Bobcats’ 2015 NAHL Showcase Schedule Unveiled
FRISCO, TX – The final piece of the Bismarck Bobcats’ 2015-16 regular season schedule fell into place Tuesday, as the North American Hockey League announced the Cats’ slate at the 2015 NAHL Showcase at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minn.
Five days after raising the curtain on 2015-16 against the Austin Bruins on Coors Light Opening Night—scheduled before the Showcase for the first time since 2005—the Bobcats will open their Showcase run at 4:15pm on Wednesday, September 23, against the New Jersey Jr. Titans of the new-look North Division. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Bobcats and Jr. Titans, in their first NAHL season out of Middletown, N.J.
Thursday, September 24, will see a considerably more old-school matchup when the Cats, the NAHL’s second-oldest franchise, face off against the Topeka Roadrunners, the league’s fifth-longest tenured team at 7:15pm. Despite both squads’ deep roots, it will only be the Cats’ third meeting ever with Topeka—with the Runners claiming Showcase duels in 2007 and 2012.
In an interesting twist, the teams’ coaching staffs are intertwined between the two cities: Bobcats head coach Layne Sedevie played a year of junior hockey in Topeka in 2002-03; Roadrunners head coach Scott Langer served as assistant coach for the Cats from 1997 until 2002, under both John Becanic and the late Chad Johnson.
It will be another first-time opponent for the Bobcats on Friday, September 25, when they tangle with the South Division’s Odessa Jackalopes in another prime-time contest (7:30pm). Though the Jacks have been a part of the NAHL landscape since 2011, it is the first time they’ll cross paths with the Cats.
A much more familiar foe awaits the Bobcats to close out the Showcase on Saturday, September 26, at 3:00pm: the Coulee Region Chill, a former divisional rival of the Cats. Though the two sides haven’t seen each other since December 2012, there is still plenty of history: the Cats vanquished the Chill on the road in a thrilling Game Five to win the 2011 Central Division Finals for their third of five consecutive Central Cups.
Tickets for the Showcase can be purchased on-site at the Schwan Super Rink, starting September 23.
Live coverage of all four 2015 NAHL Showcase contests will air on SuperTalk 1270, KLXX-AM, the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, and worldwide online at NAHL.FASTHockey.com, the official web television partner of the North American Hockey League.
Season tickets are now on sale for 2015-16; if you want to beat the rush of 40,000 fans for next season, now is the time! Call 222-3300 today to reserve your seats.