Minot, ND – The Minotauros schedule is now complete as the North American Hockey League announced the schedule for the annual NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota. For most teams the event kicks off the regular season as the entire league congregates at the Schwan Super Rink to play four games over as many days. To account for the odd number of teams in the NAHL the USNTDP u17s will also be in attendance on Friday and Saturday when they will play the Johnstown Tomahawks and Maine Nordiques.
The Tauros are 20-15-5 overall at the Showcase, including a 4-0-0 record in 2016 when the Tauros were Showcase Champions. Last season the Tauros went 1-2-1 just five days after Cody Campbell took over as Head Coach.
This season the Tauros open the Showcase on Wednesday afternoon against the Oklahoma Warriors. This will be the Tauros first meeting with the Warriors who joined the NAHL prior to the 2020-2021 season. Despite the Warriors short history there are ties between the two franchises. Brennan Couet who played for the Tauros for two seasons from 2018-2020 is now the Warriors’ Assistant Coach. Additionally the Warriors Head Coach is Garrett Roth, who was the Bismarck Bobcats Assistant Coach from 2012 through 2020.
Then on Thursday morning the Tauros will take on the Danbury Hat Tricks. The Hat Tricks also joined the NAHL for the 2020-2021 season after moving from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where they were known as the Knights. The Tauros won their only meeting with the Knights in 2016 by a score of 2-1. Reid Stafanson (UMass-Lowell) and Spencer Zwiener had the Tauros goals while Austin Park (Air Force) stopped 28 of 29 shots for the win. The Tauros and Knights almost crossed paths again in 2018 when both made it to Blaine for the Robertson Cup Final Four; however while the Tauros beat Fairbanks to advance to the finals the Knights fell to Shreveport in the semi-final.
Friday has historically been the Tauros best day at the NAHL Showcase with an all-time record of 8-2-0 on the event’s third day. This year the Tauros will face the Amarillo Wranglers in prime-time with a 8:00 p.m. start in the final NAHL game of the day. The Wranglers franchise moved to Amarillo after the Bulls departed for North Iowa last season, they previously had been the Topeka Pilots and Topeka RoadRunners before that. The Tauros won their only meeting with the RoadRunners on day three of the Showcase in 2017 by a score of 5-4. Jake Sibell (Niagara) got the win in net for the Tauros while Colby Enns (Northern Michigan) led the offense with two goals and an assist.
The Tauros will close out the Showcase Saturday afternoon with their first ever meeting with the Anchorage Wolverines. The Wolverines were an expansion team last season and finished third in the Midwest in the regular season before running to the Robertson Cup Final where they fell to the Roberston Cup Champion New Jersey Titans.
After the NAHL Showcase concludes the Tauros will return to the Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena for the regular season home opener on September 23rd against the North Iowa Bulls. Season Tickets and partial Season Tickets are available now through the “Tickets” tab atop this page or by clicking here. Individual game tickets will go on sale August 15th.