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Weekend Preview 10/30-10/31 @ Watertown Shamrocks The historic start to the Minot Minotauros season has kept its pace into late October, and now the 11-2-0 Tauros will head to Watertown to take on the Shamrocks for the first time in the 2026-27 season. The history between the Tauros and Shamrocks is a polarizing one. With the Shamrocks joining the NAHL as an expansion franchise in 2024-25, naturally there were some growing pains. The Tauros went 7-1-0 against Watertown that season, and with a win to start the season series last year, the trend looked like it would continue. However, Watertown flipped the script. The Shamrocks have won the last seven matchups with the Tauros dating back to October 4th, 2025. Last year, Watertown started 3-8-0, then won 9 of 10 to jumpstart their season. They would go on to finish 4th in the eight-team Central Division and be bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Austin Bruins. The momentum swing at the score mark of last season has put the Shamrocks into a new era. The last Tauros win over Watertown came on October 3rd, 2025 and featured goals from Mario Fate and Philip Wiklund. In the game, Tauros forward Brady Zugec fought with Justin Obrochta, and speaking of Brady Zugec, he is back with the Tauros after a stay in the USHL with the Fargo Force and the Omaha Lancers. He had nine (9) goals and nine (9) assists in 17 games with Minot last season, and he brings a threatening offensive presence to the lineup as the Tauros look to continue their hot start. Looking at the numbers on the season, Watertown has been one of the best teams in the NAHL on special teams. Their penalty kill (91.0%) is ranked 4th in the NAHL, and they are the 3rd least penalized team in the league. Their power play percentage (23.1%) is also great, sitting at 9th in the NAHL and just above the Tauros. The caveat to their power play percentage is that they do not draw very many penalties, as they have had the 3rd least amount of power play opportunities in the NAHL.
With the Tauros coming off a very physical series against the Austin Bruins, this weekend against Watertown will be a distinct change of pace. They don’t play a game nearly as physical as Austin. In fact, they play an open ice game with games averaging over 50 shots on goal combined between both sides. In their last four games, Watertown has averaged 41 shots on goal against, compared to their own shot output which has averaged just 22 shots on goal in their last nine (9) games. In the month of October, Watertown is 2-5-0 in games against Bismarck and Aberdeen exclusively. They only played one game last weekend against Aberdeen, so there is a possibility they are a bit more rested with the off day on Friday. For the Tauros, the objective is to stick with what’s been working. They’ve found ways to win in many different forms this season, and you can’t be 11-2-0 without a trait like that. This weekend will be a great duel of goaltenders with both Lukas Hoglind and Ryan Bodnar on hot stretches. Meanwhile, Mason Gudridge has been fantastic between the pipes in a workhorse role this season as well. It’s been a minute since the Tauros have been on the road, but we’ll have all the action for you October 30th and 31st at 7pm CT on NAHL TV and our Facebook Live Audio Feed. After an off-week next weekend, the Tauros will be back for Military Appreciation Weekend at The Maysa on November 13th and 14th at 7:35pm CT to take on the St. Cloud Norsemen. Get your tickets today at tickets.minotauroshockey.com or on the Tauros Hockey Mobile App. |
