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Edward Nieman, www.minotauroshockey.com Following the holiday break, the Tauros returned to the ice for a pivotal three-game stretch against rival Bismarck Bobcats, opening the 2026 calendar year with a chance to surge into the top half of the Central Division amid a crowded race for playoff position. The first of which included a trip down south to the state’s capital to square off with the Bobcats on Wednesday night in the annual New Year’s Eve showdown at the VFW Sports Center. The action picked up early as Ben Rakowski potted the opening goal for Bismarck with 13:57 remaining in the first period. Rakowski put one past Devin Rustlie’s left shoulder to gain the early 1-0 advantage on his seventh of the season. The Tauros would respond swiftly as second-year forward Dane Ramirez was able to clean up a loose puck in front of the Bobcats’ net to make it a 1-1 game on his team’s leading ninth goal of the year. Later in the period, Charlie Kresl would find space along the left wing and thread a puck through a tight window past Rustlie’s blocker-side to restore the Bobcats’ lead. Assisting on the goal were Royce Pietila and Cooper Williams as Bismarck regained the lead with 4:28 remaining in the opening stanza. With under three to play in the period, the Bobcats would add another courtesy of Frantisek Broz as Bismarck would find themselves in control, leading Minot 3-1 at the first intermission. Shots on goal through the opening 20 minutes of Wednesday night would favor the Bobcats 15-11. The Tauros would cut into the Bismarck lead less than four minutes into the second period as Daniil Afonin would leave a puck back for Arseni Vorobyov, as he was able to fire a wrister past Bobcats’ netminder Marko Bilic to make it a one-goal affair. With 12:59 remaining in the second period, Daniil Afonin would be sent to the box for Minot for high-sticking and cross-checking, granting Bismarck an extended power play with four minutes on the extra-man advantage. The Bobcats would take advantage as Noah Ziskie would fire one in on the power play for the fourth of the night for Bismarck to regain the two-goal advantage. The 4-2 score would hold as both teams arrived at the second intermission inside the VFW Sports Center. After two periods of play, the Bobcats also held the shots on goal advantage, 29-18. Neither team would find the back of the net through the first half of the final period on Wednesday night as the 2025 calendar year entered its final few hours. With 6:02 remaining in regulation, Szilveszter Lippai would put the exclamation point on a dominant evening for the Bobcats, finding the back of the net for his third of the season with assists from Broz and Jimmy Dodig to make it 5-1. The Tauros would get one back before the final horn sounded as Lucca Ori would net his fourth of the season for the Tauros’ second of the night. The Bobcats would add one more as they took the New Year’s Eve contest 6-3 on home ice, good for their 20th win of the season. The win for Bismarck marked their first on New Year’s Eve since the 2020-21 season. In net, getting the win was Marko Bilic as he improved his record to 4-4-0. Following the New Year’s Eve game in Bismarck, the attention would shift back up north as the Minotauros welcomed the Bobcats to the Pepsi Rink for the first time this season for a two-game weekend set. Friday night would feature a scoreless first period inside Maysa Arena with the Bobcats outshooting the Tauros 11-3 through 20 minutes of play. The middle frame would belong to the Bobcats as they stormed out to a 3-0 lead with goals coming courtesy of Cooper Williams, Camden Alemond, and Mark Evans. Williams and Alemond’s goal would come on the extra-man advantage as Bismarck would find themselves in the driver’s seat at the end of the second period. Through 40 minutes, it was the Bobcats outshooting the Tauros 18-13. Bismarck would tack two more to begin the third period to seize a 5-0 lead on the road in the Friday night series opener. Minot would not go down without a fight as Cap Priem would get the Cream & Cardinal on the board as he wired one into the back of the net, beating Belic glove-side for Priem’s first as a Tauro. Minutes later, it was third-year defenseman Ty James striking on a power play that was triggered by a Bobcats’ boarding minor for James’ fifth goal of the season. James’ goal would cut the deficit to three goals as the Tauros crept back within reach with 11:13 left to play in regulation. Despite the brief momentum shift, the Bobcats would recover as Patch Cronin would net Bismarck’s sixth goal of the night with 6:03 remaining to take out any drama that could be had in the final few minutes. The Friday night win would keep the Bobcats undefeated against the Tauros on the season as they notched their third win against Minot, with the regular season surpassing the halfway mark with 30 games played. Belic would once again be credited with the win in between the pipes for Bismarck. Following two high-scoring affairs on Wednesday and Friday night, Saturday would bring a lower-scoring duel between the two in-state rivals. For the second night in a row, the Tauros and Bobcats would play to a scoreless tie through the first 20 minutes of play inside Maysa Arena. Despite not scoring in the period, the Tauros would open with a solid period of play, outshooting the Bobcats, 12-10, as they searched for the weekend split. It wasn’t until the 3:57 mark of the second period that the scoreless tie was broken. It was Eddie Revenig finding space out in front of the Tauros net as he walked his way in and fired one past Minot goaltender Caden Maringa to make it a 1-0 game. The goal for Bismarck would mark their 13th against the Tauros in the three-game stretch. That’s all the scoring that would take place through the first two periods in Minot on Saturday night. Bismarck held on to the 1-0 lead at the second intermission, outshooting the Tauros 19-18. With under five minutes to play in the third period, it was Charlie Kresl doubling the Bobcats’ lead off a feed from Royce Pietila to make it 2-0. Bismarck would add an empty-netter courtesy of Cooper Williams to seal a 3-0 shutout win over Minot. The win would mark the first shutout victory for the Bobcats over the Tauros since October 24th, 2024. In net for the Tauros, it was Caden Meringa saving 30 of 32 shots faced as he completed his first weekend playing at Maysa Arena. The Tauros will be back on home ice next weekend, January 9th & 10th, as they square off against the Minnesota Mallards. Puck drop for both Friday and Saturday night is scheduled for 7:35 PM on the Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena. Tickets for those games and all Tauros’ home games can be purchased on the Tauros’ online ticketing site. And as always, all Tauros’ home and road games can be viewed live on NATV along with a free live audio broadcast available on the Tauros’ YouTube, Facebook, and Mixlr pages. To stay most up to date with all things Minotauros, be sure to tune into Tauros All Access with Olivia Tosto and Preslie Davis Mondays -Thursdays at 3 PM on the Tauros Facebook and YouTube pages. |
