Bobcats Rally Snuffed out After Ugly Second
November 20, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Bismarck Bobcats News Release
AUSTIN, MN - The Bismarck Bobcats attempted to come back after suffering their worst period in nearly three years, but had their rally halted late in a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the Austin Bruins Friday at Riverside Arena.
Leading 1-0 after one, the Bobcats were quickly equalized when the Bruins' top scorer, Gilbert Gabor, grabbed a long rebound off the end-boards and slammed it inside the left post before Bobcat goalie Hunter Shepard could recover 3:27 into the second.
Austin proceeded to take the lead at 2-1 just 2:09 later on the power play as Dawson DiPietro tapped in a back-door pass from Jacob Paganelli for his seventh goal of the year.
Things slid further downhill for the Cats with 10:12 to go in the second as Justin Misiak pushed the Bruins' edge to 3-1 on a mid-slot redirect that beat Shepard in traffic.
The turning point of the game happened at the 7:19 mark of the stanza, when Bobcat center Aaron Herdt was given a five-minute major and a game ejection for checking from behind and Bobcats head coach Layne Sedevie was ejected over a shouting match with the Austin bench- giving the home side a major power play and a 5-on-3 advantage.
Austin Rueschhoff and Gabor cashed in on the ensuing power plays, extending the score to 5-1 heading into the third.
It stands as the Cats' worst period since February 23, 2013- also at Riverside- when they gave up five goals in the first en route to an 8-3 defeat.
Bobcat captain Cole Souto sparked the offense early in the third, threading a shot through traffic that beat Austin keeper Kristofer Carlson glove side 5:43 into the frame and slice the Bruins' cushion to 5-2.
Alex Strand chopped it to 5-3 with 9:48 to go in regulation, slamming in a Garrett Nelson rebound on the power play for his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
That would be as close as the Bobcats would come, however; late strikes from Evan Cholak and Miha Zajc put an abrupt end to the visitors' comeback hopes and gave the game its 7-3 final.
Harrison Aide had the only goal of the first, stuffing home a Tobias Fladeby rebound 6:29 into the game.
Shepard managed just 12 stops before being replaced by David Fessenden, who made five saves in relief. Carlson picked up his division-leading 10^th win of the year on just 18 saves.
The Bobcats will attempt to salvage a split Saturday with a 7:05pm rematch at Riverside.
Saturday's contest will be broadcast live 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- with pregame coverage starting at 6:35pm.
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North American Hockey League Stories from November 20, 2015
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