BISMARCK, ND–After an electric weekend at home ended in a sweep of first-place Austin, the Bismarck Bobcats hit the home-and-home trail again this week with the Brookings Blizzard.
Bismarck starts the weekend at home Friday night, finishing a four-game homestand. The game is part of a stretch, dating to the first of the four at home, that will see the Bobcats play 10 of 13 on their home ice, a run that will take them to year’s end.
With wins of 4-0 and 4-3 in a shootout on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the Bobcats moved to second place in the NAHL Central Division, stepping ahead of Aberdeen. Bismarck is now five behind Austin, who brought an eight-point lead to Bismarck last week.
According to Bobcat head coach Layne Sedevie, winning only amplified the importance of the upcoming series with the Blizzard.
"The wins just made the next four points more important," remarked Sedevie Thursday. "I don’t think we ever took a breath after last weekend. When you’re playing well, you want consistency, so we got back to work and kept things consistent.
Bismarck is now 14-7-2 this season, while the Blizzard are 5-14-6. However, the Blizzard have earned two of their wins over Austin and one over the Bobcats this season. Bismarck is 2-1 in the season series, with a 4-3 shootout win, a 2-1 loss at Brookings, and a 3-1 win in their last meeting in Bismarck on October 19th.
Filip Starzynski (Warsaw, Poland) continues to lead the Bobcats with 26 points on 12 goals and 14 assists. Stanislav Dzakhov (Moscow, Russia) scored his 12th goal this past weekend, and has 20 points overall. Nick DeCenzo leads the Blizzard with 19 points this season.
Faceoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Friday night at the VFW Sports Center. Tickets are available by calling the Bobcat ticket office at 222-3300, or online at www.bismarckbobcats.com. Saturday’s matchup starts at 7:15 p.m. in Brookings.