Bobcat Weekend Preview: Cats Make Second Trade of Week Ahead of Aberdeen Trip
Matchups: Bismarck Bobcats (23-19-1, 3rd Central) vs. Aberdeen Wings (20-23-2, 4th Central)
Game: Saturday, February 7, 7:15pm
Place: Odde Ice Center, Aberdeen, S.D.
This Year: Bobcats lead Wings 6-1-1
All-Time: Bobcats lead Wings 35-13-8
Radio: SuperTalk 1270 AM, 6:45pm
Internet TV: http://NAHL.FASTHockey.com, 6:45pm
BISMARCK, ND – With a critical road showdown looming Saturday against the Aberdeen Wings, the Bismarck Bobcats pulled off a major interleague trade, acquiring forward Aaron Herdt from the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL in exchange for center J.M. Piotrowski.
Herdt, hailing for Moorhead, Minn., has five points (2g, 3a) in 29 appearances this season with the Stampede. Last season for Moorhead High School the 19-year-old led the Spuds with 22 goals and 18 assists.
“Aaron will bring a great work ethic and skill,” commented Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie, who traded for forward Willie Brown from the Topeka Roadrunners on Monday. “He’s a guy we’ve been after for a while, too; he actually signed a tender agreement with us last season.”
The moves come in advance of a rivalry matchup in Aberdeen against the Wings—winners of two straight after a 6-1 vanquishing of Brookings Friday—who now sit just three points behind the Cats for third place in the Central Division chase.
Through eight meetings, the Bobcats hold a 6-1-1 edge in the season series with Aberdeen and have clinched no worse than a tie in the 2014-15 Titan Machinery Dakota Cup.
Aberdeen has surged on the strength of their top line, which has produced six goals in the last two contests—four from Michael Soucier and two from Kyle Haak—and a combined 65 saves by rookie goalie Andrew Shortridge.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats are coming off a season-best January that saw them compile a 7-3-0 record, including a 4-1-0 mark on the road.
Goaltending has also paced the Cats’ run: Hunter Shepard went 6-2-0 in the first month of 2015 while compiling 176 stops.
Co-captain Evan Giesler also submitted a monster January with six goals and six assists to pace the Bobcat attack; Jared Spooner also had a 12-point month (3g, 9a).
Live coverage of Saturday’s rivalry matchup will begin at 6:45pm locally 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.
Though the 2014-15 season has passed the half-way mark, there is still time to order season tickets for the year; fans who want to lock in their seats for the rest of the campaign should call the Bobcat office at 222-3300 today!
