ONALASKA, WI – The Bismarck Bobcats are back on the road again, heading east for a rematch of the 2011 Central Division Finals against the Coulee Region Chill—kicking off a two-game series at the Onalaska Omni Center on Friday with a 7:00 PM contest.
The Bobcats enter the weekend on a four-game win streak and boasting the league’s best road record at 8-0-0.
Head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie says that the team aims to continue its road success in Wisconsin.
“We need to come out with a strong game plan, starting right away on Friday,” explained Sedevie, “usually you open a road game by weathering the other team’s storm, but we need to come out and make Coulee Region weather our storm.”
The red-hot Bobcats attack is keyed by a balanced, four-line attack, but the line with the hot hand is that of Frank DeAugustine, Tyler Richter and Dan Zawacki. The trio of veterans racked up five goals in the Bobcats’ two-game sweep of Dawson Creek last weekend—including both game winners—while adding five assists.
In net, the Cats have recently found balance as veteran Tommy Burke and rookie Aaron Nelson have each contributed two wins to the team’s current four-game tear. Burke is coming off an impressive month of October that saw him rack up a record of 6-1-0.
“Of course I’m happy that I was able to put together such a good record last month,” admitted Burke, who is tied for the NAHL lead in wins with 10, “but really every time me or Nelly get a ‘W’ it’s a team state that shows how hard all the guys worked in front of us.”
Coulee Region is coming off a 1-2-1 showing in a two-week home-and-home series against Midwest Division-leading St. Louis.
“I don’t think their record, in the last two weeks or on the season as a whole (7-7-2) is indicative of what a good team the Chill can be,” offered Sedevie, whose Bobcats dispatched Coulee Region in five games in last season’s divisional final. “You watch the tape of their win last Friday in St. Louis and they dominated the game. They have the potential to take over any night.”
Third-year blueliner Matt Blomquist leads the Chill in scoring with four goals and nine assists while second-year forward sets the goal pace with nine scores on the young year.
Another veteran, Aaron Davis, is Coulee Region’s steadying presence in net, putting up a 7-5-2 record with a 3.58 GAA and a .901 SV%.
The puck drops on Friday’s grudge match at 7:00 PM with a 7:00 PM Saturday showdown to close out the weekend.
Friday’s interdivision tussle will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide on the official internet television partner of the NAHL, FASTHockey, at http://nahl.fasthockey.com. Pregame coverage gets under way at 6:30. Fans can watch the game—and all away contests—live at Reza’s Pitch at Third and Front in Bismarck, the official away game home of Bobcat Hockey.
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2011-12 season—and going fast! Call the Bobcat Hockey office at (701) 222-3300 or email gobobcathockey@aol.com for more information on reserving a pro-rated package for this season!