Bruins Return to Action with Road Trip to Watertown
January 2, 2025 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Austin Bruins News Release
AUSTIN, MINN. - After almost two weeks off, the Austin Bruins (22-5-1-2) return to action with a two game road trip to face off with the Watertown Shamrocks (5-22-2-1). The Bruins haven't seen the Shamrocks since the Black and Gold pulled off the weekend sweep in late November at Riverside Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bruins last took the ice before the holiday break with a two-game stint against the Minot Minotauros. It was a back and forth affair on the 20th of December, with Bruins defenseman Ryan Lund scoring first at 16:02 in the period. Minot's Chuck Owens buried a back door pass to even things up at one before time expired in the opening period.
The Minotauros would take the lead 7:56 into the second period to put Minot up heading into the second intermission. Down 2-1 in the third, Jackson Rilei snapped a quick shot off the face off to beat Lukas Swedin and tie things up. Just seven minutes later, Emil Samuelsson buried the go-ahead goal to put the Black and Gold up 3-2. Alex Laurenza would score an empty netter to cap the three unanswered goal comeback to give the Bruins their first win over Minot this season.
Saturday was a completely different story. With the help of four first period Minot penalties and two power play goals, the Bruins tallied three unanswered first period goals to take a 3-0 lead headed into the locker room. Three was the lucky number, as the Black and Gold held on to shut out the Minotauros and complete the weekend sweep, keeping the team's 20-game point streak intact.
The Bruins finished the month of December with a perfect 6-0-0 record, completing sweeps against North Iowa, St. Cloud and Minot.
SCOUTING THE SHAMROCKS
The inaugural season blues continue to rock the Shamrocks who sit last in the Central Division and the NAHL as a whole. Since the last matchup with the Bruins, the Shamrocks have posted a 2-7-0-0 in their last nine outings.
The highlight of the stretch was a 4-3 upset over the league leading Bismarck Bobcats on December 6th. Most recently, the Shamrocks split a home and home series with the St. Cloud Norsemen before the holiday break.
On the 20th, it looked like the teams would head to overtime before a late goal from St. Cloud's Kyle Miller with just over a minute to go to take a 2-1 lead and the eventual two points. Watertown would get their revenge the following night at home, with three first period goals helping the team to a 3-1 victory over the Norsemen.
HOW TO WATCH
The weekend's games will emanate from the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena in Watertown, SD with puck drop scheduled for 7 pm both nights. The weekend's games will be available on NATV (NAHLTV.com) with play by play coverage provided by the Voice of the Bruins David Koier.
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