BISMARCK, ND–Back in a first-place tie for the NAHL Central Division lead, the Bismarck Bobcats go back into home-and-home action this weekend, facing the Aberdeen Wings in the Dakota Cup Series.
During an eight-game stretch, the Bobcats are 6-0-2 dating back to their last clash with Aberdeen, a 4-2 win at the Odde Ice Center that secured a split of a two-game weekend road trip. During those eight games, the Bobcats have erased a 10-point deficit in the division, and are tied with the Austin Bruins for first place with 37 points.
"Our effort has been outstanding as of late," said Bobcat head coach Layne Sedevie. "We won a lot of games early because of skill, but I think the effort of all of our guys together has been the key."
Aberdeen is three points back of both teams with 34 points. The Bobcats have won three of five in the season series, and lead the points in the series 7-5.
Both teams seem to find ways to score against very good goalies in this series. Wings’ netminder Chad Catt is seventh in the NAHL in goals against average at 1.86, but is allowing 2.34 a game when facing the Bobcats. Bismarck goalie Aaron Nelson (Bismarck, ND) is ninth in the league at 2.05, but allows 2.56 against the Wings.
Filip Starzynski (Warsaw, Poland) leads the Bobcats in the series with three goals and three assists. He has 28 points this season, 11th in the NAHL in scoring. TJ Roo leads the Wings in the series with three goals and three assists, and his 21 points lead the Wings this season.
Friday night’s game will be in Aberdeen, with Saturday’s matchup held at the VFW Sports Center. Both games begin with 7:15 p.m. faceoffs. Tickets for Saturday’s game in Bismarck are still available at 222-3300 or online at www.bismarckbobcats.com. Both games will be heard on Supertalk 1270, with pregame coverage starting at 6:50 p.m. both nights.