OWATONNA, MN – The Bismarck Bobcats exploded for a five-goal second period then fought off a furious rally from the Owatonna Express to secure a thrilling 5-4 win Thursday at the Four Seasons Centre.
Trailing 2-0 after the first period, the Bobcats came alive offensively in the second, starting with Frankie DeAugustine’s 17th goal of the season, a short one-timer from Sam Dougherty 6:16 into the period to chop the Express lead to 2-1.
Less than four minutes later the game was tied 2-2 as former Express forward Blake Schammel finished an up-ice rush off a feed from Jason Nash—acquired at the deadline with Schammel from the Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the trade deadline—with 9:55 left in the second.
Castan Sommer kept the rally going 1:07 after Schammel’s equalizer, rolling a high shot through traffic and past Owatonna goalie Charlie Williams to boost the Cats to a 3-2 lead.
The lead grew to 4-2 with 4:36 left in the second as Donald Olivieri scorched a rising power play slap shot over Williams’ glove.
Charlie Mosey capped the five-goal surge 1:27 after Olivieri’s strike, finishing a 2-on-1 with DeAugustine to extend the lead to 5-2 heading into the second intermission.
Owatonna, though, fought back hard in the third, cutting the visitors’ lead to 5-3 with 5:30 left in regulation as Lawrence Cornellier shoveled a loose puck past Bobcat goalie Ryan Faragher.
At the 1:33 mark, Cornellier tallied his second of the period off a Willie Faust rebound, pulling the Express to within 5-4, but the Bobcats’ forecheck held Owatonna at bay over the final minute and a half—not even allowing the Express into the Bobcat defensive zone in the last 60 seconds—to preserve the 5-4 win.
The Express got out to a fast 2-0 lead, scoring goals within 1:06 of each other off the sticks of Ben Persian and Sheldon Taylor, but failed to score over the next 35-plus minutes of the game as the Bobcats took charge offensively.
Faragher turned away 32 shots on the way to his league-leading 25th win of 2010-11 while Williams slipped to 21-8-4 despite 33 saves.
The Bobcats continue their three-game road swing Friday with a 7:00 PM start against the Coulee Region Chill at the Omni Center.
Friday’s road contest will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at http://nahl.fasthockey.com/. As with all away games during the 2010-11 season, fans are encouraged to view the game at Reza’s Pitch—the official away game Home of the Bobcats—at the corner of Third and Front in Bismarck. Pre-game coverage will begin at 6:30 PM CT.
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2010-11 season! Call the Bobcat Hockey office at (701) 222-3300 or email gobobcathockey@aol.com for more information on reserving your seats for the entire season as the Bobcats look to defend the Robertson Cup!
BOBCAT HOCKEY
2010 ROBERTSON CUP CHAMPIONS