Monday Roundup: Former Bobcat Hintz Climbs NHL Draft List
Last Week:
Saturday, January 24: Bobcats 3, Blizzard 2 (OT)
This Week:
Friday, January 30: Bobcats vs. Wings, VFW Sports Center, 7:15pm
Saturday, January 31: Bobcats vs. Wings, VFW Sports Center, 7:15pm
Alum Hintz Ranks High on Central Scouting List
TORONTO, ONTARIO – After starting the season as a B-rated prospect on the NHL Central Scouting “Players to Watch List,” former Bobcat forward Roope Hintz ascended all the way to 11th among international skaters on the service’s Midterm Rankings.
Hintz, who played for the Bobcats during the 2012-13 season before jumping up to the professional ranks in his native Finland, now plays for the Ilves club in Liiga, the top professional league in the country. He also made a quarterfinal appearance at the 2015 World Junior Championship with the Finns.
At 11th, Hintz is the highest-ranked former or current Bobcat on Central Scouting’s list in franchise history.
After not having any players ranked by the NHL’s official draft listing for the franchise’s first 15 seasons, the Bobcats have now had former or current players recognized by Central Scouting for three straight years: Hintz, Zach Yon (2013-14) and Ryan Callahan (2012-13).
Giesler Continues Assault on Team Record Book
Just a week after moving into the top five all-time in career goals, Bobcat co-captain Evan Giesler seized sole possession of fourth place in franchise history with 47 tallies.
With his power play goal Saturday against Brookings, Giesler passed Ryan Wiggins (1999-2001) on the team’s goal list.
In addition to the goal-scoring rankings, Giesler is five games played away from passing Jacques Lamoreux for fifth in GP (140) and eight points from surpassing Nate Ronning for fifth in career scoring (106).
At 47 goals and 52 assists in three seasons in black and gold, Giesler is one point away from becoming the seventh skater in team history with 100 career points—joining Garrett Roth, Matt Paluczak, Lamoreux, Keith Townsend, Ronning and Dan Zawacki.
Winning Effort Gets Nods for Piotrowski, Shepard
Playing central roles in the Cats’ 3-2 overtime victory in their only game of the week, J.M. Piotrowski and Hunter Shepard earned honorable mentions for the NAHL’s Central Division Star of the Week award.
Piotrowski, who notched the OT-winner against Brookings Saturday, merited the league’s recognition just two weeks after earning Star of the Week honors himself.
Rookie goalie Shepard, meanwhile, won for the sixth time in seven starts on 14 saves to score his second honorable mention of the month.
Faragher’s Award Tops Alums’ Big Week
Though 19 Bobcat alums contributed to their teams’ pro and college-level efforts, none had a better week than Ryan Faragher, who picked up the ECHL Goalie of the Week award for the Utah Grizzlies.
It stands as the first professional distinction for Faragher, who won the Robertson Cup with the Cats in 2010.
Patrick Moore (2011-13) had a big weekend, as well, notching two goals and adding two assists to climb into a third-place tie on the Wisconsin-Eau Claire scoring list with 19 points (5g, 14a). Moore’s Blugold teammate Adam Knochenmus also chipped in an assist amid UWEC’s road sweep of third-ranked Wisconsin-River Falls.
Bismarck native Tyler Richter (2009-12) recorded his best weekend of the year, scoring two goals with an assist to pace St. Thomas to a two-game sweep over Hamline to keep the Tommies in first place in the MIAC.
Former teammates Bryce Schmitt (2009-12) and Tommy Burke (2010-12) met in WCHA play and each played an important role: Schmitt scored Friday as Lake Superior State upset sixth-ranked Bowling Green 3-1; Burke made 26 saves the following night to earn the Falcons a road split in Sault Ste. Marie.
Other members of the black and gold fraternity to pick up college points include: Charlie Aus (Concordia, 1g, 1a); Corbin Chapman (Augsburg, 2a); Joe Giordano (Connecticut College, 2a); Danny Ray (UW-Stout, 2a); Castan Sommer (Holy Cross, 1g); Don Olivieri (Nazareth, 1g); Nick Miglio (Utica, 1g); Nate Flynn (Augsburg, 1g); Rory Vesel (Augsburg, 1g); Nate Repensky (Yale, 1a); John Furgele (New Hampshire, 1a); Blake Hietala (Michigan Tech, 1a).
Coming Up
The Bobcats will play the second and third legs of their three-game home stand when they host the Aberdeen Wings Friday and Saturday at the VFW Sports Center.
Through six meetings, the Bobcats hold an 11-3 advantage in the 2014-15 Titan Machinery Dakota Cup standings over Aberdeen.
Tickets are now on sale for the home weekend: fans can buy and print tickets 24 hours a day at BismarckBobcats.com or charge by phone at 222-3300.
Live coverage of both games will begin at 6:45pm 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.
Though the 2014-15 season is now past the half-way mark, there is still time to order season tickets for the year; fans who want to lock in their seats for the entire campaign should call the Bobcat office at 222-3300 today!
