by: Jeremy Pike, gotauros.com – The Central Division-leading Minot Minotauros completed a weekend sweep of the last-place North Iowa Bulls with a 4-1 win Saturday night. Saturday night and the entire weekend could have gone much worse for the Bulls (and even better for the Tauros) if it wasn’t for the stellar play of North Iowa goalie Dylan Johnson as he saved an incredible 75 of the 80 shots he faced over two nights.
The Tauros attempted double-digit shots on goal in every single period on the weekend, and the first period Saturday night was no different. However, it took until just 14 seconds remained in the period before the Tauros broke through. Cayden Casey got the puck on the right wing wall and found Trevor Stachowiak lurking near the left faceoff dot. Stax in turn found Will Dawson just outside the top of the crease, and Dawson made no mistake putting the one-timer into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season. Stax tallied his eighth assist of the season while Casey got his third.
While the Tauros needed nearly the entire first period to net their first goal of the night, it took only five seconds into the second period to double their lead. Jack O’Hanisain connected with Joel Lehtinen who got the puck on Niklas Ketonen’s stick. Ketonen drove up the left wing before unleashing a rocket of a shot from below the faceoff dot for his fifth goal of the season. Lehtinen got his 10th assist of the season while O’Hanisain added his sixth.
That was the only goal of the second period, but the third period brought plenty of fireworks on the score sheet. The same line that kicked off the second period in style got the scoring rolling 7:37 into the third. O’Hanisain connected with Ketonen who went into the corner to Johnson’s right. Ketonen found Lehtinen in the slot, and Lehtinen hammered home the one-timer for his sixth goal of the season. With that assist, Ketonen is now up to 11 on the season and O’Hanisain’s assist total is now seven.
Just over two minutes later, North Iowa spoiled Tauros goalie Brady James’ bid for a shutout. Ethan Lindahl drove down the right wing and drew both defenders to him before he flipped the puck into the middle of the ice. Hayden Slegel cut in from the blue line unopposed before ripping a shot past James.
With just over three minutes remaining and trailing 3-1, the Bulls pulled Johnson for the extra attacker. Pavol Funtek made North Iowa pay with a seeing-eye shot from deep in his own defensive zone that iced the game for the Tauros.
Despite the Bulls putting up a weekend-high nine shots in the third period, James only allowed the one goal and stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced all night, helping the Tauros to their sixth-straight win.
On Friday night, the Tauros got the come-from-behind win thanks to a two-goal third period. After falling behind in the second period thanks to a back-post tip-in by Joran Newpower, the Tauros cashed in on on a double-minor penalty early in the third period.
Joel Lehtinen gained the zone on the right wing after taking a pass from Ketonen but was cut off by a North Iowa player. However, he spotted Jack O’Hanisain driving in from the blueline and deftly slipped the puck into O’Hanisain’s path. O’Hanisain continued on towards the goal before ripping a shot through a partial screen to tie the game 4:25 into the third. It was O’Hanisain’s 10th goal of the seasonw while Lehtinen recorded his ninth assist and Ketonen got his 10th helper of the season.
The Tauros continued to shell Johnson in net, but it would take until 2:20 left in the game before they could get another puck into the back of the net. They had another bout of consistent possession in the offensive zone, something that was quite common on a night when they outshot the Bulls 42-15. John Small got the puck back to Pavol Funtek at the point who found Colby Woogk at the left point wide open. Woogk skated in unopposed before firing a laser of a shot by a screen to give the Tauros the lead. It was Woogk’s fourth goal of the season and his third-straight game with a goal. Funtek recorded his fourth assist of the season while Small is up to seven.
James Norton got the start in net for the Tauros the day after commiting to UMASS to continue his hockey career, and he made 14 saves on 15 shots.
Next up the Minotauros head to Bismarck to take on the Bobcats Wednesday night. Then on Black Friday and Saturday the Tauros return home to host the Wings for Pack the Pepsi/Black-Out Weekend. The Tauros will be wearing special black-out jerseys and fans are encouraged to wear black as well. Tickets for both games are available, in the Tauros Hockey Mobile App, through the “Tickets” tab atop this page or by visiting the Tauros ticketing site tickets.minotauroshockey.com.