Monday Roundup: Bobcats Make Deal as Deadline Looms
Last Week:
Friday, January 30: Bobcats 4, Wings 1
Saturday, January 31: Wings 4, Bobcats 2
This Week:
Saturday, February 7: Bobcats at Wings, Odde Ice Center, 7:15pm
Brown Goes Black and Gold
BISMARCK, ND – With the roster deadline just eight days away, the Bismarck Bobcats executed their first intraleague trade of the 2014-15 regular season to acquire second-year forward Willie Brown from the South Division’s Topeka Roadrunners.
Brown, a 1995 birth year, has six goals and 14 assists so far on the current campaign to go with a plus-3 rating.
Hailing from South St. Paul, Minn., Brown is a product of Hill-Murray School—a Twin Cities hockey powerhouse. In two seasons on the Pioneers’ varsity squad, he accounted for 26 goals and 37 assists and was a key contributor during Hill-Murray’s runs to the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament in both 2012 and 2013.
All final NAHL rosters are due on Tuesday, February 10, including any trades or pickups.
Style Points
Bobcat center J.M. Piotrowski picked up one of the North American Hockey League’s more entertaining monthly awards Monday when the league named the Irving, Tex., native the winner of its Gongshow Flow of the Month Award for January.
The award, in its third year, honors one of the game’s most well-renowned traditions: hockey hair.
It is only the second time a Bobcat has ever earned the hardware and first since Nick Miglio in 2012.
On the weekly side of things, Piotrowski and linemate Jared Pike both picked up honorable mention for Central Division Star of the Week.
Both top-liners submitted three-point weekends in the Cats’ home split with Aberdeen: Piotrowski with two goals and an assist; Pike adding a goal and two helpers.
Another Week, Another Alumnus Honored
One week after Patrick Moore (2011-13) netted WIAC Player of the Week, 2013-14 Bobcat alum Nate Flynn won MIAC Player of the Week thanks to a Saturday hat trick for Augsburg as the Auggies upset 14th-ranked St. Thomas at home.
In addition to Flynn’s trick, five other Bobcat alumni earned multi-point weekends in the collegiate ranks: Kevin Becker (St. John’s, 2g); Castan Sommer (Holy Cross, 1g, 1a); Mike Fazio (Wisconsin-River Falls, 1g, 1a); Nate Repensky (Yale, 2a); and Mike Dockry (St. Thomas, 2a).
2009-10 netminder Ryan Massa took his impressive season to the masses, making 33 for fifth-ranked Nebraska-Omaha saves to outduel #1 North Dakota in overtime Friday on national television amid a weekend split in the top-five NCHC showdown.
Other former Cats to grab NCAA points included: Tyler Richter (St. Thomas, 1g); Joe Giordano (Connecticut College, 1g); Dan Weissenhofer (Air Force, 1a); Stanislav Dzakhov (Niagara, 1a); Matt Pohlkamp (Bowling Green, 1a); George Malliaras (St. Norbert, 1a); Sam Coborn (Concordia MN, 1a); Patrick Coyne (Lawrence, 1a); and Matt Gates (Concordia WI, 1a).
Coming Up
The Bobcats will head south for their only game of the week when they visit Aberdeen for a 7:15pm Saturday rematch with the Wings.
Live coverage of the ninth meeting of the 2014-15 Titan Machinery Dakota Cup 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 past the half-way mark, 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!
