Minot, ND – The Minotauros have been here before, just three weeks ago they went to bed knowing they faced the Austin Bruins with the season on the line. The Tauros were set to finish the regular season with four consecutive games against Austin starting with two at home on April 7th and 8th and no margin for error. The Tauros rattled off three consecutive victories and secured a playoff spot.
The task now repeats, after dropping the first two games of the best-of-five series to the Bruins in Austin last weekend the Tauros must win the next three games against the Bruins or once again the season will come to an end. The series shifts to Minot where the Tauros were 15-12-1 during the regular season including a 3-2-1 record against the Bruins this season. Bruins Head Coach Steve Howard pointed to the atmosphere in Minot as a part of the Tauros home success telling the Post Bulletin, “their environment is top-notch. They have a great fan base and they’re loud. It’s a hard building to go into as a road team.”
The atmosphere should be raucous this weekend as the game nears a sellout. As Howard suggests when Tauros pack the Maysa success follows, in the seven games this season that have been sold out the Tauros posted a record of 5-2-0.
On the ice there should be little that surprises either club having already played six consecutive contests against each other. Discipline will be key as the teams have combined for 23 power plays and three suspensions through the first two games of the series. The Tauros need to find a way to slow down Walter Zacher who has been in on five of the eight goals the Bruins have scored, netting three of them and assisting two more. The Tauros meanwhile have two goals from each Braden Fischer and Chase LaPinta as well as a goal and four assists for Hunter Longhi.
Should the Tauros win on Friday night tickets for Game Four will go on sale immediately after the game. Season Ticket Holders will have an offer for their current seats in their ticketing accounts. Those offers must be accepted by 12:00 p.m. on Saturday or the tickets will be released to the general public.
The Minotauros Booster Club will be tailgating starting at 5:00 p.m. for both games, fans are welcome to join them for a “b.y.o tailgate.” Doors open at 6:30 p.m. both nights and the puck drops at 7:35 p.m. Tickets for the weekend’s games can be purchased online through the ”Tickets” tab atop this page or at tickets.minotauroshockey.com.