By: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com
Minot, ND – Last spring the Minotauros took the Austin Bruins to a fifth game in the best of five Central Division finals. The Bruins held on to win the series despite the Tauros generating several great chances in the final minutes. The Bruins advanced to the Robertson Cup finals where they fell to the Minnesota Wilderness who come to Minot this weekend.
The Wilderness come in sitting in second place in the Midwest Division, four points behind the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. At 3.23 goals per game the Wilderness are ranked ninth in the NAHL in offense per game thanks to 30.45 shots per game which ranks 12th. Tyler Cline’s (12g 13a) 25 points leads the Wilderness by nine points and is good for fourth overall in the NAHL. Aaron Miller (4g 10a) has 14 points in 12 games since rejoining the Wilderness after starting the season in the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede. Chase Munroe (.920 sv% 2.20 gaa) has taken the lion’s share of the games in net for the Wilderness playing 17 of Minnesota’s 22 games.
Johnny Walker (11g 11a) still leads the 10th ranked Tauros offense which posts 3.00 goals per game. James LaDouce (5g 10a) who had the overtime game winner last Saturday is second on the club and third overall among NAHL defensman with 15 points. In net Lucas Murray (.906 sv% 2.37gaa) was named the NAHL Central Division Star of the Week for his performance last week earning wins over the Bobcats and Wings.
The weekend set with the Wilderness closes out the Minotauros out of division schedule for the season. The Tauros split with the Wilderness in Cloquet, MN; and went 3-1-0 at the NAHL Showcase for a record of 4-2-0 overall outside of the Central Division.
Jersey Auction: The Minotauros will be wearing their Dream Catchers Baseball jerseys this weekend for the last time. The jerseys will be auctioned off after Saturday night’s game with a portion of the proceeds going to the Dream Catchers.
Watch the Game: Tickets for both games are still available by clicking the “Tickets” tab atop this page. Fans who cannot come to the Maysa can watch the game on fasthockey.com or listen to it at prostyleproduction.com.