WATERTOWN SHAMROCKS (25-18-2-1) vs. NORTH IOWA BULLS (22-21-2-3)
MASON CITY ARENA | NAHL REGULAR SEASON | GAME #47 AND #48 | MARCH 13 AND 14, 2026
The Watertown Shamrocks will travel to play the North Iowa Bulls on Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Mason City Arena. It will be the Shamrocks’ forty-seventh and forty-eighth regular-season games of the 2025-26 season. This is the third regular-season matchup between these teams.
THIS SEASON:
So far this season, the Shamrocks have gone 2-2 against the Bulls in their four games.
In the first set of games, the Shamrocks and the Bulls split the series at Mason City Arena. On Friday night, Watertown came out first with a goal, and in the second period, North Iowa evened the score at one. The Shamrocks then pulled away in the third with goals from Boren, Owen Fask, and Grady Dimberio to secure a 4-1 win. On Saturday, the Bulls went up 2-0 in the second, with the Shamrocks storming back 3-2 to end the period. In the third, Owen Chartier tied the game, but the Bulls scored with 45 seconds left to take a 4-3 win.
In the second set of games, the Shamrocks and the Bulls split again, this time in Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. On Friday night, the Shamrocks were shut out 0-4 by the Bulls. Despite 31 Watertown shots on goal, they could not find the back of the net. On Saturday night, the Shamrocks scored three goals in the first period. The Bulls caught up, with one goal in the second period, and two in the third, but a second Sebastian Haborak goal gave the Shamrocks the 4-3 win.
WATERTOWN SHAMROCKS:
The Shamrocks will enter this division matchup after dropping two games against the Bismarck Bobcats, 3-6 on Friday and 1-2 (OT) on Saturday.
On Friday, Bismarck pulled ahead early, and Watertown could not climb back. The Bobcats scored quickly in the first, but Owen Chartier responded to make it 1-1. The Bobcats scored one more to make it 1-2 to end the first period. The second was all Bismarck, with three goals. Two Shamrock goals in the third period from Joe Rice and Kyle Greene were not enough, and Bismarck took this one 3-6. On Saturday, Justin Obrochta struck first for the Shamrocks, making it 1-0. A goal from the Bobcats in the final seconds of the third period tied the game, sending it to overtime. Another goal in overtime gave Bismarck the 1-2 final.
The Shamrocks have won two of their last five games and currently sit in fourth place in the Central Division.
NORTH IOWA BULLS:
The Bulls will enter this division matchup after an off-weekend. The weekend before, they split a series with the Minot Minotauros, 1-5 Friday and 5-1 Saturday.
On Friday, there were no goals scored in the first period. In the second, three straight Minot goals gave them a lead, with a North Iowa goal to end the period. The Minotauros scored two more in the third to take the 1-5 victory. On Saturday, the story flipped, with the Bulls getting two goals in the first, and Minotauros scoring their only goal. After a silent second, the Bulls scored three more goals to take this one 5-1.
The Bulls have won two of their last five games and currently sit in fifth place in the Central Division.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
SHAMROCKS:
- Kyle Greene has 29 points this season and had a goal and an assist on Friday night.
- Joe Rice has 38 points this season and had a goal and an assist on Friday night.
- Justin Obrochta has 24 points this season. He had an assist on Friday and scored the Shamrocks’ only goal on Saturday.
BULLS:
- Denis Kuzmenkov has 34 points this season and had a goal on Friday night and two assists on Saturday.
- Carter Davis has 27 points this season and had a goal and an assist on Saturday night.
- Ivan Bercik has 25 points this season and had two assists on Saturday night.
By Lily Schutzehofer
Photo by Sarah Cooper