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NAHL Minot Minotauros

Weekend Recap January 31 - February 1

February 1, 2025 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release


This weekend the Tauros traveled down to South Dakota to take on the Watertown Shamrocks on the road for the first time in franchise history. The weekend series came as the second straight weekend against the Shamrocks following a weekend sweep last weekend on the Pepsi Rink.

Entering the weekend the Tauros were looking to build on a seven-game win streak, their longest of the season thus far as they wrapped up the month of January.

Despite a dominant showing last weekend at home, it didn't come easy for the Tauros on the road on Friday night.

It was the Shamrocks finding the back of the net first grabbing an early 1-0 lead off a backhanded assist from Alexander Visnapuu that found William Shepherd in the slot for a shot that beat Tauros' netminder Lukas Swedin blocker-side on the Shamrocks first credited shot of the game.

That goal, coming just over five minutes into the game, would be the only scoring of the period as the Tauros trailed heading into the first intermission. After 20 minutes of play inside the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena, both teams were even on shots on the net at nine apiece.

It was the second period though where the Tauros began to apply the pressure.

The Tauros' first goal of the game would come just over three minutes into the second period as Jesse Juhola was able to find nylon on a shot from the goal-line off a rebound to tie things up at 1-1. The assist on that play came from Jack O'Hanisain which tied him with Trevor Stachowiak for most points all-time as a Tauro.

Shortly after that it was Gavin Middendorf firing one in beating Phileas Lachat glove side to the top right corner giving Minot their first lead of the contest. The goal for Middendorf marked his 11th goal in just 10 games as a Tauro.

Before the period was over it was John Small tacking on another for the Tauros' third goal of the period on an assist from Spencer and Middendorf. The goal for Small continues a hot streak for him against the Shamrocks marking his fifth point against Watertown in just three games.

That score would hold after 40 minutes of play as the Tauros hit the locker rooms with a 3-1 lead after two periods of play. Not only did the Tauros hold a dominant advantage in goals scored that period they also outshot the Shamrocks 13-8 in the second frame.

The third period would prove to be a tight period with both teams having opportunities both ways on special teams but no scoring would take place.

The Tauros defended the two-goal advantage until the final horn sounded as the Friday night win marked their eighth win in a row, and eighth win in the month of January tying it for the second-most wins in a month in Tauros' history.

In net, Lukas Swedin was credited with the win saving 26 of 27 shots faced as his record improved to 21-7-0.

Saturday night's game would start in a very similar fashion to the Friday night contest with the Shamrocks striking first in the opening period.

This time it was Cam Markham hammering home a centering pass from Carter Sproule to beat Swedin to grab the first marker of the night for the second straight night.

That lead wouldn't last long though as the Tauros would charge back before the first intermission.

The Tauros' first-period scoring was opened up as Davin Nichols fired a shot into the back of the net quickly off an offensive zone draw to even the score up at one apiece. The goal was good for Nichols' fourth of the season as Minot drew even with 8:22 to play in the period.

Minutes later it was John Small threading a shot through traffic in the slot on the extra-man advantage to pull the Tauros ahead 2-1. The goal for Small marked his sixth goal against the Shamrocks this season.

Under a minute later, Ian Spencer found a loose puck on Lachat's glove side off a shot allowing Spencer to be able to sweep it into the back of the net as the Tauros found their first two-goal lead of the night on Spencer's 16th marker this year.

Before the period was over it was Ian Spencer once again lighting the lamp, this time on a shorthanded goal off an odd-man rush lasering one past Lachat along the goal-line giving the Tauros their fourth goal of the period.

The Tauros would arrive at the first intermission up 4-1 netting four unanswered goals following the early Shamrock lead. Along with the three goal lead the Tauros outshot the Shamrocks in the opening stanza 17-14.

A stop-and-go pace would pick up in the second period as both teams found themselves in the box following fighting calls both ways as tensions rose. Following the second period the game had 227 penalty minutes combined in the books.

The Shamrocks would get one back however in the period courtesy of Justin Bartley on his first of the season to pull Watertown back within two goals at the break. With that being said, the Tauros did still control the shot advantage in the middle period outshooting the Shamrocks 16-9.

Just over eight minutes into the third period it was Parker Newman cleaning up a loose puck in front of the Shamrocks' net and poking it home to restore the Tauros' three-goal lead in the late stages of regulation.

That score would hold as the Tauros would maintain the three-goal advantage as the final horn sounded defeating the Shamrocks 5-2 in the weekend series finale.

The win for the Tauros extended their win streak to nine games for the third time in franchise history as Minot opens the month of February with a win following an eight win month of January.

Lukas Swedin would save 23 of 24 shots faced on Saturday night as he picked up his second win of the weekend.

Next weekend the Tauros will travel down to Mason City, Iowa for the second time this year to take on the North Iowa Bulls. Following that series the Tauros will return home to Maysa Arena on Valentine's Day to square off against the Bismarck Bobcats.

As always, all Tauros' games are broadcasted live on NATV with free audio coverage available on the Tauros' YouTube and Facebook pages. Tickets for the next Tauros' home game can be purchased on the Tauros online ticketing site.

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