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Austin Bruins

Bruins Advance to Central Division Finals, Await Opponent

April 23, 2018 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Austin Bruins News Release


AUSTIN, MN - After defeating the Minnesota Wilderness in four games, the Austin Bruins will be one of eight NAHL teams left standing in the quest for the 2018 Robertson Cup. Their appearance in the Central Division Finals is the sixth in the eight-year history of the franchise. Their opponent will be decided tonight as the Aberdeen Wings and Minot Minotauros play game five of their semifinal series in South Dakota at 7:15 PM.

The Bruins played games three and four of their series with the Wilderness in Cloquet, MN this past weekend, losing a heartbreaker on Friday, 3-2. After rallying from a 2-0 first period deficit, Che Landikusic and Valdemar Ahlberg scored in the second to even the score. Wilderness defenseman Alex Spencer scored the lone goal of the third period, but the Bruins mounted a fierce attack in the game's final minute, putting the puck in just after the clock hit zero.

On Saturday night, despite again allowing the first goal of the game, the Bruins got a pair late in the opening period from Evan Cholak and Dante Sheriff to take their first lead of the weekend. Sheriff's goal was of the highlight-reel variety, as he batted the puck out of midair into the net. Travis Kothenbeutel pushed the lead to 3-1 late in the 2nd, before the Wilderness countered to make it a 3-2 game at the end of 40 minutes. In the third, Dante Zapata and Ahlberg scored to put the game away. Ahlberg finished as the top scorer of the series, with three goals and an assist. The Bruins won game four, 5-3. Alex Schilling was the winning goaltender in all three Bruins victories.

If #1 seed Aberdeen wins tonight, they will host the Bruins in games one and two this weekend (April 27th and 28th). If #4 Minot pulls the upset, the Bruins will have the home-ice advantage and host games one and two at Riverside Arena on the same dates. The other NAHL divisional finals are as follows:

MIDWEST: #1 Fairbanks vs. #2 Janesville

EAST: #1 Philadelphia vs. #3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

SOUTH: #1 Shreveport vs. #2 Lone Star

The four divisional winners will meet in Blaine, MN on May 11-14th in the Robertson Cup Tournament. The Bruins last appearance in the final four was 2014-15, when they fell to the Wilderness in the National Championship.

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North American Hockey League Stories from April 23, 2018


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