by: Andrew Lennox, gotauros.com Minot, ND – The Minot Minotauros, going into the week, were leading the Central Division and had an impressive six-game winning streak. They kicked off the Thanksgiving week with a busy schedule of three games. On Wednesday, their first challenge was an away game against in-state rivals, the Bismarck Bobcats, followed by a home series in the Magic City versus the Aberdeen Wings.
Wednesday saw Bismarck strike first at 1:11 into the contest as Kade Kohanski broke in on a 2-on-1, setting up Tommy Cronin. The Tauros would respond just over a minute later when a simple dump into the Bobcats’ defensive zone led to goalie Stephen Peck coming out to play the puck. Attempting to clear it up the boards, Will Dawson tracked down the puck. He would then find Colby Bear in the slot, and Bear’s shot got through Peck as he scrambled back into goal.
Into the third, a tripping penalty by Coby Woogk at 5:37 provided Aberdeen with their second power play. Isak Holmstrom took advantage, scoring at 6:12 to make it 3-2. Minot would respond when Woogk capitalized on a Wings’ miscue, extending Minot’s lead to 4-2 15:30 into the final frame. Woogk’s goal marked his fifth in the last six games.
The Tauros successfully held on for the 4-2 win, with James Norton making 26 saves on 28 Wings shots. Muller contributed two points (1G-1A), while Jokims collected three assists in the victory.
Aberdeen tallied first Saturday with Kie Vahakangas finding the back of the net at 7:45, giving the Wings a 1-0 lead. Minot had their first power play chance at 12:05 but could not convert. Despite outshooting the Wings 12-5, the first frame concluded with the Tauros trailing 1-0.
In the second period, Minot’s Jockims leveled the score at 1-1 with his first goal of the season, firing a shot from the high slot at 7:03. Colby Woogk contributed with his fifth assist of the year. Minot led the middle frame in shots at 14-2. The teams entered the second intermission tied at 1-1.
The Wings regained the lead in the third as Riley Sharun jumped on an unfortunate bounce off the boards in the Tauros’ defensive zone, making it 2-1 at the 6:50 mark. With 3:19 left in regulation, Jackson Anderson extended Aberdeen’s lead to 3-1. As the game neared its conclusion, Minot pulled goaltender Norton in favor of an extra attacker with 2:14 left. Unfortunately, Aberdeen sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, making the final score 4-1.
Despite outshooting the Wings 40-15 in Saturday’s contest, the Tauros couldn’t secure the win. The Thanksgiving weekend ended with Minot losing two of three games.
Next, the Tauros head to Aberdeen to take on the Wings again. Then, they will head to Austin to take on the Bruins in two weeks. The Tauros return home on December 15th and 16th against the North Iowa Bulls. The December 16th game will be the annual SCHEELS of Minot Teddy Bear Toss. 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.