by: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com
The 2013/14 chapter of the Minotauros and Bobcats rivalry kicks off this weekend with a home and home set this weekend. Friday night the Bobcats play host before the teams head to the Maysa Arena in Minot to close out the weekend. The Tauros have been off to a slow start offensively and will need to change that with the rival Bobcats providing the opposition.
The Bobcats surrender the fifth fewest goals against per game as goaltender Aaron Nelson has played every game this season accumulating a .926 SV% and 2.15 GAA. The Bobcat offense has been fueled primarily by Filip Starzynski (7g, 9a) and Stanislav Dzakhov (9g, 3a), who have combined 16 of the Bobcats 34 goals. Almost a third of Bismarck’s goals have come on the power play so the Tauros will need to stay out of the penalty box as well.
The Tauros’ offense may finally have broken out of the slump which was made worse by facing two of the NAHL’s top goaltenders in Chad Catt and Kasimir Kaskisuo. The Tauros scored two goals in the third period last Saturday night to hopefully break through. Tim Donohue leads the Tauros with four goals, with Jadin Martin and Cam Rowat each have three. In net Brandon Wildung appears to have gained the starting job with a .916 SV% and 2.63 GAA.
The puck drops Friday in Bismarck at 7:15 p.m. at the VFW. Then the series shifts to Minot for a 8:05 start at the Maysa as part of a double header with Minot State. Get a double header ticket for both games and save $2.00 off the price of admission. Also MSU students will be able to attend both game for free. The Minot Young Professionals are sponsoring Saturday night’s Tauros game and will be hosting a tailgate that kicks off at 6:00 p.m. in the parking lot.