BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats are back from their longest road trip of 2011-12 and are heading into a huge two-game home weekend against the second-place Austin Bruins starting Friday at the VFW Sports Center.
Both sides come streaking into the series with the Bruins posting three straight wins to claim sole possession of second place in the Central Division while the Cats are on a six-game tear to seize a seven-point lead over Austin for the top spot.
“Austin is a big, tough, physical team and have also added skill this season, so we’re not surprised that they’re performing so well,” said Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie. “On top of that, they are once again very strong in net with Tyler Bruggeman and Nick Lehr.”
Rookie forward Brandon Wahlin has been a huge contributor to the Bruins’ early success with points in seven of Austin’s first eight games for five goals and five assists on the year.
Bruggeman and Lehr have combined for a 4-2-1 record with a team 3.43 GAA and an .885 SV%.
The red-hot Bobcat offense has been the catalyst of the six-game win streak, racking up 37 goals in that span while Nick Miglio, Frank DeAugustine and Shane Omdahl have secured NAHL Three Stars of the Week awards in that span.
“A lot of the lines are starting to develop a nice chemistry which has not only put up some big numbers, but built a lot of depth,” noted Miglio, named number two star of the week after a hat trick and two assists last weekend. “That can make us dangerous, but we also can’t get too far ahead of ourselves; we’re only 10 games into a 60-game schedule. There’s lots of hockey to play and we need to stay at a high level.”
Tommy Burke has paced the Bobcat hot streak in net with six straight wins of his own to drop his GAA to 2.78 and SV% down to .905.
The series opens Friday with a 7:15 PM start at the VFW Sports Center; doors open at 6:15 with Buck-Off Beers debuting a new start time at 6:30 PM.
Friday’s series lid-lifter 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.
Season tickets are now on sale for 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 this season!
BOBCAT HOCKEY
2011 CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONS