Bobcats Welcome Chill to Wrap Season Series
December 27, 2012 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Bismarck Bobcats News Release
BISMARCK, ND - The Bismarck Bobcats will close out their four-game season series with the Coulee Region Chill when they welcome the Chill for a pair of games starting Friday at the VFW Sports Center.
Fresh off a 5-2 come-from-behind victory at Coulee Region on Saturday, the Bobcats know that the Chill's 8-16-5 record is misleading when it comes to game time.
"We do not want to come out and have another start like we did [Saturday] in Onalaska," stressed Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie, whose team swept both games they'll play at the Omni Center this season, "because if we play sloppy and unmotivated, they've shown that with guys like Mac Jansen and Cory Lushanko they can score and put you in a hole quickly."
In Saturday's road victory, the offense came alive with five goals in the last two periods of play, including a 2-for-4 showing by the power play.
According to the Bobcats' coaches, the biggest reason for the scoring outburst was a commitment to hard work.
"You look at that first period, we were passive and nobody wanted to get in the gritty areas," assessed Bobcats assistant coach Garrett Roth. "We went in, as a team, to that first intermission and looked at how to get that turned around. So you get guys like Cory Chapman and Joe Giordano going to the net and we get goals. When you see that happening, you want that to be contagious to all the guys."
Coulee Region has been able to claw ahead of Aberdeen for fifth place in the Central standings thanks to the strong play of goalie Blake Cates, who is 5-4-1 in his last 11 games and has submitted a 2.94 GAA on the season to go with a .919 SV%.
After getting Nate Repensky back from injury and acquiring Roope Hintz, Sam Wolfe and Stanislav Dzakhov in trades this month, the Bobcats will get Filip Starzynski back in the lineup for the first time all month as the second-year veteran returns from an eight-point showing at the 2013 World Junior Championships, where he helped Poland win Group B and earn promotion for 2014.
More good news arrived over the short Christmas break when the Cats learned that 2011-12 standout Ryan Callahan was cleared to practice after a hairline fracture in his back halted his season the same day the NHL listed him in their preliminary 2013 Draft Rankings.
"Getting FIlip back and hopefully Ryan, too, is a huge lift for us," stated Sedevie, who has been without Starzynski since late November and Callahan since late September. "They are big-time defensive players, studs on the penalty kill and are two of the hardest workers in the NAHL. We've definitely been missing them."
The two-game set opens Friday as the Bobcats take on the Chill at 7:15 PM, with their final meeting of the 2012-13 regular season to follow Saturday at the same time.
Friday's divisional matchup will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide on the official internet television partner of the NAHL, FASTHockey. Pregame coverage gets under way at 6:45 PM.
Pro-rated season tickets for the 2012-13 season are now on sale- and going fast! Call the Bobcat Hockey office today at (701) 222-3300 to reserve your seats for another great season of Championship Entertainment.
North American Hockey League Stories from December 27, 2012
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