BISMARCK, ND–A 3:12 stretch of the second period saw the Minnesota Wilderness score three times en route to a 4-2 Bobcat loss Saturday night.
Cullen Willox’s (Eagan, MN) at 4:18 of the first gave the Bobcats the first lead of the night, a lead that stood till late in the second period.
The Wilderness then exploded, taking advantage of Bobcat breakdowns in their defensive zone. Thomas Lindstrom scored at 12:48, Jack Forbort tallied at 13:54, and Darian Romenko scored at 16:00, capping off a three-goal flurry in 3:12 of gametime and building a 3-1 Wilderness lead.
Erik Brenk then added a goal just 45 seconds into the third. Willox came back with a power play goal at 10:51, cutting the lead to 4-2. The Bobcats emptied the net with 1:39 to go, and produced chances, aided by a penalty that afforded them a six-on-four advantage, but they could not cut the deficit any further.
Willox moved to the 30-point plateau with his first goal of the night in his rookie season. Stanislav Dzakov (Moscow, Russia) assisted on both goals, and now has 48 points for the season. The Bobcat power play also scored twice in the weekend against the best penalty kill in the NAHL, with the Wilderness killing 93.4% of power plays coming into the game Saturday night.
The Bobcats travel to Minot Friday, then host the Minotauros on Saturrday. Tickets for Saturday’s game are available at www.bismarckbobcats.com, and the ticket office will open Monday, with tickets available at 222-3300.