Bobcats Blanked at Minot
MINOT, ND – Despite outshooting the opposition, the Bismarck Bobcats could not capitalize on numerous scoring chances, falling 2-0 to the Minot Minotauros Friday at Maysa Arena.
The two sides battled to a scoreless standstill through one, with Bobcat goalie Aaron Nelson and Minot netminder Ryan Ruck combining for 19 saves in the opening frame.
Tempers boiled over mid-way through the second when a late hit on Nelson touched off multiple fights in the Bobcat end, resulting in 36 penalty minutes between the two sides.
Less than five minutes later, Minot pulled ahead on an up-ice rush that saw forward Cody Milligan redirect an entry from Steven Sherman over Nelson and in, pushing the Tauros ahead 1-0 with 4:30 to go in the middle frame.
Ruck turned aside 17 shots by the Bobcats in the second, while the Cats saw golden opportunities miss the net from within five feet.
Minot extended the lead to 2-0 with 8:17 to go in regulation when contact by the Tauros at the Bobcat blue line wiped out defender Rory Vesel, giving Lucas Oliver a short 2-on-1 break which the first-year forward cashed in with a rising shot over Nelson’s glove.
Bobcat head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie was assessed a penalty for arguing the perceived missed interference call. The Bobcats were able to negate the ensuing penalty kill but only had 6:43 left to try and mount a comeback.
Through the final six-plus minutes, the Bobcats had scoring opportunities blocked by the Minot defense and up-ice rushes stymied by the Tauros’ neutral zone trap.
When the clock wound down to zero, the Bobcats found themselves on the wrong end of a shutout for the third time in 2012-13.
Nelson finished with 28 saves but could not avoid his seventh regulation loss of the season. Ruck earned his second career shutout on 40 stops.
The Bobcats will wrap up their month-opening road trip Saturday with a 7:00 PM matchup with the third-place Brookings Blizzard at Larson Ice Center.
Saturday’s road contest 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 7:05 PM.
Pro-rated season tickets for the 2012-13 season are now on sale—and going fast! Call the Bobcat Hockey office today at (701) 222-3300 to reserve your seats for another great season of Championship Entertainment.