Weekend Recap December 5-6
NAHL Minot Minotauros

Weekend Recap December 5-6

Published on December 6, 2025 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release


For the first time ever, NAHL regular-season hockey made its way out west to Watford City as the Rough Rider Center played host to the first of two weekend series this season featuring the Tauros and Mallards.

As part of the weekend series, the Tauros rebranded as the Watford Warthogs, donning specialty jerseys on the ice as they squared off against the Mallards, looking to get back into the win column.

After a pedestrian start to the opening period on Friday night, it was Minnesota grabbing an early lead courtesy of a Ty Gordon goal with just 4:52 remaining in the period to make it 1-0. The goal for Gordon marked his third of the year as Justin Watson was credited with the assist.

Answering back just 30 seconds later was second-year forward Dane Ramirez as he lit the lamp with his team-leading eighth of the season to knot the game up at aces. Assisting on Ramirez's goal were Habla and Nichols for each of their fourth assists of the season.

That would be all the scoring the opening period would have to offer as the game arrived at the first intermission tied, 1-1.

Shots on net through the opening 20 minutes favored the Warthogs by a large margin, 10-4.

The middle stanza on Friday night would bring more back-and-forth action as Mallards' point-leader Bryan Wiitala broke the tie just three minutes into the period, threading one by Tauros' netminder Brian Cooke for his 10th of the season to make it, 2-1.

In the waning moments of the period, with just over a minute left to play, it was Braeden Jockims putting one into the back of the net off assists from Artem Prima and Anthony Spadaro to once again send the game into an intermission with the score tied.

After two periods of play, the Warthogs maintained the lead in shots, 18-15.

After no scoring to show for, for either team, the Warthogs would head to the extra-man advantage with 5:03 remaining in the period on a tripping call that was assessed to the Mallards.

It was Braeden Jockims finding nylon just over a minute into the power play on his second of the night and fourth of the season to put the Tauros up 3-2 with four minutes remaining in regulation.

Jockims' goal would prove to be enough as the Warthogs would hold on for a 3-2 victory in the first-ever NAHL regular-season game in Watford City as the horn sounded inside the Rough Rider Center.

The win would snap a five-game losing streak entering the weekend for Minot, as the Mallards' win streak of two games would come to an end in the Friday night loss.

In net for the Warthogs getting the win was Brian Cooke, as he saved 20 of 22 shots faced for his third win on the season.

Shots would end in favor of the Warthogs, 29-22.

Saturday night brought more hockey to the ice in Watford as Minot would be looking for their second weekend sweep of the season, looking to carry momentum from the late-night Friday win.

It was once again Minnesota grabbing the early lead on Saturday night as Parker Deschene was the first to put one in the back of the net with 6:12 remaining in the first period to make it 1-0 in favor of the Mallards.

Answering back less than two minutes later was Artem Prima for the Warthogs as he fired one in off an assist from Jockims to pull the game even at aces. The assist for Jockims would mark his third point of the weekend as the game arrived at the first intermission.

For the fourth period of the weekend, the Warthogs would head to the dressing room, outshooting the Mallards, this time, 11-9.

Tensions would ratchet up as the game entered the middle frame.

Ty James would find himself dropping the mitts with Paul Spino nearly halfway into the period in an altercation that would result in a handful of penalties each way.

With just under four minutes remaining in the period, it was Prima once again finding the back of the net as he wired one past Mallards' netminder Adam Kimbral's blocker side, to restore the Warthogs' lead, making it 2-1.

That lead wouldn't last long, however, as Beckett Hinchsliff would tie the game back up just 30 seconds later on his sixth of the season.

After two periods of play, both teams would find themselves knotted up at deuces.

Shots on net favored the Warthogs, 26-20.

For the second night in a row, the game would enter a divisive third period as the Warthogs looked to complete the weekend sweep,

It was Ethan Rosenoff breaking the tie with 5:28 remaining in regulation as his goal would make it 3-2 in favor of Minnesota as they grabbed their first lead of the night, putting the Mallards on the brink of their first franchise win over Minot.

Parker Deschene would add another just under a minute later to double the lead, making it 4-2 on his second of the night and third of the season.

That would be enough as Minnesota would salvage the series split with the Saturday night win in Watford City, 4-2. The win for the Mallards would mark their sixth this year as their record improved to 6-11-3.

The Tauros will return to the ice next weekend against the St. Cloud Norsemen at the Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:35 PM both Friday and Saturday night.

As always, tickets can be purchased on the Tauros' online ticketing site. For those who cannot make it, all Tauros games are broadcast live on NATV, along with a free live audio broadcast available on the Tauros' YouTube, Facebook, and Mixlr pages.

To stay the most up to date with the Tauros, make sure to tune into Tauros All Access Monday-Thursday at 3 PM on the Tauros' YouTube and Facebook pages.

Check out the Minot Minotauros Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2025


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