Bruins Thwart Tauros to Take Series Lead
May 1, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Austin Bruins News Release
We ve seen this movie before. For the third consecutive year, the Austin Bruins have a chance to win a playoff series against the Minot Minotauros on the road. The Bruins used another fast start and suffocating defense to defeat the Tauros 4-1 Friday in Game 3 of the Central Division Finals at Maysa Arena in Minot. Austin now leads the best-of-five series 2-1.
The Bruins quieted the rambunctious Tauros faithful early, when Alex Pettersson (Ockero, Sweden) followed his shot and flipped in a backhander through a screen from the left circle to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 10:32 of the first period. Just over a minute later, speedy rookie Josh Wilkins (Cary, NC) circled the net, waited for Minot goalie Atte Tolvanen (Vihti, Finland) to go down, then snapped a shot up into the top shelf to make it 2-0. Austin carried that lead into the intermission, outshooting Minot 15-5 in the period.
Minot received two power play opportunities in the second period, but was unsuccessful on both, as the Bruins top-ranked penalty kill in the regular season continued its dominance. Austin s power play was also left empty-handed on a late opportunity and the score remained 2-0 after two.
The Tauros were penalized for running Bruins goaltender Evan Smith (Parker, CO) in the third period, and Nico Sturm (Augsburg, Germany) blasted a shot from high in the slot past Tolvanen to give Austin a 3-0 lead. Nate Pionk (Hermantown) ended Smith s shutout later in the frame when he scooped up a bouncing puck and slid in a backhander with the Tauros on the man advantage, but Sturm added an empty-netter to seal the 4-1 win.
Smith won his second consecutive game in the series and third of the playoffs, stopping 27 Minot shots. Tolvanen made 28 saves in his second straight defeat.
Game 4 will be played Saturday at 7:35pm at Maysa Arena in Minot. If Austin wins, the Bruins would advance to the Robertson Cup Semifinals for the second straight season. If Minot wins, the series would return to Austin at 7:05pm Monday for a deciding Game 5 at Riverside Arena. Coverage of Game 4 begins at 7:25pm on fasthockey.com and 1480AM KAUS.
North American Hockey League Stories from May 1, 2015
- Bruins Thwart Tauros to Take Series Lead - Austin Bruins
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights Granted Membership to NAHL for 2015-16 Season - NAHL
- Wildcats' Soubry to Continue Career at Augsburg College - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Big Game Hunting - Minot Minotauros
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