BISMARCK, N.D.–The Bismarck Bobcats defeated the Aberdeen Wings 3-2 in a Brave the Shave night thriller at the VFW Sports Center on Friday.
It took 48 shots on goal and 65 minutes of hockey–not to mention a shootout–for the Bobcats to pick up two points. Aberdeen’s Cole Moore, who stopped 46 of 48, provided the best goaltending performance Bismarck has faced all season. However, Evan Hunter scored in the first round of the shootout to push the ‘Cats over the top.
“It was everything we could have asked for,” head coach Layne Sedevie said. “We played well. It stings that we gave them a point. I think we deserved two points tonight. We just could not find a way to get a third (goal) tonight. You have to give their goalie credit. We threw everything at him.”
Bismarck outshot Aberdeen 48-22 and controlled every aspect of the game. Brandon Reller opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game, then Attila Lippai doubled the lead in the second period.
After failing to outshoot an opponent for seven consecutive games, Sedevie implored his team to total 40 shots on net. They responded by crushing their season-high. After Lippai’s goal, however, Moore dialed in and stopped everything the Bobcats threw his way, including seven shots in overtime.
“I thought our shot quality was good,” Sedevie said. “We got pucks to the net, we had bodies around the net. There were pucks laying around all over, and we had a lot of chances that were so close … Just could not find a way to get that third one.”
In the shootout, Hunter continued his emergence as a shootout weapon. The 18-year-old has scored on three consecutive attempts, all of them the eventual winning goals. Bismarck has also won three straight shootouts while not allowing a goal in any of them.
“Evan Hunter, what a beautiful goal,” Sedevie said. “He did not give him five hole, so he went high glove. Just a beautiful goal, and that ended up being all we needed … We found a way because Garvey was perfect on the night.”
Hunter Garvey stopped 20 out of 22 Aberdeen shots, plus all three he faced in the shootout, and earned the victory. His record improves to 11-9-1 as a Bobcat.
With the victory, the Bobcats now stand at 52 standings points, which is four back of Aberdeen and seven back of North Iowa, against whom Bismarck plays six consecutive times to close the season. The ‘Cats go for a much-needed series sweep on Saturday.
“In order for us to make the playoffs, we have to find consistency,” Sedevie said. “We have to have the same effort tomorrow night, and I like our chances if we can come out playing the same game that we did tonight.”
During and after the game, every Bobcats player and coach had their heads shaved in support of childhood cancer in North Dakota. Roughly half the team signed up to participate in advance, but following one of their best efforts of the year, the entire team chose to join in. In over a decade of annual Brave the Shave games, the organization has raised over $100,000 to fight the disease.
The Bismarck Bobcats face the Aberdeen Wings on Saturday, March 25 at the VFW Sports Center. Puck drop is at 7:15 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at tickets.bismarckbobcats.com or by calling the office at 222-3300.