The Bismarck Bobcats completed a home and home series with the Minotauros this past Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s contest was in Minot at Maysa Arena. The 1st period, while it didn’t see any scoring, saw the Bobcats outshoot the Tauros 13-4 in the opening frame and come out of the gates with the intensity that a road team needs heading into a hostile environment. In that 1st period, the Bobcats went 0/2 on the man advantage, while going 1/1 on the penalty kill.
The 2nd period saw the Tauros open up the scoring around the midway mark of the frame on the power play. Leading point scorer Ian Spencer fired one into the back of the net beating Bobcats goalie Kai Weigel, who was playing in his 2nd straight contest. Minot would extend the lead on the ensuing faceoff as there was a defensive miscommunication at the blue line, allowing Minot to take advantage and double their lead. Bismarck would get a late 5 on 3 power play and with 10 seconds to go in the period, after one penalty expired, Tommy Cronin wristed one into the back of the net to make it a 2-1 contest.
The 3rd period was fast-paced and saw a lot of opportunities on both sides. Shots were 20-14 in favor of Bismarck. However, at the midway point of the 3rd, Minot would strike again as Jesse Juhola was open in the slot and fired one past Weigel. An empty-netter from Minot with .5 seconds left sealed the deal as they skated away with the 4-1 victory. The Bobcats registered 49 shots on goal, and Minot goaltender Lukas Swedin stopped 48 out of 49.
Moving ahead to Saturday’s game, a very similar storyline as there was no scoring on either side in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Bobcats went 0/3 on the power play, while going 1/1 on the penalty kill.
The 2nd period saw the Bobcats come out with an intensity and fire as they outshot the Tauros 4-0 in the 1st 8 minutes of the 2nd period. On the 1st shot of the 2nd for Minot, while on the power play, Spencer would strike again to open the scoring for Minot as they took a 1-0 lead in the middle frame. The Bobcats would continue to push and push, but would be unsuccessful in finding the back of the net.
The 3rd period saw the Bobcats get called for 4 penalties in a span of 1:29 in the final 5 minutes of the game, after dominating the 3rd period and continuing their momentum. The Tauros would tack on the empty net goal and skate away with the 2-0 victory.
This was the 1st time all season that the Bobcats were shutout in a contest, and the 1st time all season that the Bobcats were swept in a weekend series.
The Bobcats moved to 32-9-2 after the weekend series. The Bobcats are at home next Friday and Saturday as Aberdeen visits Bismarck. Get your tickets for this weekend’s game by calling the Bobcat Hotline at 390-7422 or log onto BismarckBobcats.com