Weekend Recap October 17-18
NAHL Minot Minotauros

Weekend Recap October 17-18

Published on October 18, 2025 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minot Minotauros News Release


In the final leg of a month-long road trip, the Tauros made their first stop of the season in Austin, Minnesota, as they looked to get back to their winning ways against the second-place Bruins at Riverside Area.

Friday night provided fans a thriller as the Tauros and Bruins dueled to an extra frame with the Bruins winning 4-3 on an overtime goal courtesy of Zander Lipsett. The win for the Bruins would be their sixth victory on the season, as the Tauros were able to salvage a point in the OT loss.

In the loss, Brian Cooke set an organization record, saving 73 shots on net. The '08 netminder, who is a native of St. Louis, improved his save percentage to .934 following the unbelievable and record-setting effort in the Friday night contest.

The Tauros would return to Riverside Arena on Saturday night looking for redemption before a long bus ride home to Minot. Entering Saturday night, the Tauros record stood at 2-5-1-2, good for sixth place in the Central Division.

The Saturday night scoring would get started just under seven minutes into action in Austin.

It was the Bruins striking first on a quick shot off the draw by John Flood that would sneak its way past Tauros' goaltender Magnus Loponen for the early 1-0 lead.

Assisting on Flood's goal was Sam Kline.

With just under three minutes remaining in the opening period, the Tauros would respond to tie the game. It was Philip Wiklund finding nylon on his second goal of the year and the 13th power play marker of the year for Minot.

Assisting on Wiklund's goal was Marlen Edwards and Ty James as the score was drawn even at aces.

Through 20 minutes of play on Saturday night, it was the Bruins controlling the shots advantage 14-10.

Early in the second period, the Bruins would restore their lead as Hugo Thulin scored less than three minutes into the second stanza to grab the 2-1 lead. Sam Kline would be in on the assist for his second of the season.

With 7:41 remaining in the period, second-year Bruin Gavin Hruza would tack on another on a power play goal to double the Austin lead on his first of the year. The goal would come off a feed from fellow second-year Bruin EJ Paddington.

Austin would add another, making it 4-1 off a goal from Sam Kline for his second point of the night with 4:19 remaining in the period.

40 minutes would come and go with the Bruins outshooting the Tauros 29-22 through two periods of play.

The third period would commence with Devin Rustlie replacing Magnus Loponen in net for the Tauros as he made his return to Riverside Arena after playing six games last year for the Bruins.

In the third period, the Bruins would tack on another courtesy of Matsvei Marshchanok as they extended their lead to four goals on home ice.

That score would hold as the Bruins would complete the weekend sweep on Saturday night, defeating the Tauros 5-1. Austin would outscore the Tauros 9-4 on the weekend as the Tauros picked up one point on the weekend.

Next weekend, the Tauros return home to the Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena as they square off with the first-place Aberdeen Wings. Next weekend will also feature the annual Trunk-or-Treat event with festivities during the weekend, including Happy Hour, Jersey Auctions, and Skate with the Tauros.

Tickets for next weekend can be purchased on the Tauros online ticketing site. Puck drop for next weekend's games is slated for 7:35 PM.

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North American Hockey League Stories from October 18, 2025


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