Bobcats Enter Season’s Final Month at Austin
Matchup: Bismarck Bobcats (31-16-1, T-1st Central) vs Austin Bruins (24-22-4, 3rd Central)
Games: Friday, March 11, 7:05pm; Saturday, March 12, 7:05`pm
Venue: Riverside Arena, Austin, Minn.
Season Series: Bobcats lead Bruins 4-2-0
All-Time: Bobcats lead Bruins 30-20-2
Radio: SuperTalk 1270 AM, SuperTalk1270.com and the radioPup smartphone app, 6:35pm both nights
Internet TV: http://NAHL.FASTHockey.com, 6:35p, both nights
AUSTIN, MN – With less than a month left in the regular season, the Bismarck Bobcats are back on the road as they travel to face the third-place Austin Bruins for a two-game series starting Friday at Riverside Arena.
Entering the weekend, the Cats (31-16-1, 63 pts) are just one point away from their eighth consecutive playoff berth and sit in a first-place tie with Minot (29-17-5, 63 pts)—both 11 points clear of Austin (24-22-4, 52 pts)—atop the Central Division.
Friday marks the first time that that the Bobcats will face the Bruins since splitting a two-game series at Riverside in late November.
Austin returns home fresh off a dramatic 4-3 road win over Brookings that saw captain Jade Miller score his division-leading 25th goal with 36 seconds left in regulation to earn a victory in the Bruins’ only game of the weekend.
Special teams have been a forte for the B’s all season: Austin currently leads the Central Division with an 85.71% penalty kill (4th league-wide) and is second in the division only to the Bobcats in power play efficiency at 20.75% (6th in the NAHL).
The Cats, meanwhile, have leaned on their defense of late: allowing just 27 goals in their last 16 games to keep pace in the tightly packed Central.
Aaron Herdt leads the Bobcat scoring charge with 46 points (18g, 28a), while Alex Strand’s 23 goals trail only Austin’s Miller for tops in the division.
Friday’s road battle 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 6:35pm.
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.