ALEXANDRIA, MN – The Bismarck Bobcats’ road-heavy schedule in November rolls on this weekend as the first-place Bobcats will play three games in three nights—first taking on the Alexandria Blizzard Friday and Saturday before a possible first place showdown with the Owatonna Express Sunday.
In a home-and-home series on October 23rd and 24th, the Bobcats swept the Blizzard in their only two contests so far this season; the ‘Cats took Friday’s game in Bismarck 4-2 before earning their second shutout of the year 2-0 at the Runestone Center in Alexandria Saturday.
The Bobcats-Blizzard matchup sees two teams heading in seemingly different directions in the standings as the Bobcats are 9-2-3 October 4th while that same time frame has seen the Blizzard post a 3-4-2 record.
The big stories for the Bobcats of late have been special teams and goaltending.
In last weekend’s three-in-three series at Owatonna and Albert Lea, the Bobcats power play unit improved fourth-best in the league after going 5-for-11 with the man advantage while their top-ranked penalty killing unit solidified their #1 league-wide ranking by negating 14 of 15 opposition power plays.
The main beneficiary—aside from the Bobcats’ record—of the special teams outburst was forward Sean McKenzie, who picked up a goal and three assists on the power play amidst a seven-point weekend (2-5-7) that earned him NAHL Central Division Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Meanwhile, Bobcat netminder Ryan Massa returned from a neck injury sustained in October, posting a 2-0-0 record with one goal allowed and 54 saves in two games against the Express and the Thunder last weekend.
The Blizzard, too, are riding impressive goaltending as Alexandria keeper Chris Kamal was named NAHL Goalie of the Week on Monday following a 2-0-0 weekend of his own against the Thunder in which he stopped 55 of 58 Albert Lea shots.
When the Bobcats tangle with the Express on Sunday, both teams will be on the back end of a three-in-three weekend; Owatonna will be fresh off a home-and-home series against Albert Lea.
The Express have been a primary cause of problems for the Bobcats in the Central as Bismarck is just 1-1-2 against Owatonna while piling up a 5-0-1 record against their other three divisional foes.
Last Saturday’s 4-1 Bobcats win at the Four Seasons Centre snapped a three-game losing skid (0-1-2) against the Express.
All three games of the three-games-in-three-nights series will begin at 7:00 PM, starting with Friday’s Bobcats-Blizzard tilt at the Runestone Center in Alexandria, Minn.
The game will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at BismarckBobcats.com via B2 Networks. The pre-game show starts at 6:30 PM.
You won\’t want to miss any of the games this season, so order your Season Tickets, Family Packs and Group Nights today by calling the Bobcat Hockey Office at 701-222-3300 or by e-mailing the office for more information at gobobcathockey@aol.com.
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