BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats are back at the VFW Sports Center and are set to host their two nearest rivals as the Minot Minotauros come to town for a Friday date and the archrival Aberdeen Wings invade for a Saturday showdown.
“With the new look of the Central Division, we have some great rivalries building up,” noted Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie, “with a great one that started last year with Aberdeen and the Dakota Cup; now we’ve got the closest opponent our organization has ever had in Minot. It’s great for hockey and great for our fans.”
The Bobcats and Tauros will meet Friday for only the second time; in their first meeting on October 1 the Bobcats got two late goals from Filip Starzynski to topple the Minotauros 4-3.
Minot’s physical style will be the top point of contention for the Cats in Friday’s battle of Route 83.
“They like to get physical and try and take you off your game,” explained Bobcats forward Nick Miglio, “we need to stay disciplined and play a full 60 minutes with focus. We can’t let their record (3-16-0) fool us: they play hard and are right in almost every game they play.”
Minot High product Jadin Martin leads the Tauros in scoring with seven goals and three assists.
The Bobcats will be honoring America’s servicemen and women with for Friday’s Veterans Day contest against the Tauros, not only featuring an honor guard from the North Dakota National Guard but also offering a reserved seat and a beer to all active duty servicemen and women and veterans plus one guest for a special price of $11.00—a savings of over $5.00 per person.
As for Aberdeen, the Bobcats have already clashed four times with their Dakota Cup foes, posting a 4-0-0 record against the Wings that includes a 3-1 win on Coors Light Opening Night and an epic 6-5 come-from-behind victory at Aberdeen on October 22.
“The Wings have an excellent first line,” admitted Bobcats defenseman Bryce Anderson, the Cats’ first-round draft pick in 2011, “so we need to be really aware when Cory Ward, Mack Ohnsted and Steve Obarzanek are on the ice and know where each of them are at one time.”
Obarzanek has been a particular thorn in the Bobcats’ side, having scored six of the Wings’ nine goals in the series. Ward contributed five points in the October 22 clash.
For the Bobcats, the balanced attack continues to rule the day as Castan Sommer, Shane Omdahl, Frank DeAugustine, Dan Zawacki and Tyler Richter all have more than 15 points on the season while the recent emergence of Aaron Nelson in net (3-1-0, 1.65 GAA, .933 SV%) has created some much needed depth behind starter Tommy Burke (10-3-0, 2.73 GAA, .906 SV%).
Friday and Saturday’s games will both get under way from the VFW Sports Center at 7:15 PM.
Both rivalry square-offs will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide on the official internet television partner of the NAHL, FASTHockey, at http://nahl.fasthockey.com. Pregame coverage gets under way at 6:45 each night.
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2011-12 season—and going fast! Call the Bobcat Hockey office at (701) 222-3300 or email gobobcathockey@aol.com for more information on reserving a pro-rated package for this season!