Bobcats Suffer 4-2 Loss
February 21, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Bismarck Bobcats News Release
BISMARCK, ND--A hungry effort by the Brookings Blizzard dropped the Bismarck Bobcats 4-2 in Brookings Friday night.
Conor Andrle's short-handed goal into an empty Bobcat net as regulation expired punctuated a night that saw Bismarck confronted with physical Brookings' play and hampered by turnovers.
The loss drops the Bobcats (28-16-4) to second place in the NAHL Central Division, as Austin edged Aberdeen in overtime. Brookings (14-28-7), meanwhile, closed the gap for the final playoff spot to six points, as Minot was beaten at home by the Minnesota Wilderness
Despite grabbing an early lead, the Bobcats took a costly setback just over a minute into the game, a setback that glared when Bismarck needed a play to be made late.
Brookings Beau Michaud laid in a vicious hit to the back of Filip Starzynski (Warsaw, Poland), drawing a major at 1:07. But Stan Dzakhov (Moscow, Russia), the Bobcats' leading scorer, took exception, pummeling Michaud with punches that drew a game ejection on an instigator call.
For his part, Michaud flirted with what could have, and perhaps should have, been an ejection due to the hit on Starzynski, then landed on a referee after a second referee pulled Dzakhov to the ice to attack Dzakhov. Michaud was allowed to continue playing.
After Dzakhov's two-minute instigator was served, the Bobcats enjoyed a three-minute power play on Michaud's major, and took the advantage to five-on-three after a checking from behind call on Wyatt Schmidt. Nate Repensky (Duluth, MN) took advantage, blasting a one-timer set up by Chris Diver (Wilmington, DE) past Brookings netminder Connor Girard for a 1-0 edge at 6:05 of the first.
But what the power play gave, the penalty kill took away later in the frame. Starzynski would be nabbed for cross checking, and, just 18 seconds into the power play, Schmidt would backhand chip a Viktor Munter crossing pass beyond Aaron Nelson, equaling the score 1-1 at 13:10.
Brookings physical play continued in the second, leading to a pair of fights, both dominated by Bobcats. Ryan Callahan (Grafton, ND) stung Jeff Flicker with two big rights to end a short spar, and Alex Toscano (Duluth, MN) used a pair of solid lefts to sprawl Schmidt on the ice.
The altercations, however, played to Brookings style, as they entered the night as the most penalized team in the Central division. They shook off the tussles and Ryan Sete wristed the third goal of the night past Nelson from the edge of the right circle after a feed from Nick DeCenzo, sending Brookings to a 2-1 lead at 16:27.
Brookings pushed the game out of reach early in the third. Andrle deflected an Evan Hesse slap high in the air in front of the crease, but the puck landed behind Nelson. As Nelson turned to locate, the puck slid across the goal line expanding the lead to 3-1 at 2:57.
Evan Giesler (Naperville, IL) brought the Bobcats back into contention by chipping a Nick Wallace (Burbank, CA) screamer past Girard at 14:51, cutting the lead to 3-2. With 1:24 to go, Bismarck caught a break when Michaud was called for tripping, allowing the Bobcats to finish with a power play.
After a short stay, Nelson was lifted, turning the advantage into a six-on-four. But the Blizzard penalty, beleaguered all season at 82.4%, made a strong clearing play then pressured the issue late with Andrle backhanding in the final score as time expired.
The Bobcats host Brookings Saturday night in the back-half of the home-and-home. Tickets are available at 222-3300 or online at www.bismarckbobcats.com.
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