Bruins Continue Home Stand with Weekend Series against Watertown
November 21, 2024 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Austin Bruins News Release
AUSTIN, MINN. - The home stretch continues for the Austin Bruins this weekend as the Black and Gold host the Watertown Shamrocks Friday and Saturday at Riverside Arena. The home games are right in the middle of a five game home stretch for the Bruins (12-5-1-1) while the Shamrocks (3-13-2-1) are fresh off of a home-and-home series against St. Cloud.
Austin posted an impressive showing against the Minnesota Mallards at home last weekend. The Black and Gold set two season highs with Friday's seven goal performance boasting the most in a single game this year for the Bruins, while the 12 across the weekend being the most in a two game span.
Love was shared as 15 different Bruins scored at least a point in the sweep against the Mallards. Tyler Shaver, Evan Malkhassian and Jake Spraetz each scored their first goal in Friday's 7-1 routing. Gus Elbert's assist on Shaver's goal marked the first career point for the defenseman.
Saturday night was the Alex Laurenza show as the second-year Bruin scored his second hat-trick in the last month. Combined with his two goal performance Friday, Laurenza finished the weekend 5-2-7 en route to his second NAHL Central Division First Star of the Week. Laurenza is now tied for first in the NAHL with 32 points and fourth in goals with 15.
The Shamrocks head into the weekend after having snapped a 12-game losing streak Friday night with a 4-2 victory over the Norsemen in Watertown. The win marked the first home win in franchise history. Carter Sproule led the way with two goals in the first two periods while assisting on the eventual game winner. Watertown couldn't pick up the sweep, but held on to earn a point on Saturday in a 4-3 overtime loss to collect three points on the weekend.
Both franchises have seen talent on the move this week. Austin's Devin Rustlie was called up to the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders earlier this week, with Andrew Dubin returning to the roster after an early 3-1-0 start with the NA3HL's Rochester Grizzlies.
Watertown's Owen Chartier also joined the USHL ranks on Wednesday after the Shamrocks announced the forward had been called up by the Tri City Storm. Later in the day, the team announced that defenseman Tommy Manzella had been traded to the Minnesota Wilderness in exchange for 2006 d-man Brandt Dubey. Dubey joins the Shamrocks with 77 career NAHL games under his belt with five career assists with the Wilderness.
Saturday night is Teddy Bear Toss Night at Riverside. When the Bruins score their first goal of the game, fans can throw new or slightly used teddy bears or stuffed animals onto the ice. All collected stuffed animals will be donated to the Salvation Army in Austin.
Puck drop on both nights is scheduled for 7:05 pm with tickets available for purchase at tickets.austinbruins.com.
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North American Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2024
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