Aberdeen, SD – Mother Nature who has already rearranged the Tauros schedule this season threw another wrench in the Tauros plans this week ahead of perhaps the biggest weekend of the season. The Tauros left for Aberdeen a day early to get ahead of a storm, and now look to become a storm themselves as they battle for their playoff lives.
The Tauros sit four points behind the Wings in the standings heading into the weekend, which sounds daunting at first but also means the Tauros control their own playoff destiny. As long as the Tauros win games they will make the playoffs, if they lose they will need help. A Tauros sweep in Aberdeen would have them tied with the Wings, but give the Tauros the tie breaker. From that point the Tauros would just have to match the Wings performance over the final two weeks to make the playoffs.
At this point in the season there are few surprises when rivals meet. Over the last two seasons the Tauros and Wings have each won 11 contests against each other. The Tauros and Wings have split both previous weekend sets in the Odde this season as covered above the Tauros will need to improve on that this weekend.
The Tauros have featured a balanced attack against Aberdeen this season with five players tied for the team lead with three goals each. Hunter Longhi leads all players in the head-to-head with 11 points in the season series on 3 goals and 8 assists. Alexander Gullichsen leads the series with five goals. Overall the Wings have taken six of the first ten meetings on the season.
As always fans will be able to tune into the games on the Minotauros Network. The game can be watched on HockeyTV or fans can listen to free audio broadcasts on the Tauros Facebook page, Mixlr, gotauros.com, or in the Tauros Hockey App. The Farmers Union Pregame show will start at 7:00 p.m., 15 minutes before puck drop.