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Minot Minotauros

Robertson Cup Semifinal Preview

May 15, 2024 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release


Blaine, Minn. - For the second time in franchise history, the Minot Minotauros can call themselves Central Cup champions. With a 3-1 win over the Bismarck Bobcats last Saturday, the Minotauros secured their spot in the Robertson Cup Semifinals for the first time since the 2017-18 season. As the No. 2-seeded team heading to Blaine, the Tauros will take on the No. 3-seeded Maryland Black Bears

With the semifinals beginning this weekend, the Tauros and Black Bears will play on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a best-of-three series, with the all decisive game three on Sunday at 6 p.m. if necessary. Heading into the weekend the Black Bears have eight playoff games under their belt, while the Tauros have played seven.

Utilizing strong offensive production, the Tauros have scored a league-best 36 goals this postseason, and allowed only 12 which is second best among playoff teams who have played in five games or more. The opposition has scored 16 in eight games, while allowing 13 as well.

On special teams, Minot has scored 10 power-play goals, which is good for a power-play conversion of 28.57%, and they have allowed three goals on the penalty kill, giving them a penalty-kill percentage of 86.96%. Maryland owns a 15.28% power-play conversion with four power-play goals and a penalty-kill percentage of 87.10% after having allowed four goals on the penalty kill in the playoffs.

Offensively, Nicholas Sewecke's 11 points (seven goals, four assists) leads the way for Minot, while Cayden Casey's 10 points (three goals, seven assists) is not far behind. Additional top scorers include Weston Knox (seven assists); Niklas Ketonen (four goals, three assists); Ian Spencer (three goals, four assists) and Joel Lehtinen (two goals, five assists) who have chipped in seven points apiece; and Colby Woogk (six assists) and Trevor Stachowiak (three goals, three assists) who have six points each.

Dimitry Kebreau has been the top point scorer for Maryland, posting 10 points on six goals and four assists. Other top point scorers include Jeremy Tremblay with eight points (two goals, six assists); Samuel Stitz (two goals, four assists); Jesse Horacek (one goal, five assist) and Luke Janus (one goal, five assists) with six point each; and Tyler Stern (four assists); Trayce Johnson (two goals, two assists); Riley Ruh (four goals) and Evan Sofikitis (four assists) with four points each.

Owen Lepak has seen all the work in net for the Black Bears, making all seven starts this postseason. In those starts, Lepak has been solid with a goals against average (GAA) of 1.43 and a save percentage of 94.71%. The Tauros have used both Brady James (four starts) and Lukas Swedin (three starts), as both have contributed significantly to the team's success. James owns a GAA of 1.94 and a 92.73% save percentage, while Swedin owns a GAA of 1.33 and a 94.12% save percentage.

While it's a significant accomplishment to be one of the final four teams standing in the Robertson Cup Playoffs, the Tauros still have some work to do. The team is two wins away from inching themselves closer to achieving the ultimate goal in their sport.

By Sean Williams, www.minotauroshockey.com

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