By Andrew Lennox, www.minotauroshockey.com
Bismarck, N.D. – With the Robertson Cup playoffs looming, the Minot Minotauros are wrapping up their regular season against their in-state rivals, the Bismarck Bobcats, with four consecutive games. Heading into the first weekend series, the Tauros only needed two points to secure the Central Division Crown.
On Friday night, the Tauros found themselves trailing by one goal just 2:07 into the opening period, as Bobcats’ Landon Fandel (12G) notched an early goal, putting his team ahead 1-0. The score remained unchanged for the rest of the intense first frame.
At 6:27 of the middle frame, Tauros Colby Bear (11G) sniped from the top of the circles off a beautiful feed from Ian Spencer (14A) to even the score at 1-1. John Small (22A) added the second assist. Minot would grab their first lead in the game at 6:27. Chad Muller (14G) cashed in on a second rebound opportunity off a shot initially from the point. Will Dawson (21A) and Rylan Jockims (24A) grabbed the helpers. Bismarck would draw even at 2-2 with 6:22 left in the period as Tommy Cronin (20G) scored his only goal of the weekend. Minot tallied one more marker before heading into intermission with a 3-2 lead courtesy of defenseman Adam Mahler (8G). Mahler took an initial shot that Bobcats goalie Klayton Knaap fended off. However, the puck then popped up over Knapp’s shoulder and trickled in. Nicholas Sewecke (12A) and John Emmons (17A) added the assists.
In the final 20 minutes of regulation, the Tauros extended their lead with a crucial goal at 9:59, as Sewecke (14G) scored off an offensive zone draw play, assisted by Trevor Stachowiak (32A) and Colby Woogk (21A). Bismarck’s Tamas Toth (17G) managed to score with five seconds left, but it wasn’t enough, and Minot clinched a 4-3 victory, securing first place in the Central Division.
On Saturday, the Tauros started the scoring with just 33 seconds left in the opening period, as Captain Stachowiak (14G) netted a power-play goal from the top of the circles off a pass from Cayden Casey (22A), with defenseman Pavol Funtek (11A) collecting the secondary assist.