BISMARCK, ND. – The Bismarck Bobcats kicked off a five-game homestand against their archrival, the Aberdeen Wings, splitting the weekend with a 5-3 victory and a 3-2 loss before heading into their off weekend.
Friday: Bismarck 5, Aberdeen 3
The Bobcats came out firing Friday evening, getting off to yet another hot start that included an early power-play opportunity.
After a difficult month of October on the man advantage, during which Bismarck converted at around an 18% clip, Garrett Roth’s squad flipped a switch against the Wings, scoring on its first three power-play attempts out of four total.
The power-play tallies came from Maddox Malmquist and Carson Clukies, whose returns to the lineup provided the spark Bismarck needed to take the lead and never trail in the contest.
The Bobcats did see their two-goal lead erased in the middle frame, but a four-point night from Teddy Richardson, capped off with an empty-netter, helped will Bismarck to its 12th win of the season and sole possession of first place in the Central Division.
Saturday: Bismarck 2, Aberdeen 3
Saturday saw a much more aggressive and hungry Aberdeen squad that looked like the better team in the opening frame but just couldn’t solve Linus Vieillard.
The Bobcats took advantage of a scoreless first period and kickstarted the second with yet another power-play tally, one of five on the weekend, to score first for the 13th time this season.
The Wings, however, did not go away quietly. A one-timer on the man advantage, one of their four power-play goals on the weekend, came just three minutes later before Aberdeen took the lead on a net-mouth scramble halfway through the frame.
With the Bobcats trailing entering the third period, they leaned on the experience gained from the comebacks a weekend prior and the will of Richardson yet again.
On a late third-period power play, the Alaska-Fairbanks commit roofed one over the shoulder of Willum Braun to tie the game in what looked like a contest destined for overtime.
However, it was the Bobcat killer from last season, Brody Dustin, who refused to let the game stay tied, wristing a shot from the blue line that deflected past Vieillard less than 60 seconds after the equalizer.
Bismarck tried its hardest to find a third goal, but couldn’t get past Aberdeen’s sturdy defense, falling to 12-4-1 on the season and suffering its first loss on home ice this year.
After three straight weekend splits, the Bobcats will take a week of rest before welcoming St. Cloud to town, followed by the first three meetings of the season against their in-state rival, Minot.