BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats will embark on a pair of holiday weekend battles against two of their biggest rivals—the Aberdeen Wings and the Alexandria Blizzard—starting with their Second Annual Thanksgiving Night contest against the Wings at 7:15 PM on Thursday at the VFW Sports Center.
In the sixth meeting of the Titan Machinery Dakota Cup—which Aberdeen currently leads 6-4—the Bobcats will look to avenge a 6-1 loss on November 13 suffered at the hands of the Wings while trying to get back to .500 against their closest geographic rival.
Last year’s Thanksgiving Night game drew a capacity crowd to the VFW and the Bobcats hope for a repeat performance as presenting sponsor Midway Lanes is offering a voucher for a free game of bowling to every fan in attendance. The night’s festivities will include face-painting, turkey bowling, a pie-eating contest and more!
On the ice, the first-place Bobcats will turn to reigning NAHL Goalie of the Week Ryan Faragher to steady a Bobcat defense that has given up 12 goals in their last three games against Aberdeen. Up front, the Bobcats welcomed the return of Dartmouth recruit Charlie Mosey from a lower-body injury sustained against the Blizzard; Mosey responded with an assist in his first game back against the Owatonna Express.
The Wings, on the other hand, will counter with a smoldering offense led by leading scorer Cory Ward who—despite having a 10-game point streak snapped last weekend against Alexandria—leads the Central Division with 26 points on 13 goals and 13 assists. James Rudi Pino has also stung the Bobcats for three goals and two assists in four games against the defending champs.
“I can’t wait to get Aberdeen on our home ice,” said Faragher, who stopped 55 of 57 shots last weekend in a two-game sweep of the Express, “I’ve only faced them on the road so I know with our crowd behind us we’ll be ready to give them our best shot.”
For Friday’s contest, the Bobcats take to the road as they’ll face the Blizzard at the Runestone Center in Alexandria for a 7:30 PM start.
The resurgent Blizzard have forced their way past the Wings in the Central standings thanks to continued production from top guns Nardo Nagtzaam (12 G, 18 A), Alex Altenbernd (4 G, 14 A) and Steve Zierke (11 G, 6 A) and an offensive shot in the arm from former Marquette Ranger Brent Bain who, after just one weekend with the Blizzard, has already racked up three goals—all on the power play—and three assists in green and blue.
“Their power play is an incredible weapon, so we need to stay disciplined and stay out of the box so that unit doesn’t get too many chances,” noted Bobcats assistant coach Adam Gill. “We want to be five-on-five against Alexandria and take our chances even strength.”
Alexandria has also added the services of 2009-10 Bobcat goaltender Jake Williams, who is 3-1-1 with a 2.36 GAA in five starts with the Blizzard—but had a forgettable four-goals-against performance in just 17:21 of action against his former mates as a member of the Fresno Monsters on opening day in September.
Both Thursday and Friday’s contests 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 Friday’s game at Reza’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 6:45 PM CT on Thursday and 7:00 PM on Friday.
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