ONALASKA, WI — Ryan Faragher made 22 saves and picked up his third shutout of the season as the Bismarck Bobcats whitewashed the Coulee Region Chill 4-0 Sunday at the Omni Center.
The Bobcats pulled off the defensive feat with key blue line contributors Nick Romanick, Tom Rizzardo and Dalton Spicer all out due to injuries.
\”Our \’D\’ stepped up big-time tonight and did a great job,\” said Faragher, who is now only one shutout shy of his 2008-09 total of four. \”We were missing some big pieces and [Charlie] Aus, [John] Furgele, [Dan] Kovar, Danny Ray and even Grant Mindt, who dropped back from forward to play defense this weekend… they were all great.\”
Faragher and Coulee Region counterpart Paul Moberg stole the show in the first period, trading big saves through the opening frame as the two sides went scoreless through 20 minutes.
Bobcats forward Sam Dougherty put the visitors ahead to stay just 55 seconds into the third, blasting a 25-foot transition snap shot past Moberg\’s blocker for a 1-0 lead.
Assistant captain Emerson Auvenshine extended the Cats\’ lead to 2-0 on the power play with 6:31 left in the second, stuffing home a John Furgele rebound and doubling the Bobcat edge.
Auvenshine and the Bobcats picked up in the third right where they left off in the second as the Lansing, Mich., native gained the puck from a Bryce Schmitt forecheck and scorched a rising wrister over Moberg\’s blocker 6:12 into the final frame to push the lead to 3-0.
\”It feels like we got back to Bobcat Hockey tonight, trapping well in the neutral zone and creating chances off the forecheck,\” noted Auvenshine, who now has four goals in his last five games. \”All of our lines played well in the corners and our hard work turned into goals.\”
Seth Johnson capped the scoring 20 seconds after Auvenshine\’s second tally, notching his first goal in black and gold on a put-back of a Nick Miglio rebound for the final 4-0 margin.
The Bobcat forecheck and neutral zone play held the Chill\’s attempts to rally at bay, allowing just 12 shots in the second and third periods combined to push the Cats (22-11-3, 47 pts) back ahead of Coulee Region (21-13-4, 46 pts) for second place in the Central Division.
Moberg stopped 29 Bobcat shots but dropped to 15-10-4 on the season.
The Bobcats return home on Friday to open a two-game series against the Alexandria Blizzard–who swept a three-game set from the Cats last week–at 7:15 PM at the VFW Sports Center.
Friday\’s rematch will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at http://nahl.fasthockey.com/. Pre-game coverage will begin at 6:45 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