NAHL Bismarck Bobcats

Four-Goal Surge Lifts Bobcats Past Rage

Published on October 8, 2011 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Bismarck Bobcats News Release


DAWSON CREEK, BC - Trailing 2-1 over halfway through thegame, the Bismarck Bobcats rattled off four unanswered goals and rode a hotpenalty killing unit to a 5-2 win Friday at the Encana Centre.

"We weren't very strong through 40 minutes, but we founda way to respond," admitted Bobcats head coach and general manager LayneSedevie. "And it's an old hockey clich�, but it's not how you start; it's howyou finish- and tonight we were finishers."

Rage forward Kelyn Opel got the home side in front forthe first time with 9:46 to go in the second period, converting a defensivezone turnover by the Cats into an unassisted strike through the legs of Bobcatnetminder Tommy Burke.

It took just over three minutes for the Bobcats to pulllevel, though, as Adam Knochenmus wrestled for a Bryce Schmitt rebound andout-waited Rage goalie Edward Dyson to put home his first goal as a Bobcat andforce a 2-2 tie with 6:25 left in the second.

Coming out of the second intermission, the Bobcatsblitzed the Rage for three goals in four minutes, starting with FrankDeAugustine crushing home his sixth of the season off a wonderful centeringfeed from Dan Zawacki that pushed the Cats ahead 3-2 just one minute into thethird.

Patrick Moore followed 1:23 later, tipping a Danny Rayshot over Dyson and in to double the lead to 4-2.

Moore would finish up the scoring 3:27 into the finalframe with another deflection, this time redirecting a rising shot from CastanSommer past Dyson's shoulder for the final 5-2 margin.

The Bobcats, however, did not have an easy road to thefinal score, taking five penalties in the last 15 minutes of the game, forcingBurke to make numerous highlight reel saves to keep the advantage at threegoals in a hostile barn.

On the night, the Bobcat penalty kill was a perfect8-for-8 while the power play was a strong 2-for-7 to give a strong specialteams vibe to the Cats' fifth straight victory.

"I was pleased with the effort by the 'PK,' for sure,"noted Sedevie, "especially later on by Tommy Burke. The PK has gotten sharp,but we really need to stay out of the box. Eight penalties is way too many, especiallyon the road."

Sommer's sixth goal of 2011-12 got the Cats startedmid-way through the first as the assistant captain found some time and space onthe power play from a back-door pass by defender Jeremy O'Keefe and sniped thetop left corner on Dyson 11:53 into the game.

Opel's first of the game came 50 seconds into the secondas he banged home a Bob Turnbull rebound for a 1-1 tie, setting the stage forthe contest's wild second half.

Burke made 24 saves en route to his fifth straight win innet while Dyson made numerous head-turning stops on his way to 25 saves and thehard-luck loss.

The Cats and Rage will wrap up their two-gamecross-border series Saturday with a 9:00 PM CT start at the Encana Centre.

Saturday's interdivision finale will be broadcast locallyon the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide onthe official internet television partner of the NAHL, FASTHockey, athttp://nahl.fasthockey.com. Pregamecoverage gets under way at 8:30.

Season tickets are nowon sale for the 2011-12 season- and going fast! Call the Bobcat Hockey office at(701) 222-3300 or email gobobcathockey@aol.com for more information onreserving a pro-rated package for this season!

Check out the Bismarck Bobcats Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2011


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