FRISCO, TX – Bismarck Bobcats defenseman John Furgele continued his streak of hot play with a five-assist weekend as the Bobcats took three of four points against Aberdeen and Alexandria, spurring the Glen Mills, Penn., native on to being named the number three star in the NAHL’s Combat Hockey Three Stars of the Week.
“Any time you get an award like the Three Stars, it comes from team success,” noted Furgele, who has seven more points (24) in 2011-12 than in his rookie campaign of 2010-11 despite 17 fewer games played, “but I think the way I got it is really through team success: with five assists, the other guys have to be finishing and our guys were putting the puck in the net really well all weekend.”
In all, Furgele assisted three different players in lighting the lamp: Donald Olivieri twice on the power play, Tyler Richter twice in transition and—possibly best of all—finding Bryce Anderson as the fourth rusher on what appeared to be a 3-on-2 break on Saturday’s opening goal against Alexandria.
His defensive contributions also filled the box scores, with the second-year veteran finishing the weekend with a plus-3 plus/minus rating.
“I thought John played very well and adds a lot of depth to our blue line,” credited Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie. “He knows how to move the puck, he sees the ice very well and has come a long way defensively. He is a very smart defenseman who understands how to quarterback a power play.”
With the regular season now into its final month of play, the timing of the award is not lost on Furgele.
“We’re getting close to the playoffs, so execution is going to be key with April coming up,” explained Furgele. “Getting a league-wide award, especially from putting up assists, means that we’re heading in the right direction.”
Furgele becomes the sixth Bobcat to merit inclusion in the league’s weekly honor roll this season, joining Olivieri, Tommy Burke, Frank DeAugustine, Nick Miglio and Shane Omdahl as honorees.
The Bobcats return to divisional play with a 7:15 PM Saturday contest against the hard-charging Austin Bruins, who are within six points of second-place Alexandria with two games in hand, at the VFW Sports Center.
Saturday’s one-off against Austin will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide on the official internet television partner of the NAHL, FASTHockey, at http://nahl.fasthockey.com. Pregame coverage gets under way at 6:45 PM.
Season tickets are still available for the second half of the 2011-12 season—and going fast! Call the Bobcat Hockey office at (701) 222-3300 or email gobobcathockey@aol.com for more information on reserving a pro-rated package for the rest of the season!