MINOT, ND – The Minot Minotauros welcomed the Bismarck Bobcats to the Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena to start the Central Division Finals but were anything but gracious hosts in a 5-2 win. The Tauros extended their winning streak over their rivals to 7-0 in the playoffs.
Jack O’Hanisain and John Small led the way for the Tauros with two goals apiece while Weston Knox had two assists.
The Tauros scoring late in the period was the major theme of the night. The first period breezed by until there was less than four minutes remaining. Knox carried the puck out of the defensive zone and all the way into the offensive zone before finding John Emmons on the other side of the ice. Emmons ripped a shot inside the far post past Bobcats goalie Stephen Peck’s glove. That was the lone goal of the period and the Tauros outshot the Bobcats 9-5 despite Bismarck tallying the first three shots of the game.
The second period saw the night’s first penalty and a slew of others, including a penalty on Trevor Stachowiak 12:53 into the period that allowed the Bobcats to get on the board. Only seven seconds into the Bobcats’ power play, Tommy Cronin drove into the slot and around a Tauro defender before sniping the top corner through traffic.
Just about three minutes later, the Tauros retook the lead. Peck fought off a long shot from the point but the rebound went straight to John Small below the faceoff circle. Small immediately ripped a shot into a surprisingly open net. The Bobcats screamed for a goalie interference call because Colby Bear was clearly in the crease behind Peck and impeding his ability to get back to make the save. The only problem was that a Bobcat defender shoved Bear there in the first place which negates goalie interference.
Then with under two minutes to play, both teams ended up down a skater as Niklas Ketonen and Ian Engel were called for roughing penalties after a big scrum. Then 27 seconds later, the Tauros got a 4-on-3 power play after Luke Roelofs got called for a slash.
With three seconds remaining in the second, the Tauros struck off the faceoff. Nick Sewecke won the faceoff back to Colby Woogk at the blueline. Woogk spotted Jack O’Hanisain in the far faceoff circle and wired a pass to him. O’Hanisain hesitated and deked slightly before rifling the puck past Peck to make it 3-1. The Tauros outshot the Bobcats 11-9 in the period.
The Tauros found themselves shorthanded a couple of times early in the third, but the Bobcats tied it up at even strength 12:56 into the period. The Bobcats gained the zone and got the puck to Julian Beaumont in the left faceoff circle for a quick, hard shot that Brady James had no shot stopping.
Then the Tauros did the same thing they did all night, scoring with under five minutes remaining in a period. Adam Mahler got the puck to Weston Knox who got below the goal line and into the right-wing corner. He spotted Small on the doorstep at the top of the crease and fired a pass. Small made no mistake and restored the Tauros’ two-goal lead.
The Bobcats were forced to pull Peck late to try to claw their way back into the game, but it was to no avail. With just over a minute remaining, Niklas Ketonen chipped the puck out of the defensive zone to Joel Lehtinen. Lehtinen then spotted O’Hanisain lurking near the Bobcats’ blue line and flipped it into the zone. O’Hanisain won the footrace against a Bobcat defender and slid the puck into the empty net.
Limited tickets remain for Game Two of the Central Division Finals. You can get tickets by clicking the “Tickets” tab at the top of the page or at tickets.minotauroshockey.com.