ALEXANDRIA, MN - The Bismarck Bobcats' road-heavy schedule in November rolls on this weekend as the first-place Bobcats will play three games in three nights- first taking on the Alexandria Blizzard Friday andSaturday before a possible first place showdown with the Owatonna Express Sunday.In a home-and-home series on October 23rd and 24th,the Bobcats swept the Blizzard in their only two contests so far this season;the 'Cats took Friday's game in Bismarck 4-2 before earning their secondshutout of the year 2-0 at the Runestone Center in Alexandria Saturday.
The Bobcats-Blizzard matchup sees two teams heading inseemingly different directions in the standings as the Bobcats are 9-2-3 October4th while that same time frame has seen the Blizzard post a 3-4-2record.
The big stories for the Bobcats of late have been specialteams and goaltending.
In last weekend's three-in-three series at Owatonna andAlbert Lea, the Bobcats power play unit improved fourth-best in the leagueafter going 5-for-11 with the man advantage while their top-ranked penaltykilling unit solidified their #1 league-wide ranking by negating 14 of 15opposition power plays.
The main beneficiary- aside from the Bobcats' record- of thespecial teams outburst was forward Sean McKenzie, who picked up a goal andthree assists on the power play amidst a seven-point weekend (2-5-7) thatearned him NAHL Central Division Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Meanwhile, Bobcat netminder Ryan Massa returned from a neckinjury sustained in October, posting a 2-0-0 record with one goal allowed and54 saves in two games against the Express and the Thunder last weekend.
The Blizzard, too, are riding impressive goaltending asAlexandria keeper Chris Kamal was named NAHL Goalie of the Week on Mondayfollowing a 2-0-0 weekend of his own against the Thunder in which he stopped 55of 58 Albert Lea shots.
When the Bobcats tangle with the Express on Sunday, bothteams will be on the back end of a three-in-three weekend; Owatonna will befresh off a home-and-home series against Albert Lea.
The Express have been a primary cause of problems for theBobcats in the Central as Bismarck is just 1-1-2 against Owatonna while pilingup a 5-0-1 record against their other three divisional foes.
Last Saturday's 4-1 Bobcats win at the Four Seasons Centresnapped a three-game losing skid (0-1-2) against the Express.
All three games of the three-games-in-three-nights serieswill begin at 7:00 PM, starting with Friday's Bobcats-Blizzard tilt at theRunestone Center in Alexandria, Minn.
The game will be broadcast locally on the radio home ofBobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at BismarckBobcats.comvia B2 Networks. The pre-game show starts at 6:30 PM.
You won't wantto miss any of the games this season, so order your Season Tickets, FamilyPacks and Group Nights today by calling the Bobcat Hockey Office at701-222-3300 or by e-mailing the office for more information at gobobcathockey@aol.com.
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