Minot, ND – The Minotauros start the second half of the season sitting tied for first place in the Central Division with 35 points and a division best 17 wins. Their first opponent of the second half will be the rival Bismarck Bobcats who, despite sitting in last place, are riding high having swept the North Iowa Bulls heading into the Christmas break. The series kicks off Thursday night in Minot and then shifts down to Bismarck for the traditional Tauros/Cats New Years Eve battle.
The already strong Tauros will receive a boost as Kade Nielsen who was tendered by the Tauros last season will join the team after starting the season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders where he had a goal in 11 games played. Additionally over the break the Tauros acquired defenseman Desmond Johnson from the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials.
The duo join a roster that currently ranks ninth in offense with 3.43 goals per game and 10th in defense allowing 2.93. The group has also shown they can win in any type of game; their 12 wins when leading after the first period and three wins when trailing entering the third are both the most in the league in those situations. The Tauros have several players in the league’s top 10 lists including Zach Sandy leading all goaltenders with a .932 SV%.
Since losing the first meeting of the season 7-3 the Tauros have controlled the head-to-head series winning the next three meetings by a combined 13-4 score. Huston Karpman leads all scorers in the series with four goals and two assists for six points. Cole Mickel and Zack Simon each have two goals and three assists for five points and Trevor Stachowiak has five assists against the Cats. For the Cats Owen Michaels has five points via a goal and four helpers and Patrick Johnson has four goals in four games against the Tauros.
Tickets for the home game are available through the “Tickets” tab atop this page or by clicking here. The Tauros will also debut their Dream Catchers Baseball benefit jerseys which will be auctioned off on DASH with proceeds benefiting Dream Catchers Baseball. Finally as it is the final home game of the month it will also be The Sports Shaq Tauro card giveaway and a post-game skate with the Tauros.