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Andrew Lennox, www.minotauroshockey.com For the final time this season, the Minot Minotauros hosted the Minnesota Mallards for a two-game series at the Maysa Arena this weekend. Minot entered the matchup with a perfect 6-0-0 record against the first-year expansion team. Friday Night Recap: On Friday, Ian Spencer put Minot on the board first with his 21st goal of the season, scoring with 8:18 left in the first period. Gavin Middendorf and Jack Edwards picked up the assists. Less than a minute later, Braeden Jockims doubled the Tauros’ lead, firing a shot past Mallards goaltender Zane Spaniol from the doorstep. Chuck Owens and Noah Gibbs provided the helpers. Minot kept the pressure on during a power play before going into the first intermission. Spencer struck again, netting his second of the night off assists from Billy Batten and Jesse Juhola, making it 3-0. Just 31 seconds into the second period, defenseman Adam Mahler was called for elbowing, leaving the Tauros shorthanded. Minnesota took advantage of the power play, cutting the deficit to 3-1 when Jacob Faith fired a bar-down shot past goalie Lukas Swedin. Fourteen minutes later, Minot restored their three-goal cushion, again capitalizing on the power play. Spencer completed his hat trick with his 22nd goal of the season, assisted once more by Batten and Juhola. Before the second intermission, Jack O’Hanisian added to the lead, sniping a wrist shot from the top of the circles to put the Tauros up 5-1. Batten and Juhola were again credited with the assists. Early in the third period, Minot scored again. Gavin Middendorf recorded his 26th goal of the season, assisted by Landon Fleming and Ty James, extending the lead to 6-1. Leo Cabulis put the finishing touch on the dominant performance, adding one more goal to seal the Tauros’ 7-1 victory. Saturday Night Recap: On Saturday, the Mallards struck first when Jordan Brothers found the back of the net, beating Will Mizenko glove-side top corner just 5:25 into the game. Minot responded late in the period on the power play, with Spencer staying red-hot, scoring his fourth goal in two games to even the score at 1-1. Juhola and O’Hanisian picked up the assists. The Tauros grabbed a 2-1 lead with 7:41 left in the second period when Middendorf buried a rebound after James floated a shot in on Mallards goaltender Bauer. Spencer added the secondary helper. Just over two minutes later, O’Hanisian extended the lead, netting his 22nd goal of the season for his second point of the night to put Minot up 3-1. Adam Mahler assisted on the tally, marking his 40th point of the season and setting a franchise record for most points in a single season by a defenseman. Tauros newcomer Jax Warren also earned an assist, notching his first career NAHL point. Minot sealed the victory with two more goals in the final 20 minutes, courtesy of Juhola and Middendorf, securing a 5-1 win and a weekend sweep over the Mallards. Following their dominant two-game series sweep in the Magic City, the Tauros will remain home next weekend to take on the North Iowa Bulls. As always, all Tauros games can be streamed live on NATV, with free live audio available on the Tauros’ YouTube and Facebook pages. Tickets for next weekend’s games and all Tauros home matchups can be purchased on the Tauros’ online ticketing site. |
