Bobcats Face Bruins for Road Set
Matchup: Bismarck Bobcats (5-3-0) vs Austin Bruins (3-4-1)
Games: Friday, October 14, 7:05pm; Saturday, October 15, 7:05pm
Venue: Riverside Arena, Austin, Minn.
Season Series: Bobcats lead Bruins 2-0-0
All-Time: Bobcats lead Bruins 32-22-4
Radio: SuperTalk 1270 AM, SuperTalk1270.com and the radioPup smartphone app, 6:35pm both nights
Internet TV: http://NAHL.FASTHockey.com, 6:35pm both nights
AUSTIN, MN – The Bismarck Bobcats will make their first trip to Riverside Arena since the 2016 Central Division Finals when they open a two-game series against the Austin Bruins starting Friday.
Friday will be Austin’s home opener, as the Bruins have played their first eight games of 2016-17 away from Riverside.
“Austin is always a tough place to play, which means it will be a good test for our guys,” surveyed Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie, whose team snagged its first road win of the season Saturday, 5-4 at Minot.
“We have struggled with focus and consistency, so playing in front of a hostile, home-opening crowd at Riverside will show us pretty quickly if our guys learned their lesson from the last two weeks and can put together a 60-minute game.”
Including playoffs, the Bobcats went just 1-3-2 at Riverside in 2015-16.
When the two sides met at the VFW Sports Center two weeks ago, the Bobcats struggled to play from ahead: giving up a two-goal lead on September 30 before rallying to win in the third period then withstanding a two-goal surge in the third period from the Bruins on October 1 to hang on for a 4-3 victory.
Special teams played a big role for the Bobcats in their two home contests against Austin, with the power play going 5-for-10 while the penalty kill wiped out eight of nine Bruin man advantages on the weekend.
Second-year winger Parker Mismash is tops among Bobcat scorers with 13 points on five goals and 8 helpers, trailed closely by linemates Tobias Fladeby (6g, 6a) and Matt Barry (4g, 6a).
Veterans Jan Stefka and Justin Misiak lead the Bruins offensively, each posting seven points through eight games to start the season.
Friday’s weekend opener will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270 AM, and worldwide on HockeyTV.com–the web television partner of the North American Hockey League–with pregame coverage starting at 7:05pm.
Season tickets are now on sale for the Bobcats’ landmark platinum anniversary campaign fans can get more information or reserve their seats for all of Season Twenty now by calling 222-3300.