Bobcats Clinch Playoff Spot at Home with Sweep of Bruins

The Bismarck Bobcats were back on home ice this past weekend to take on the Austin Bruins for the 3rd and 4th consecutive games against Austin. 

Friday night, the Bobcats would get the scoring started on the power play. Ian Engel had the puck in the high slot and saw Keanu Krenn at the base of the left-wing circle and he pounded home a one-timer five-hole on Austin goaltender Carl Axelsson. Aside from that goal it was a very even 1st period of action. The Bobcats would take the 1-0 lead heading into the intermission, while leading shots on goal 11-9.   

In the 2nd period, the Bobcats would extend their lead, capitalizing off of a neutral zone turnover. Kyle Doll carried the puck into the zone, shimmied his way into the slot and wristed the puck glove side to make it a 2-0 contest. The Bruins had a response late in the 2nd period, but Tomas Anderson, who was starting in his 6th straight contest, shut the door making some big saves down the stretch. Bismarck would take the 2-0 lead into the 3rd period. Shots on goal for the 2nd were 14-8 in favor of Bismarck.     

The 3rd period saw the Bobcats start on the penalty kill. Anderson was trying to play the puck quickly, and put it right onto the stick of Jackson Rilei who fired home the first goal for the Bruins in 7 periods. This brought the Bruins back to within one. In the middle stages of the 3rd, the Bobcat power play would strike again. Louie Kamienski deflected the shot from the point into the back of the net which made it a 3-1 Bobcat lead. Tack on an empty net goal by Alexandr Kim and the Bobcats were able to skate away with the 4-1 victory. 

Tomas Anderson was sharp as always, stopping 22/23, gaining his 27th win on the season. 

Moving ahead to Saturday’s game, the Bobcats and the Bruins were extremely evenly matched after the 1st period of play, as the scoreline read 0-0 after the first 20 minutes of play. Shots on goal were 6 a piece as the period was heavily defensively oriented. In that 1st period, the Bobcats went 0/1 on the man advantage.

The 2nd period saw the Cats explode offensively. They came out of the gates with intensity, purpose, and effort. 7 minutes into the period Calle Arvedson would pick up a rebound at the base of the right wing circle and deposit it into the back of the net, making it a 1-0 contest in favor of Bismarck. Just a couple of minutes later, the lead would be doubled thanks to a howitzer from the left point from Ollie Chessler, which made it 2-0. Matthew Rafalski wouldn’t be denied of the scoring party as he notched his 9th of the season on a backhand shot from the slot, as three blueliners found the back of the net in the period. They would take the 3-0 lead into the 3rd period, but start the final frame shorthanded. 

The 3rd period was extremely similar to Friday night, as within the 1st minute of the period, Austin found the back of the net on the power play and brought the game to within two. The Bobcats shut the game down from there, and would tack on an empty netter from Tommy Cronin to win by the exact same scoreline as Friday night, 4-1. 

With the win, the Bobcats clinched a spot in the Robertson Cup Playoffs, as they finished their regular season series against Austin with a 6-2-0 record.   

Next weekend the Bobcats are on the road to take on the St. Cloud Norsemen, be sure to check the Bobcat social media pages for the Road Watch Party Locations! You can also tune into NATV or Super Talk 1270 with the Voice of the Bobcats, Brandon Luisi