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Weekend Recap 10/9-10/10 @ Austin Bruins The Minot Minotauros took a trip to Austin, Minnesota last weekend to take on the Bruins for the first time in 2026-27. After extending their winning streak to seven games on Friday with a late 4-3 regulation win, the Tauros saw their streak end on Saturday with a 4-2 loss, their first since Opening Night in Aberdeen. The 7-2-0 start ties the best in franchise history and matches the start from the 2018-19 season through nine games. Friday Game Recap 10/9 Early in period one, Austin scored a rare power play goal to open the scoring. The Tauros outshot the Bruins in the opening frame 15-10, but trailed 1-0 heading into the first intermission. Philip Wiklund wasted no time tying the game at the start of the 2nd period. He received a quick up from Ivan Sidorov, worked up the left side unabated, and fired it home for his third goal of the season. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Tauros won it back and softly dumped the puck into the far corner. Comedically slowly, the puck trickled along the ice through a legion of bodies in the neutral zone before finding the tape of Briggs Knott, who found himself alone on the left wing. He took the open ice and wristed a shot far side for a goal just eight (8) seconds later. All of a sudden, Minot had a 2-1 lead just 1:13 into the 2nd period. Five minutes later on the power play, Joey Dellacroce tipped in a shot from the point to give Minot a 3-1 advantage. In the opening minutes of the 3rd period, Austin got back in the game with two power play goals just 53 seconds apart. Once again, it was a tie game as the regulation minutes ticked down. With less than four minutes left in regulation, the puck found its way to Jacob Faith at the right circle, and a defensive breakdown by Austin allowed Philip Wiklund to skate into a soft spot on the back post with nobody around him. Faith threaded a perfect seam pass and Wiklund buried it to make it 4-3. Similar to the first win of the St. Cloud Opening Weekend, Minot did a fantastic job possessing the puck and preventing Austin from getting ample time with their goalie pulled. They walked down the clock to zeroes and took home the front end of the weekend 4-3. This marked the 100th Minotauros game for Dane Ramirez, a fantastic milestone for the new captain. Saturday Game Recap 10/10 Saturday got started with a neutral zone game. Both sides played the puck back and forth with not very much offensive zone time. The Bruins struck with seven minutes left in the 1st to open the scoring for the second straight game. Late in the 2nd, another Bruins goal put them at a two-goal advantage with the Tauros still searching for good scoring chances. Four minutes into the 3rd period, Briggs Knott picked up a puck behind the goal line and tucked it inside the post to put Minot on the board. Five minutes later, Joey Dellacroce piked a bouncing puck in the crease and buried it eight (8) seconds into a power play to tie the game. A couple of greasy goals knotted the game at two. With 7:44 left in regulation, Austin got some puck luck with a bouncing puck in the Tauros’ crease that found the back of the net to put the Bruins back in the lead late. Minot got the benefit of a power play in the final minutes of regulation, but with the ability to ice the puck freely, the Bruins sent a clearance off the glass at center ice that caromed back on net and into the Minot goal for a big bounce, empty net goal to seal the game 4-2. With a weekend split on the road in Austin, the Tauros still find themselves tied atop the Central Division with the Bismarck Bobcats and have matched their best start in franchise history (7-2-0). The Tauros return home to The Maysa this weekend, October 16th and 17th at 7:35pm CT, to take on the St. Cloud Norsemen (2-7-0). Tickets are available at tickets.minotauroshockey.com or on the Tauros Hockey Mobile App. |
