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Andrew Lennox, www.minotauroshockey.com This weekend, the Minot Minotauros traveled to South Dakota for the final time in the regular season to take on the Aberdeen Wings at the Odde Ice Center. Heading into the second-to-last weekend series before the playoffs, the Tauros held a 5–1 record against the Wings. Friday Recap Aberdeen’s Cade Moxham tied the game at 1–1 with 1:57 remaining in the opening frame. Grant Winkler and Briggs Orr picked up assists on Moxham’s 20th of the year. With under a minute left in the first, Jibber Kuhl gave Aberdeen a 2–1 lead with his 14th goal of the season, assisted by Sebastian Lillsund. Minot had two power-play opportunities in the second period but couldn’t convert. Despite the teams combining for 18 shots on goal in the frame, neither side scored. The Tauros finished the night 0-for-5 with the man advantage. In the third, the Tauros had two more chances on the power play but remained scoreless, sealing a 2–1 win for the Wings. Despite the loss, Tauros goaltender Lukas Swedin turned in a strong performance in his 41st appearance of the 2024–25 campaign, stopping 29 of 31 shots. Saturday Recap Aberdeen dominated the opening period, carrying a 1–0 lead and a 17–5 shots-on-goal advantage into the intermission. Just over three minutes into the second, the Wings extended their lead to 2–0. Luke Backel buried a power-play goal while Minot’s Jack Edwards sat in the box for a tripping minor. Kuhl and Winkler tallied the assists. The Wings continued to pour it on in the second, adding another tally off an offensive zone draw. Gustas Zemaitis won the faceoff back to Nikolai Tishkevich. Tishkevich then fired a wrist from the top of the circles that beat Mizenko’s top corner glove side. With 6:19 remaining in the middle frame, Lillsund struck again, left alone in the high slot and ripping a shot to make it 4–0. Heading into the second intermission, Minot trailed 4–0. Mizenko surrendered three goals on 15 shots during the second. Noah Gibbs finally got the Tauros on the board with a power-play rebound goal at 14:34 of the third. Jockims and Small picked up the assists, while Aberdeen’s Bryce Johnson sat in the box for tripping. However, Aberdeen answered just 23 seconds later as Tishkevich netted his second of the night, pushing the lead to 5–1. The Wings continued their offensive surge, with Matthew Martin-Gaudreault scoring less than three minutes later to make it 6–1. Finn Safir and Zemaitis earned assists on the play. Jack O’Hanisian gave Minot a glimmer of hope, netting his 24th of the season with 5:35 left in regulation. Chuck Owens recorded the lone assist. With 3:25 to play, Wings forward Leonid Bulgakov was assessed a five-minute major for slashing, giving the Tauros a late power play. Minot pulled Mizenko for the extra attacker, but Kuhl sealed the game with an empty-netter just 15 seconds later, capping off a 7–2 Aberdeen win and securing the weekend sweep. Looking Ahead All Tauros games are streamed live on NATV, with free audio broadcasts available on the Minotauros’ YouTube and Facebook pages. |
