Bobcats Bounce Back Saturday to Split Weekend with Bruins

The Bismarck Bobcats were on the road this past weekend to take on the Austin Bruins in a series mixed up the Central Division standings. 

Friday night, the Bobcats got caught flat-footed in the opening frame as they were outshot 11-3. The Bruins would get a power play just over 6 minutes into the contest and really press the momentum from that point on until they found the tiebreaker in the late stages of the 1st period. Austin would take the 1-0 lead heading into the 2nd period. Both teams went 0/1 on the man advantage in the 1st period.   

The 2nd period was a completely different story as the Bobcats came out checking hard, putting a lot of pressure on the Austin defenders and beginning to force turnovers and generate chances. Despite an early power play for the Cats they were unable to find the back of the net in the 2nd period, but killed off an abbreviated 5 on 3 power play for Austin keeping it a one-goal game heading into the 3rd and final period. The Bobcats outshot Austin in the 2nd period 15-6.    

The 3rd period was ALL Bobcats. Austin didn’t register a shot on goal until 6:00 remaining in the 3rd period, meanwhile the Bobcats put another 10 shots on Austin goaltender Jack Solomon. Unfortunately, in the end, it wasn’t enough. The Bobcats would fall to the Bruins 1-0 and be shut out for the 2nd time in 4 games. The Bobcats out shot the Bruins 28-19 and went 0/4 on the power play. On the other side of the special teams ledger the penalty kill was stellar, going 5/5 on the night. 

Tomas Anderson was sharp as always, stopping 18/19, but unfortunately took the loss on Friday night. 

Moving ahead to Saturday’s game, the Bobcats flipped the script. Late in the 1st period, Bismarck would head on the man advantage and Evan Hunter was left wide open just above the crease and he would notch home his 10th of the season. That would give the Bobcats the 1-0 lead heading into the 1st intermission. The game was still razor tight however, as both teams registered 11 shots in the 1st period.  

The 2nd period was a carbon copy of Friday night’s game, no scoring whatsoever, but tons of chances on both sides. Each team would get on the man advantage, but the penalty kills would stand tall. Bismarck outshot Austin in the middle frame 15-10 and still carried the momentum heading into the 3rd period of play.    

The Bobcats heading into Saturday night’s contest were 27-0-0 when beginning the 3rd period with a lead. That wouldn’t change, as the power play would come up big once again. Tommy Cronin on a one-timer from the slot would sling it past Solomon to make it a 2-0 contest in favor of Bismarck. The cats would tack on an empty-net goal courtesy of Alexandr Kim and take home the 3-0 victory.

Anderson started in back-to-back games and had one of his best weekends in between the pipes. Not only did he notch his league-leading 7th shutout of the season, but only allowed one goal on the entire weekend. 

The Bobcats regained 1st place in the Central with Saturday’s win.   

Next weekend the Bobcats are on home ice to take on the very same Austin Bruins. Be sure to secure your tickets while they’re still available by calling 390-7422, or log onto BismarckBobcats.com.