AUSTIN, MN – The Bismarck Bobcats saw the Austin Bruins rattle off three straight second period goals and couldn’t bounce back, falling 3-1 Friday at Riverside Arena.
Following a scoreless first period, the Bruins jumped ahead 1-0 on Cody Hotchkin’s seventh goal of the year as the Austin forward sprung free to put back a James Dickinson rebound on an odd-man rush 5:07 into the middle frame.
Austin doubled their lead 4:17 later as Chris Fischer blasted a low transition slap shot past Bobcat goalie Ryan Faragher for a 2-0 edge.
The Bruins were able to tack on some insurance with 4:57 left in the third period on a controversial penalty shot called by referee Phil Stodgell. On the call, Bruins forward Mike Adamowicz had sprung free for a breakaway behind the Bobcat defense as Donald Olivieri and Nikolaj Rosenthal attempted to backcheck on the play. Adamowicz got the shot off from the low slot but missed the net as pressure arrived, prompting a penalty shot call from Stodgell despite the shot being taken and the contact arriving so far down the ice.
On the penalty shot, Adamowicz deked right and popped a backhander off Faragher and into the top right corner to extend the Austin lead to 3-0.
The Bobcats largely carried the play through the third period, but had trouble breaking through a well-executed 2-3 zone deployed by Bruins head coach Chris Tok in the final frame.
Tyler Richter finally broke the spell of Austin goalie Keegan Asmundson with 1:02 left in regulation, snapping home a Dan Zawacki rebound, but the rally started a bit too late as the Bruins hung on for a 3-1 win.
Asmundson picked up his fifth win in six starts behind 23 saves while Faragher suffered his 16th loss of 2010-11 on 26 stops.
The Bobcats and Bruins will wrap up their two-game series with a 7:05 PM Saturday matchup—the Cats’ final contest of the regular season at Riverside Arena.
Saturday’s weekend finale 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 7:05 PM Friday and 6:35 PM Saturday.
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