After a bye week followed by a Covid induced hiatus the Tauros return to the ice this weekend on the Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena against the rival Aberdeen Wings. The second place Tauros have at least a point in every game played going 4-0-2 thus far and have added some firepower during the pause with Cade Stibbe returning from the USHL along with first round pick Blaine Warnert.
The Tauros hot start earned a pair of players monthly honors as Joseph Harguindeguy was named the NAHL Forward of the Month and Keenan Rancier the Goaltender of the Month. Harguindeguy posted five goals and four helpers in six games played last month. Rancier meanwhile posted a 4-0-1 record on a 1.57 GAA and .960 SV%. Aside from the two honored Tauros several others are off to strong starts as well. Damon Zimmer is tied with Harguindeguy for the team lead with five goals, Carter Korpi is tied with Harguindeguy with a team best four assists. Overall the Tauros rank sixth in the league on offense (3.50 goals/game) and defense (2.33 goals against/game) with 22 of the 23 teams having started play. 21 players already have recorded at least a point for the Tauros through the first six games.
Aberdeen again is off to a hot start leading the league in offense (5.75 g/gm) and defense (1.63 ga/g). Clayton Cosentino leads the Wings with 13 points on two goals and 11 assists. Jordan Randall leads the Wings and the entire league with seven goals. In net former Tauro Jake Sibell has gone 6-0-0 for the Wings with an even 2.00 GAA and .919 SV%, the other two starts went to Dominik Wasik who is also undefeated allowing just one goal on 41 shots.
Coming off of a 27 days break will no doubt be a challenge for the Tauros against the Wings who played last weekend. The rest however may be appreciated in the long run as the weekend set with Aberdeen kicks off a busy week with five games in nine days as the Tauros play three games against the Bismarck Bobcats next week starting on Wednesday.
Minotauros Attendance and Covid-19
The Minotauros will be limited to 600 fans due to the ND Smart Restart Large Gathering Tiered Capacity guidelines. That means attendance will be limited to only Season Ticket Holders. Additionally, the Minotauros intend to comply with all other rules including mandated masks, social distancing in lines, and food/drink consumption limited to the seating area.
Watch and Listen
Minotauro fans who can not attend this weekend’s game can follow the action multiple ways. First, games can be watched live or on-demand through the NAHL’s streaming partner HockeyTV. Fans can get free audio streams online on the Tauros Facebook page or our new Mixlr Station, you can also download the Mixlr app and listen to our station on your smart phone.