by Sean Williams, minotauroshockey.com
Minot, ND – It will be a busy weekend with an early start at the Maysa Arena, where the Minotauros have three games on the schedule later this week. On Thursday, the Tauros get the festivities started by hosting the Bismarck Bobcats at 7:05 p.m.
Following a sweep of the North Iowa Bulls last weekend and Bismarck being swept by St. Cloud Norsemen, the Tauros were able to pass the Bobcats in the Central Division standings. With a record of 6-2-0 and 12 points on the year, the Tauros currently sit in fourth place. The Bobcats record of 5-5-0 and 10 points has them slotted in at fifth place in the division.
Before being swept by St. Cloud, the Bobcats were on a bit of a hot streak with consecutive sweeps of Aberdeen and North Iowa. The Tauros hope to get on a similar hot streak and look to maintain a productive offensive showing after they hit the four-goal mark twice last weekend for the first and second time since series play has opened.
Jack O’Hanisain has been a force for the Tauros as of late. Over the weekend, O’Hanisain totaled four goals in two games and he has registered at least one point in each of the last four games.
Joel Lehtinen and Niklas Ketonen have been solid as well and are both coming off a four point weekend. Lehtinen had one goal and one assist in each game and Ketonen had two assists in each game. Just like their teammate, Lehtinen and Ketonen have at least one point over the last four games.
The four-point weekend by O’Hanisain earned him the honor of being named the Central Division Star of the Week. Lehtinen was named the second star above a plethora of honorable mentions. This marks the first time a Tauro has won a weekly award this season.
Moving into Friday and Saturday, the Minotauros will welcome the Norsemen to the Maysa with puck drop schedule for 7:35 p.m. on both nights. With 13 points and a record of 5-3-1 through 11 games this year has the Norsemen sitting in third place of the Central Division.
Having eight players with four or more points this year, the Minotauros will need to continue relying on contributions from all over the roster if they want to walk away from a busy weekend with the trend of moving up in the Central Division.
Thursday’s contest marks the start of the Tauros and Cats Totten Trail rivalry, it is also Minot Hockey Boosters Night. Youth players who wear their jersey to the game can go to the Minot Hockey Booster office from 6:15 to 6:50 and pick up complimentary tickets from the Minot Hockey Boosters. Then prior to Saturday night’s game the Minotauros Booster Club is holding their 9th Annual Trunk-or-Treat Tailgate Party from 4:30 to 6:30 in the Maysa Arena parking lot. Fans are encouraged to get to the rink early to make their way through the trunks prior to the game. Tickets for all three games are available throught the “Tickets” tab atop this page. Finally, this weekend is the final weekend of the Circle Sanitation Fill-the-Bin Coat Drive; fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used winter coats and other cold weather gear to donate to their neighbors in need. This season the Minotauros and Circle Sanitation will be working with Community Action Partners to distribute the coats locally in Minot.