Dec 16, 2022

Minot, ND – The Minotauros head into the Christmas break with a home-and-home series with the Bismarck Bobcats.  It starts in Minot tonight with the Tauros annual SCHEELS Teddy Bear Toss game.  The Tauros will be looking to set a new franchise record with over 1,000 teddy bears donated for local charities.

Mired in their longest losing streak of the season having played nine of the last 10 on the road the Tauros hope home cooking will get them back on track.  A roster shake-up as well may help the team that entered November in first place get going again.  Cooper Rice was traded to Amarillo, Bryce Howard added from Bismarck, and perhaps most importantly Lawton Zacher returns from injury.

Howard posted seven goals and four assists and a +5 rating in 46 games for the Minnesota Wilderness last season.  Zacher’s .940 SV% and 1.80 GAA both rank second all-time in Tauros history, both behind Gunner Rivers who posted a 1.77 GAA and .944 SV% in 14 games after being acquired at the trade deadline in 2016.

Meanwhile the Bobcats enter the weekend having dropped three of their last four before having last weekend off.  The Cats continue to be led by the trio of Vertti Jantunen, Evan Hunter, and Patrick Johnson, who each have 21 points on the season including six each against the Tauros.

Tickets for the game are still available through the “Tickets” tab atop this page or by clicking here.  Fans who can not attend can still support the Teddy Bear Toss virtually through the Tauros Virtual Teddy Bear Toss through the end of the night.