Behind 8 Goals, Bruins Take Game 1
Published on April 3, 2015 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Austin Bruins News Release
Twenty minutes into Game 1 of the Central Division Semifinals, the fans inside Riverside Arena in Austin were stunned. The Austin Bruins, Central Division regular season champions for the third straight season trailed the Aberdeen Wings 3-1. But a four-goal second period sprung the Bruins to an eventual 8-5 win to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five opening round playoff series.
The Wings jumped out to an early lead 1:34 into the game, when Will Hammer (St. Cloud, MN) beat Bruins goalie Evan Smith (Parker, CO) on the short side. Aberdeen added to that lead minutes later, when Colin Raver (Bartlett, IL) rang a wrist shot off the post and in.
On the night the NAHL named him Defenseman of the Month for the month of March, Ian Scheid (Coon Rapids, MN) answered 31 seconds after Raver s goal to cut the lead in half. It was the first of two goals in the game for Scheid. Late in the period, Hammer added his second of three goals to give the Wings a 3-1 lead going into the first intermission.
A lightbulb flicked on for the Bruins in between periods. Austin rode a four-goal second period to a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes. The line of Luke Dietsch (St. Paul, MN), Tony Uglem (Moorhead, MN) and Trevor Boyd (Muskegon, MI) tallied three consecutive goals in the middle frame to give Austin its first lead. First it was Uglem, who followed up a blocked shot to beat Aberdeen goalie Luke Kania (Chicago, IL) on the rebound. Then Boyd gathered a blocked attempt and patiently snuck the puck behind Kania to tie the game. With Austin on the man-advantage, Dietsch completed a tic-tac-toe passing play to give the Bruins the 4-3 lead, which it never lost.
Still in the second, Jade Miller (Minto, ND) tipped a puck in front that slowly creeped across the goal line to complete the second stanza onslaught. Smith settled down in the period and turned away three or four great Aberdeen chances to do his part in the turnaround.
Early in the third, Aberdeen cut the lead to one when Ryan Cook (Lancaster, NY) ripped in a wrist shot from the top of the circle on the power-play, but Austin s Nico Sturm (Augsberg, Germany) answered with a backhanded tap-in on the doorstep to make it 6-4.
Again, the Wings fought back when Hammer completed his hat-trick right after an unsuccessful 5-on-3 power play, but this time Scheid fired back with another snipe from between the circles. Scheid s insurance goal was ultimately the dagger, as there was only 1:23 left in regulation when he struck. Sturm notched an empty-netter to seal a wild 8-5 win.
Game 2 of the Central Division Semifinals is Saturday at 7:05pm at Riverside Arena. The game can be seen on fasthockey.com and heard on 1480AM KAUS, with coverage starting at 6:55. Game 3 will be in Aberdeen on Friday, April 10 at 7:15pm at the Odde Ice Center. If necessary, Game 4 will be Saturday, April 11 at 7:15pm in Aberdeen.
North American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2015
- Behind 8 Goals, Bruins Take Game 1 - Austin Bruins
- IceRays Drop Game One 3-2 in Overtime to the Wild - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Wildcats Best Bees, Advance to Division Semifinals - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Hammer Scores a Hat-Trick, But Wings Lose 8-5 - Aberdeen Wings
- Playoff Tickets Go on Sale - Topeka Pilots
- NAHL Announces Monthly Player Awards for March - NAHL
- Eagles Travel to Keystone to Open Playoffs Next Weekend - Soo Eagles
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