By Andrew Lennox for minotauroshockey.com. MINOT, ND – The Minot Minotauros entered the weekend leading the NAHL’s Central Division by a wide margin. However, they faced a setback in their last game, losing 5-2 to the Aberdeen Wings. The Tauros were at risk of consecutive losses for the first time this season as they hosted the struggling Austin Bruins.
On Friday, Austin Salani got the Bruins on the board first with a power-play goal at 17:44 of the first frame. Gustav Noren and Ocean Wallace provided the assists. The Bruins took their 1-0 lead into the first intermission, outshooting the Tauros 8-4.
In the second period, Austin scored again with a long shot from the point redirected past Tauros netminder Brady James, making it 2-0. Noren was credited with the goal at the 6:32 mark. Minot managed to cut the lead in half late in the period when defenseman Colby Woogk blasted a seeing-eye wrist shot that Will Dawson deflected to beat Bruins goalie Trent Weimken. Chad Muller collected the secondary assist.
Entering the third period, Minot found themselves down by two goals again as Bruins’ Austin Laurenza tallied his 13th goal to make it 3-1. Wallace and Connor Brust added the assists. Midway through the final frame, the Tauros capitalized on their fifth power play of the contest. Muller scored, sitting on the doorstep, collecting his 11th goal of the season. Lehtinen and Jockims were credited with the assists. However, it wasn’t enough as Austin dropped Minot 3-2 for their second consecutive loss.
Saturday presented a different story, with the Tauros striking first midway through the first thanks to Nick Sewecke’s fantastic finish, netting his ninth goal in this year’s campaign with assists from Dawson and Weston Knox.
Minot took charge of the contest in the second period after Bruins’ Will Diamond was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for head contact, getting tangled up with Muller. The Tauros dominated the extra-long power play, scoring three goals credited to Muller, Jack O’Hanisian, and Trevor Stachowiak.
After a robust second frame, Minot added one more tally in regulation. Ethan Bear was responsible for the marker, beating Bruins goalie Nick Kurtiak blocker side with a wrist shot for his fifth goal this season.
In a one-sided special teams affair, the Tauros earned the 5-0 victory over the Bruins, securing a weekend series split. James was impressive between the pipes on Saturday, collecting his fourth shutout and 16th win.
Up next, the Tauros head to St. Cloud to take on the Norsemen. Then, Rylan Jockims, Niklas Ketonen, Joel Lehtinen, Trevor Stachowiak, and Head Coach Cody Campbell will head to Pittsburgh, PA, to attend the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament. Following Top Prospects, the Tauros will face off against the Bismarck Bobcats in a home-and-home series that kicks off in Minot on Friday, February 9th, and then shifts to Bismarck the next night.
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