BISMARCK, ND. – For the first time since last year’s Robertson Cup Playoffs, the Bismarck Bobcats and Aberdeen Wings face off from the VFW Sports Center with a crucial four points up for grabs in the standings.
Bismarck is coming off a 1-0-1-0 weekend against the Austin Bruins, losing Friday’s matchup on a controversial penalty shot call in the final 10 seconds of overtime.
The penalty kill continued to flex its strength all weekend, killing 10-of-11 to finish the month of October with 40 kills on 43 attempts (93%).
Second-year Bobcat Mark Evans had a breakout weekend, scoring his first goal since Sept. 19 and adding four assists for a five-point weekend, while both Matyas Jonak and Luc Plante scored their first goals of the season.
The offensive production, paired with the league’s stingiest defense through the first two months of the season, gives Bismarck a dangerous combination as it looks to avenge last year’s early playoff exit.
The resiliency of Bismarck throughout the weekend was the story, mounting two third-period comebacks, including one in the final 70 seconds on Saturday.
Garrett Roth’s squad is taking on a rested Aberdeen team, coming off a bye week after they defeated the Watertown Shamrocks 3-2 on Oct. 24.
It’s been an inconsistent start to the season for Aberdeen, which finished October with a 4-4 record and won consecutive games just once across its eight contests.
Despite the .500 record, the Wings boasted one of the best goals-against averages during the month of October, giving up three or more goals just twice, both to St. Cloud.
The return of William Braun, who haunted the Bobcats in last year’s first-round bout, has been the story once again this year, holding a 7-4 record in the early goings.
It is once again a battle of polarizing special teams units, with Bismarck’s cooled-off power play taking on a failing penalty kill unit.
The Bobcats’ man-advantage found the back of the net twice this past weekend, finishing October at 18.2% and have seen the unit go from first-ranked to sixth.
The absences of Maddox Malmquist and Cade Bell, two key contributors on the power play, were felt throughout the weekend. However, the Bobcats will have an opportunity to get the unit back on track against an Aberdeen penalty kill that has struggled throughout the season.
Ranked third from last in the league, the Wings’ penalty-kill has faced several woes to start the season.
Aberdeen’s matchup against Watertown marked the first time since Oct. 2 that Scott Langer’s squad did not surrender a power-play goal.
Those two contests are also the only two times this season where Aberdeen was not let up a goal when down a man, coincidentally both games saw the Wings penalized just once.
Bismarck will look to stay undefeated at home this season in front of its home crowd, with a Blackout prepared for Saturday night, encouraging all fans to wear black in the arena.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm both nights, and tickets are still available at tickets.bismarckbobcats.com.