartlanders lose 4–2
To start December, Iowa traveled to Kansas City to face the Mavericks — and things started promisingly.
Isaac Johnson put the Heartlanders on top early with the game’s first goal, assisted by Jack O’Brien. But tying the game didn’t take long: with only 18 seconds left in the first, Jake McLaughlin made it 1–1.
The second period featured another spark — this time a fight between Alexander Stensson and Luke Loheit, adding a little juice to an already physical night.
Kansas City took the lead for good early in the third.
Casey Carreau scored at 4:33.
Jackson Berezowski added another just 90 seconds later to make it 3–1.
But the Heartlanders weren’t done.Yuki Miura buried one at 7:59 (assisted by Lucas Helland and Mike Koster), giving Iowa new life at 3–2.
That hope lasted until the 17:05 mark, when Stevie Leskovar was called for interference. On the power play, Carreau struck again, sealing the Mavericks’ 4–2 win.
Shots: KC 35, Iowa 19
Samuel Hlavaj: 31 saves, 88.5% save percentage
The effort was there. The finishing, once again, lagged behind.
Looking Ahead
The Heartlanders now enter a much-needed week off. Sitting at 7–11–2, they’ll regroup, reset, and prepare for a big return home next Wednesday — where, fittingly, they’ll see the Mavericks again.
This team has shown flashes. They’ve shown fight. Now they just need consistency. The season is far from over, and the Central Division is still wide open.
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