Bobcats Face Aberdeen in Rare Mid-Week Clash
Matchup: Bismarck Bobcats (21-13-1, T-1st Central) vs Aberdeen Wings (13-16-7, 5th Central)
Game: Wednesday, January 27, 7:15pm
Venue: VFW Sports Center, Bismarck, N.D.
Season Series: Bobcats lead Wings 7-0-0
All-Time: Bobcats lead Wings 42-14-10
Radio: SuperTalk 1270 AM, SuperTalk1270.com and the radioPup smartphone app, 6:45pm
Internet TV: http://NAHL.FASTHockey.com, 6:45pm
BISMARCK, ND – Fresh off their second straight overtime duel with them just four days prior, the Bismarck Bobcats will take on the Aberdeen Wings Wednesday at the VFW Sports Center.
Wednesday will be just the Bobcats’ seventh non-weekend match of the year.
It marks the fourth straight meeting between the two Dakota Cup rivals, with the previous two going to the Cats in OT—each by the score of 3-2.
“Aberdeen is starting to put together some points and make a run at a playoff spot,” noted Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie, “which isn’t surprising considering the talent they have on the blue line and in net. Defense and goaltending can take you a long way in this league, which makes [the Wings] very dangerous here in the second half.”
The Wings are 4-2-3 in their last nine games, surpassing the Minnesota Magicians in the Central Division standings and pulling within five points of Brookings for the division’s fourth and final postseason spot.
At the center of Aberdeen’s resurgence has been netminder Peter Thome, who has started all nine of those games with a dazzling 2.40 GAA and .928 SV% in that span. The North Dakota commit posted 39 saves in Saturday’s contest, including highlight reel stops on Kyle Sylvester and Harrison Aide.
Spurring the Wings’ offense has been its ascendant power play, which has risen to eighth league-wide with an 18.8% efficiency. Against the Bobcats it has been even more potent: in seven meetings the Aberdeen ‘PP’ has operated at a 27.3% rate while contributing two out of every three goals the Wings have scored against the Cats.
For the Bobcats, second-year center Aaron Herdt has tallied four goals and four assists in six January contests to claim the team lead in scoring with 32 points (14g, 18a).
Goalie Hunter Shepard picked up his 20th win of the year Saturday for the Cats, improving his GAA to 2.15—the sixth-best mark in the NAHL. Shepard’s tandem-mate, Nick DeSimone, sports the sixth-ranked SV% in the league among goalies with 10 or more starts at .924 on the year.
Tickets are now on sale for the mid-week clash: fans can buy and print tickets 24 hours a day at BismarckBobcats.com, by clicking “Shop Now” on the team Facebook page or by calling 222-3300.
Wednesday’s installment Titan Machinery Dakota Cup will be broadcast live locally on SuperTalk 1270, KLXX-AM, the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, and worldwide online at NAHL.FASTHockey.com—the official web television partner of the North American Hockey League—with pregame coverage starting at 6:45pm.
Season tickets are still on sale for the 2015-16 season at a pro-rated price; if you want to beat the rush of over 40,000 fans for this year, now is the time! Call 222-3300 to reserve your seats today.