– Jeremy Pike, minotauroshockey.com
Despite Niklas Ketonen scoring only 2:45 into the first period Saturday, his first goal of the season for the Minot Minotauros, the Tauros fell 3-1 to the Aberdeen Wings to split the weekend series. The Tauros take two points, but due to Friday being a shootout, Aberdeen takes three points on the weekend.
Ketonen jammed home a bouncing puck from Jack O’Hanisain, his third assist of the season. The Tauros dominated the first period and outshot the visitors 19-6.
However, the second period was a different story. The Wings scored twice with Nikolai Tishkevich tying the game with his third goal of the season before Isak Holstrom scored the eventual game-winner, his fourth of the season.
Then just over halfway through the third period, Leonid Bulgakov scored his fourth of the season with a short-handed breakaway.
The Tauros did not fail for trying, putting 44 shots on net but could not solve Wings goaltender Adam Dybal. He finished the night with 43 saves on 44 shots after saving 37 of 39 on Friday. Tauros goalie Brady James saved 20 of 23 Saturday night and 14 of 16 Friday night.
Both nights were full of physicality that poured over into problems. The Wings had two players given game misconducts Friday night and a third on Saturday night. There were a total of 17 penalties Friday night and 18 Saturday night.
The man who opened the scoring Saturday night, the Tauros’ Ketonen, was also the man responsible for sealing the points for Minot after he scored in the third round of the shootout for a 3-2 victory. The rest of the scoring came in the second period. Cayden Casey scored his first goal as a Tauro at almost exactly the halfway point of the period before the Wings responded less than two and a half minutes later through Grant Kohnen.
It only took just over a minute before the Tauros retook the lead. Weston Knox sent a long pass out of his own zone to Jack O’Hanisain who got a partial breakaway. As he got hooked down, he slipped the puck past Dybal.
However, with less than two minutes left in the game, Logan Gravnik scored his fifth of the season, his second point of the game after assisting on the Wings’ first goal of the game.
That was the only scoring before the shootout. Both teams failed to score through two rounds before Ketonen gave the Tauros the win.
The Tauros outshot Aberdeen 34-14 in regulation and 5-2 in overtime but were only able to get the two goals in open play.
Next up the Tauros head on the road to Mason City, Iowa to take on the North Iowa Bulls. Then the Tauros return to the Maysa Arena for a three game weekend starting on Thursday, October 19th against the Bismarck Bobcats before the St. Cloud Norsemen come in for a weekend set on October 20th and 21st. Saturday the 21st will also be the Minotauros Booster Club Trunk or Treat Tailgate.