AUSTIN, MN – The Bismarck Bobcats’ January skid now sits at five games as the Austin Bruins rallied past the Cats with four unanswered goals to claim a 5-2 victory over the defending champs Friday at Riverside Arena.
With the Bobcats posted to a 2-1 lead late in the second period, the Bruins started their comeback when Jordan Greenberg caught the Cats in a bad line change, streaking behind the Bismarck defense and beating goalie Ryan Faragher five-hole to tie the game 2-2 with 2:36 to go in the middle frame.
Charlie Adams put the home side ahead just over halfway through the third, guiding a low shot past Faragher on the power play to give the Bruins a 3-2 edge—the first lead all year for the Bruins over the Cats—with 9:57 to go in regulation.
The one goal lead quickly became two goals when an attempted Bobcat clear bounced off a stanchion straight to Austin forward Alex Tesensky in front of Faragher’s net. Tesensky slid the puck across to a wide-open Mike Adamowicz, who buried the chance and made it 4-2 just 35 seconds after Adams’ go-ahead tally.
Austin’s neutral zone defense walled off any comeback attempts by the Bobcats, holding the visitors to just three shots after Adamowicz’s goal, and Jack Walsh sealed the game with an empty-net goal with 24 seconds to go, giving the Bruins’ their first-ever win over the Cats.
The night started promisingly for the Bobcats when they got a go-ahead goal from Nikolaj Rosenthal with just 32 seconds left in the first period, but the Bruins responded in transition with a goal from Chris Fischer to even the score 5:18 into the second.
Charlie Mosey pushed the Cats back in front at 2-1 by redirecting a centering feed from Frank DeAugustine past Bruins goalie Keegan Asmundson with 12:45 to go in the second, but it would be the last goal the Bobcats would score on the night.
Asmundson made 23 saves on the night but only needed four stops in the third period en route to his tenth win of 2010-11.
Faragher made 36 saves but took his fourth straight loss, giving him nine defeats on the season.
The Bobcats will look to salvage a two-game split Saturday when they return to Riverside Arena for a 7:05 PM start against the Bruins.
Saturday’s contest will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at http://nahl.fasthockey.com/. As with all away games during the 2010-11 season, fans are encouraged to view the game at aReza’s Pitch—the official away game Home of the Bobcats—at the corner of Third and Front in Bismarck. Pre-game coverage will begin at 6:35 PM CT.
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2010-11 season! Call the Bobcat Hockey office at (701) 222-3300 or email gobobcathockey@aol.com for more information on reserving your seats for the entire season as the Bobcats look to defend the Robertson Cup!
BOBCAT HOCKEY
2010 ROBERTSON CUP CHAMPIONS