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NAHL Minot Minotauros

Weekend Recap Oct 26th & 28th

October 27, 2024 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release


The Tauros and Bobcats met inside the Maysa Arena this weekend for the first time in the regular season since their Central Cup clash in last year's playoffs to reignite one of the league's best rivalries. The two in-state rivals entered the weekend hot as Bismarck rolled into town with a perfect 11-0 record while the Tauros had won 5 out of the previous 6 prior to coming into the series.

In a scheduling quirk, both teams met for game one on Thursday night on the Pepsi Rink. Thursday night's game saw little scoring but plenty of opportunities both ways.

The only goal of the night came halfway through the first period as Bobcat forward Chase Reid beat Tauro netminder Lucas Swedin to the top right corner to notch his first goal of his junior hockey career as he gave Bismarck the 1-0 advantage.

Beyond that, both goalies had strong outings in the Thursday contest.

Tauros' second-year goaltender Lucas Swedin saved 28 of 29 shots faced while Bobcat goalie Tomas Anderson pitched his second straight shutout saving a perfect 34 of 34 shots put on net.

Saturday night presented a similarly tight contest between the two rivals that resulted in extra hockey deep into the night.

Reminiscent to Thursday night the Bobcats struck first to grab an early lead by way of Zane Rowen 7:42 into the game. Assists on the goal came from Tristen Trevino and Ian Engel.

The lead would be built on by Bismarck Forward Josh Lehto just over a minute into the second frame as the Bobcats jumped ahead by a pair of goals for their largest lead on the weekend.

The Tauros would respond.

It was John Small first who cut into the Bobcat lead notching his seventh marker on the year with assists from Spencer and Aucoin to beat Bobcat netminder Tomas Anderson for the first time of the weekend as Anderson surrendered his first goal in over nine straight periods of hockey.

The Tauros would only trail by one at the second intermission with a power-play looming on the other end of the break due to a double-minor assessed to Bismarck on high-sticking to give Minot a 5 on 4 advantage out of the break.

The Tauros would take advantage of the extra man as Ian Spencer found the back of the net to draw the Tauros even with the Bobcats at two a piece with nearly an entire third period still to play.

Neither team would score the rest of the way in regulation as time expired, sending both teams into a 3 on 3 overtime extra session. Entering the OT period the Bobcats had a 38 to 31 shot on net advantage over the reigning Central Cup champions.

Overtime would also prove to not be enough as both netminders protected the backs of the net forcing the first shootout of the year for both teams.

It wasn't until the fourth round of the shootout when a goal was netted and it came off the stick of Ian Spencer sending a packed Maysa Arena into pandemonium sealing a 3-2 victory over the Bobcats for the Tauros' seventh win on the year.

As for the Bobcats, the shootout loss came as their first of the year moving their record to 12-0-1 while still comfortably in first place of the Central Division.

The Tauros will be back on the road next weekend to take on the St. Cloud Norsemen in a two-game weekend series beginning on Friday night. The Tauros will return home again on November 8th & 9th to take on that same Norsemen team.

Tickets for upcoming Tauros games can be purchased online at the Tauros ticketing site (tickets.minotauroshockey.com).

Edward Nieman, www.minotauroshockey.com

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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