Weekend Schedule
Friday 10/12 @ Aberdeen – 7:15 p.m. (CST) – HockeyTV.com and minotauroshockey.com/listen-live
Saturday 10/13 @ Aberdeen – 7:15 p.m. (CST) – HockeyTV.com and minotauroshockey.com/listen-live
Storyline
The Minotauros return to the Odde Ice Center for the first time since eliminating the Aberdeen Wings in Game Five of the Central Division Semi-Finals. The Tauros and Wings have each taken turns finishing atop the Central Division in the regular season only to be knocked out by the other on their run to the Robertson Cup Final Four. Currently the Tauros sit at the top of the Central charts while the Wings look to work their way up from third.
Tauros
There is not much that is not click right now for the Minotauros. The Tauros have the top ranked offense in the league posting a ludicrous 4.88 goals per game, last year’s top offense belong to Fairbanks at 3.71 goals per game. The Tauros are taking care of the other end of the ice as well, ranking second in the league allowing just 1.75 goals per game. The result is a league best +25 goal differential, three of the league’s top 20 scorers (Keenan Lund, Taylor Lantz, and David Raisanen), and three of the league’s top 10 goaltenders by SV% (Nick Grabko, Ben Garrity, and Reid Waszczenko).
The Tauros offense has been balanced, featuring eight players with at least a point per game. Lund leads the club with 12 points on five goals and seven assists. Aside from Lund, Lantz, and Raisanen, veterans Fritz Belisle and Lincoln Erne each have nine points as does new comer Kyle Oleksiuk. 21 players have at least a point for the Tauros this season, with 11 of them having at least five points.
Wings
The Wings lurk just two points behind the Tauros in the standings having played one fewer game. Just as they are in the standings, the Wings are just behind the Tauros in the statistical rankings as well. They rank seventh in scoring at 3.14 goals-per-game and sixth in defense at 2.50 goals-against-per-game.
The Wings are led by several familiar names. Nic Sicoly tops their charts with three goals and seven helpers, team highs in both categories. Behind him are a couple of third year forwards Joe Strada (3g 6a) and Jonathan Bendorf (3g 5a). In goal Matt Vernon has started six of the first seven games for the Wings posting a 5-1-0 record on a 2.15 GAA and .928 SV%.
Special Teams
The Tauros power play dropped to fifth in the league at 27.3% scoring nine goals on 33 attempts. The penalty kill also fell from the top spot to second in the league at 89.7%. Aberdeen’s power play is 6/37 or 16.2% and a 17th overall rank. Their PK is also middle of the pack ranked 16th at 78.3% having killed 18 of 23 opportunities.
Looking Ahead
After this weekend the Tauros will have another home-and-home series with the Bismarck Bobcats whom are idol this weekend. The Tauros will head to Bismarck on Friday and then the series will shift to the Maysa on Saturday, October 20th. The Minotauros Booster Club will be hosting their annual Trunk-or-Treat Tailgate party will take place at 5:00 p.m. and then during the first intermission of the game the OK Auto Costume Contest will award over $500 in prizes. Tickets for October 20th’s game are available here or through the “Tickets” tab atop this page.