Bobcats Respond Saturday to Split Weekend Series with Aberdeen

The Bismarck Bobcats were on the road this weekend in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to take on the Wings in the penultimate regular season series between these two teams. 

Friday’s contest saw Aberdeen jump out of the gate in the first ten minutes of the period and bring the intensity and pace to the Bobcats. During a power play in the middle of the 1st period, Gavin Reed for the Wings let a shot go from the point and with the mass of bodies in front of Tomas Anderson, he was unable to get a clean read on the puck as it found the back of the net, making it 1-0 Aberdeen. The Bobcats began to turn it on in the 2nd half of the period, generating some incredible scoring chances, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Aberdeen would skate into the locker room with a 1-0 lead. Shots on goal for the period were dead even at 9.  

The 2nd period was very similar to the last 10 minutes of the 1st period. The Bobcats were getting shots on net, having sustained offensive zone time, and pressuring Aberdeen goaltender Damon Cunningham. Cunningham made some key saves in the 2nd and kept Aberdeen’s lead. Just over 6 minutes into the middle frame, Aberdeen got the puck to the front of the net, cleaned up the loose change on the backdoor and doubled their lead as they made it 2-0. The Bobcats kept the foot on the gas pedal, and were finally rewarded, as Louie Kamienski pounded home a one-timer to give the Bobcats life with 5 minutes left in the 2nd period. This was Kamienski 3rd goal in 3 games. Aberdeen would keep the 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd period. The Bobcats outshot the Wings 11-7 in the 2nd period.    

Early in the 3rd period, the Bobcats were awarded a power play. Heading into that contest, the Bobcats power play struck in 6 straight games. That streak would continue as Tommy Cronin found the back of the net on a snipe to tie the game at 2. However, the problem in the 3rd period would be that the Bobcats wouldn’t follow up their goals with good shifts after. All it took was half a minute and Aberdeen found themselves on a breakaway and made no mistake, restoring their lead at 3-2. Scoring would slow down until the latter stages of the period. The Wings got another odd man rush and their leading scorer Leo Bulgakov drilled one into the back of the net making it 4-2 Wings. The Bobcats would pull their goalie with 3 minutes remaining and strike immediately. Sasha Kim was able to deflect a shot past Cunningham to make it a 4-3 game. All it took, however, was one minute. The Wings on another odd-man rush converted to give them a 5-3 win and take the two points in the standings. 

Moving ahead to Saturday’s game the Bobcats had the hot start and came out with force. A net front scramble ensued in front of Cunningham and Wyatt Sypniewski scooped up the loose change to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead early in the game. Later in the 1st period, the Bobcats would get on the man advantage and double their lead. Matthew Rafalski let one rip from the point, it changed direction out front, and found the back of the net, off the deflection from Evan Hunter. This made it 2-0 Bobcats, heading into the intermission. 

The 2nd period continued to see the Bobcats keep the momentum in their favor. Nick Snyder sent a stretch pass forward to Keanu Krenn on a breakaway. He deked, dangled, and opened up the goaltender five-hole to make it a 3-0 contest, less than 2 minutes into the middle period. Aberdeen would have their chances, but Bobcats goaltender Kai Weigel stood tall keeping the door shut. In the dying seconds of the period, the Bobcats had a couple of opportunities in the offensive zone, and the man with the hot stick, Kamienski fired one home to extend his goal streak to 4 games as he found the back of the net with 3 seconds remaining. 

The 3rd period got a little testy for the Bobcats. Just over 3 minutes in Aberdeen would strike on a back door play to cut the Bobcat lead to 3. Just over a minute later, the Wings would have a 5 on 3 power play, and despite being down to 9 forwards, the Bobcats dug deep and fought it off. While extracurriculars and big hits were common in the 3rd period, the Bobcats held on for a 4-1 victory. 

Weigel notched his 8th win of the season, stopping 25/26 that came his way.   

The Bobcats moved to 32-7-2 after the weekend series. The Bobcats are on the road next Friday as they take on the Minot Minotauros, before coming home on Saturday as Minot visits Bismarck. Catch all the action with the Voice of the Bobcats, Brandon Luisi on NATV and Super Talk 1270. Get your tickets for Saturday’s game by calling the Bobcat Hotline at 390-7422 or log onto BismarckBobcats.com