Bulls tie for first with top spot on the line this week
February 23, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Billings Bulls News Release
The opportunity was there yet again. A Bulls win coupled with a Fargo-Moorhead Jets loss and the Bulls would find themselves in a tie atop the North American Hockey League's West Division. And while the Bulls have certainly taken care of their end recently, Fargo hasn't been too willing to cooperate. That is, of course, until this past Saturday.
The Bulls squared off against the Bozeman IceDogs for the 13th time Saturday and the Bulls simply continued their domination of the Dogs with a 5-3 victory. Billings got goals from Ian Schaser, Brad Gorham and Anders Olson and a pair from Sean Bertsch along with solid goaltending from Aaron Damjanovich, pictured above, to ensure the victory. Damjanovich made 29 saves on 32 shots for his seventh win of the season.
The Bulls have now won seven straight against the Icedogs and improved to 11-2 head-to-head vs. Bozeman this season. The two teams will meet one final time March 11 when the Bulls make their final trip back to the Valley Ice Garden.
With the win, the Bulls improved 28-13-5 and became just the fourth team in the NAHL to crack the 60-point plateau.
So one part of the first-place equation had been completed â the Bulls took care of their end and won. Now they were just hoping Fargo-Moorhead would falter, something that had only happened 11 times all season coming into Saturday night.
But thanks to a different kind of Ice Dog, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, the Bulls were granted their wish as Fairbanks upset Fargo-Moorhead 5-2. The Jets stayed put at 61 points while the Bulls jumped up to 61, which sets the stage for one heck of a game this Wednesday night when the Jets travel to Billings to battle the Bulls.
That's right, just as quickly as these two teams became deadlocked once again at the top of the standings, they'll each have a chance Wednesday night to claim sole possession of the top of the division. Sure there's still plenty of hockey left to be played, with the Bulls having 10 games left and the Jets 13 coming into this week, but that won't take anything away from the intensity the MetraPark ice will host this Wednesday.
Wednesday night's game is the start of NASCAR Weekend with the Bulls. The Bulls will debut their specialty NASCAR jerseys Wednesday, which will then be worn again for Friday's game vs. Helena before they're auctioned off following that game. The Bulls will also be announcing the winners of the NASCAR Trip Giveaway and the NASCAR Furniture Giveaway Friday night. Both games start at 7:05 pm with the doors opening a full hour before the opening face off.
• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...
North American Hockey League Stories from February 23, 2005
- NHL lockout saddens Bozeman's coach and players - Bozeman Icedogs
- Heidinger's five assists earns NAHL Offensive Player of the Week - NAHL
- Cleveland hands Soo first loss in 10 games - Soo Indians
- Bulls tie for first with top spot on the line this week - Billings Bulls
- Blizzard splits pair, remains in NAHL West playoff chase - Alexandria Blizzard
- Rookie Johnson headed to Dartmouth - Springfield Jr. Blues
- BAck to back shutouts earn Russell NAHL Defensive Player of the Week - NAHL
- Home games this weekend more important than ever - Texas Tornado
- Dog Pound Weekly - Bozeman Icedogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
