The Mason City Toros (3-1-0-0) suffered their first loss of the 2021-22 season as they fell to the Granite City Lumberjacks (5-1-0-0), 4-2, on Saturday night at Armadillo Deck Sports Arena.
Jack Campion scored for the fourth consecutive game after a great pass from Brendan Sloth to get Mason City on the board first. The Toros defenseman fired the puck from behind his own goal line to Campion at the opposing blue line and Campion cashed in on the breakaway for his fourth goal of the season.
Mason City surrendered the equalizer and nearly entered the first intermission trailing after a late rush. The Lumberjacks scored on a 2-on-1 breakaway late in the first period, but the puck didn’t go in until after the clock expired.
Regardless, Granite City bounced back to score two goals in the opening 8:33 of the second period and never trailed from that point on. They controlled possession in the second and it showed as they outshot the Toros 12-4. For the full game, the Lumberjacks outshot the Toros 28-20.
Cullen Hogan cut the deficit to one with a shorthanded goal at 6:02 in the third. It marked the second consecutive game that the Toros scored a goal while down a man. They successfully killed all seven power plays on Saturday night and all 11 in the two games this weekend.
The Toros return home this Friday to face the Rochester Grizzlies, whom the North Iowa Bulls defeated in the 2021 Frasier Cup Championship. Tickets can still be purchased at masoncitytoros.
