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NAHL Minot Minotauros

Tauros Split Weekend

October 13, 2024 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release


After two weeks on the road, the Tauros finally returned home to the Pepsi Rink to take on the St. Cloud Norsemen as Minot looked to build on a weekend sweep over the Austin Bruins in the weekend prior.

On Friday night, the Tauros were tasked with defending a 10-year-old streak of winning their home opener while St. Cloud looked to play spoiler in front of a raucous standing-room-only crowd inside Maysa Arena.

It was a hot start for the Norsemen as it only took two and a half minutes to find the back of the net for the lead.

Tyler Wishart was the one to get the scoring started for St. Cloud netting a goal past Tauros' netminder Lucas Swedin off an assist from behind the net from Bronson Hunt.

It would only be seven minutes later when St. Cloud notched another courtesy of Wes Berg as he found the back of the net off a bouncing puck in the center of the ice through traffic.

Wes Berg, a returner for the Norsemen stayed hot through the Friday contest as that goal accounted for his third on the season as he has averaged a point per game through six games played.

The Tauros would not go down without a fight on Friday night as John Small got his fifth goal of the year off assists from Ian Spencer and Ben Aucoin as the Tauros tried to claw their way back in the third period of play in front of a lively crowd.

Despite a few solid opportunities in the closing minutes of regulation, the Tauros were not able to net the game-tying goal as the Norsemen put the icing on the cake by way of an empty net goal from Sam Kartch to seal a 3-1 victory for the visitors as St. Cloud picked up their fifth win of the new season.

Saturday night was a different story as the Tauros looked to avoid the sweep.

The Tauros carried the late-game momentum from Friday night into Saturday night as the Tauros found the back of the net less than a minute into the series finale.

It was Jesse Juhola hammering home his sixth goal on the year as the first-year Tauro continued to stay hot as he leads the team in goals scored thus far as the Tauros took the early 1-0 lead over the Norsemen.

In the closing moments of the first frame, Chuck Owens added another for the Tauros off a shorthanded rush on the penalty kill off a feed from John Small on the nearside to give the Tauros a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

Halfway through the second period, the Norsemen were able to cash in off an extra man advantage to nail the Tauros with their first penalty kill unit goal surrendered this season. It was Tanner Hunt unassisted for his first of the year.

Shortly later, it would be Adam Mahler who restored the Tauros' two-goal lead, finding the back of the net off assists from Aucoin and James to gain the 3-1 advantage with just over a minute and a half remaining in the second period.

There wouldn't be any more scoring until the final 40 seconds of the final period as Billy Batten punctuated the Saturday night win for the Tauros with an empty netter for his second goal through seven games this season as the Tauros climbed back above the .500 mark to 4-3 with the weekend series split.

Next up, the Tauros will be back on the road as they travel to Mason City Iowa to take on the North Iowa Bulls on October 18th & 19th. Those games will be broadcasted live on NATV while free audio coverage can be accessed on the Tauros' YouTube and Facebook pages. Puck drop is slated for 7:10 on Friday night and 6:30 on Saturday night.

The Tauros will return to the Pepsi Rink on October 24th and 26th for a series against in-state rival Bismarck Bobcats. Tickets for those games can be purchased on the Tauros' online ticketing site.

Edward Nieman, www.minotauroshockey.com

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