Bobcats Face Bruins in One-Game Battle for Final Robertson Cup Berth
Matchup: Bismarck Bobcats (37-19-4, 1st Central) vs Austin Bruins (29-27-4, 3rd Central)
Game: Monday, May 9, 7:15pm
Venue: VFW Sports Center, Bismarck, N.D.
Series: Series tied 2-2
Regular Season Series: Bobcats won series 4-2-2
All-Time: Bobcats lead Bruins 30-20-4 (10-7 in playoffs)
Radio: SuperTalk 1270 AM, SuperTalk1270.com and the radioPup smartphone app, 6:45pm
Internet TV: http://NAHL.FASTHockey.com, 6:45pm
BISMARCK, ND – With three of the four 2016 Robertson Cup Tournament bids already handed out, the Bismarck Bobcats will face down the Austin Bruins Monday for the last spot at the NAHL’s big dance with a decisive Game Five in the best-of-five-game Central Division Finals.
Having seen their 2-0 series lead slip away at Riverside Arena, the Bobcats now have one last chance to close out the two-time defending division champs.
“On the weekend, we waited until the second period on Saturday to play our best hockey, and just couldn’t come all the way back,” surmised Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie, whose team faces its first Game Five since the 2014 Central Division Finals—also against Austin. “So we need to take the lessons from when we did play well and also when we didn’t and put it all out on the ice [Monday].”
Special teams have dictated the outcome in each of the first four games of the series: the only team to score on the power play or penalty kill has picked up the win, while power play or shorthanded goals have accounted for three of the four game-winners.
Aaron Herdt and Alex Strand, the Cats’ leading scorers in the regular season, have each chipped in a pair of goals for the Bobcats in the series, while Willie Brown has kicked in four assists up front.
Goalie Hunter Shepard brushed off a tough Game Three on Friday with a 21-save performance in Saturday’s Game Four.
Austin captain Jade Miller also has a pair of goals in the divisional final and has registered a goal in each of the Bruins’ postseason victories.
Bruins netminder Kristofer Carlson put together a strong home weekend at Riverside Arena, claiming both wins in net on 44 combined saves to help his side even the series.
Tickets for Monday’s game—the final home game of 2015-16 for the Bobcats—are now on sale 24 hours a day at BismarckBobcats.com, by clicking “Shop Now” on the team Facebook page or charge-by-phone at 222-3300.
Monday’s series-deciding contest will be broadcast live 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—with pregame coverage starting at 6:45pm.
Tickets are now on sale for the Cats’ run in the 2016 Robertson Cup Playoffs and are already going fast! Lock in yours for the entire playoff run by signing up for 2016-17 season tickets today.