by: Sean Williams, gotauros.com
A new month welcomes a new opportunity for the Minotauros, however, if they are able to replicate the success they had in October, then the team will be sitting in a really good spot moving forward. Kicking off the festivities for the month of November involves a trip to Aberdeen where the Tauros will take on the Wings at 7:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Having a series with the Wings once already this year, the Central Division foes split the opening weekend battle at the Maysa Arena. The Tauros picked up their lone win via a shootout on Friday, then fell the following night to secure a split. Since then, Minot has gone on a hot streak that has seen the team win five of their last seven games with sweeps of North Iowa and St. Cloud.
In a slightly different tale, the Wings find themselves skidding into the matchup, having won two of their last six games since then and are currently riding a three-game losing streak. During the stretch of six games, the Wings are averaging 2.6 goals per game and are allowing the exact same. The Tauros are averaging 2.71 goals per game and allowing just 1.71 goals per game over their last seven.
The strong run by the Tauros has cemented themselves as the second-place team in the Central Division, where they enter play with 19 points and a 6-3-1 record on the year in 13 games. The Wings occupy fifth place with 15 points and a record of 6-7-1 through 16 games.
Being guides to a second-place spot following a split with Austin last weekend was Nicholas Sewecke, who scored his second and third goals of the season, as well as Niklas Ketonen who scored his fourth goal of the season. An assist by Joel Lehtinen helped him take the team lead in points on the year with 11 and Lehtinen also leads the team with eight assists so far.
Unselfish play and the overall depth of the Minotauros continues to be a bright spot for the team through the early goings. Currently, the Tauros have eight players with four or more assists this year in Lehtinen, Trevor Stachowiak, Weston Knox, Ketonen, Chad Muller, Jack O’Hanisain, Adam Mahler, and John Small. Additionally, there are six Tauros who have scored at least three goals this season, which includes O’Hanisain, Will Dawson, Ketonen, Sewecke, Lehtinen, and Muller.
Aberdeen, however, brings depth to the table as well in what should be a competitive weekend of hockey. The Wings have 10 players with four or more assists on the year and six players who have scored at least three goals. In what could be the difference maker, goaltending provides a big advantage to Minot. In 13 games, the Tauros have only allowed 26 goals whereas the Wings have allowed 51 goals in 16 games.