Bobcats Come Back but Can’t Finish Wilderness
BISMARCK, ND – Facing their third consecutive one-goal deficit after two periods, the Bismarck Bobcats rallied to take a lead in the third but couldn’t make it stand up, falling 5-4 to the Minnesota Wilderness Friday at the VFW Sports Center.
With Minnesota leading 3-2 after 40 minutes, the Bobcats gained an equalizer 5:27 into the final frame as Evan Giesler slammed home a Tony German rebound on the power play, knotting the score at three.
Just 33 seconds later, Jared Pike rifled a low shot off a net-front scramble that beat Wilderness goalie Ryan Anderson in traffic low to the glove side, lifting the Bobcats to their first lead of the night at 4-3.
Minnesota pulled even at 4-4 less than three minutes later on a jaw-dropping goal by Wilderness forward Aaron Miller, who deked through both defenders a 1-on-2 rush then pulled Bobcat netminder Hunter Shepard out of the net before tucking the puck in from behind the goal line with 11:09 left in regulation.
Brett Heikkila capitalized on a defensive zone breakdown by the Bobcats at the 7:31 mark of the third stanza, taking a centering pass from Robb Stautz and beating Shepard inside the right post to boost the visitors to a 5-4 advantage.
Pike and linemate J.M. Piotrowski nearly tied the game in the final five minutes, but Pike missed the side of the net and Piotrowski had a backhander denied with 28 seconds left by Anderson, dropping the Bobcats by one goal.
The Wilderness got out to a 2-0 lead late in the first on two transition goals in a 1:46 span by Billy Exell and Michael Covach.
German pulled the Bobcats back into the game with a power play strike through traffic with 4:36 remaining in the opening frame.
Each side netted one goal in the second, with Minnesota striking on a shorthanded breakaway by Dan Litchke and the Cats responding with a Jared Spooner tally on a broken play on the rush.
Shepard took the loss on 21 saves, while Anderson secured his fifth win behind 21 stops of his own.
The two teams will reconvene for a 7:15pm Saturday rematch at the VFW Sports Center.
Tickets are now on sale for Saturday’s contest: fans can buy and print tickets 24 hours a day at BismarckBobcats.com or charge by phone at 222-3300.
Live coverage of the series finale will begin at 6:45pm locally on SuperTalk 1270, KLXX-AM, the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, and worldwide online at NAHL.FASTHockey.com, the official web television partner of the North American Hockey League.
Though the 2014-15 season is now under way, there is still time to order season tickets for the year; fans who want to lock in their seats for the entire campaign should call the Bobcat office at 222-3300 today!
