By: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com
Minot, ND – The Minotauros offense had struggled of late scoring just nine goals over the last five games. That changed as the Tauros hosted the Aberdeen Wings on Thanksgiving eve as the offense exploded to a 3-0 lead less than four minutes into the second period. The Tauros went on to win to preserve their two point lead over the Austin Bruins for first place in the NAHL Central Division.
Johnny Walker opened the scoring midway through the first period when he banked a shot in from below the goal line. The goal was Walker’s 13th of the season and was assisted by Colton Berg who now has points in consecutive games. Then at 2:09 of the second period Walker set up Nate Pionk who scored his first of the season on a shot from the slot to double the Tauros lead. At 3:52 of the second Jack Murphy finished a passing play from Grayson Gavin and James LaDouce to make it 3-0 Tauros.
The Wings took their timeout after Murphy’s goal and regained their composure. Carter Roo scored a power play goal and Ryan Cook scored on a breakaway and by 10:47 of the second the Wings had pulled back within one.
After a series of penalties at the end of the second and early in the third put the Tauros on a two man advantage early in the final frame and Chase Springman scored from the low slot to make it 4-2 Tauros. Gavin Payne added a late power play goal to make the final minutes more stressful but Jon Flakne made every save required down the stretch and the Tauros held on to win 4-3.
Next up for the Tauros is a pair of games in Austin against the second place Bruins. Both games will be on all three Tauros media outlets (fasthockey.com, prostyleproduction.com, and 1390 AM KRRZ). Saturday night’s game will also be shown at Buffalo Wings and Rings as the November Road Watch Party.