Bobcats Host Bruins for Pivotal Pair
BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats will look to bounce back from a tough road loss as they host the streaking Austin Bruins for a two-game series starting Friday at the VFW Sports Center.
Coming off a 4-2 road loss to the Bruins last Saturday at Riverside Arena in which they surrendered four special teams goals, the Bobcats will look to halt the first place Austin side’s five-game win streak.
For the Bobcats, a turnaround against the Bruins will start with a stronger performance from the power play and penalty kill.
“Our special teams need to have a better showing at home than we did in Austin [Saturday],” assessed Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie. “One goal in 11 power plays isn’t a great number, but a lot of that is because Nick Lehr had one of the best individual performances I’ve ever seen in net; we had some grade-A chances and Lehr came up big for them.
“The big one we can’t have is giving up two shorthanded goals. That’s three times this year we’ve done that.”
All three games in which the Bobcats have allowed shorthanded strikes have been decided by two or fewer goals.
While the Bobcats will be happy to see home ice after a two-game swing to open divisional play, they will be even more pleased to welcome back rookie defenseman Nate Repensky, who tallied a point in his only game so far, and goaltender Aaron Nelson, who started seven straight games in the 2012 playoffs for the Cats.
“Nate is a difference-maker on the blue line and on the power play,” noted Sedevie. “We’ll be monitoring his progress back [from a hernia] because we don’t want to rush him back. Having Aaron back in net gives us that ‘1A’ and ‘1B’ pair [with Bryan Nies] you always want.
“They’re both Division I goalies, if you ask me.”
Austin, on the other hand, rides into town as the top team in the Central Division on winning percentage with the second-longest active winning streak in the NAHL, behind only six straight by the Amarillo Bulls.
The two-game series will be the Cats’ only home games of October before they set out on a three-week road trip that will include stops in four states and span over 4,800 miles.
Friday’s grudge match will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide on the official internet television partner of the NAHL, FASTHockey, at http://nahl.fasthockey.com. Pregame coverage gets under way a half hour before each contest.
Season tickets for the 2012-13 season are now on sale—and going fast! Call the Bobcat Hockey office today at (701) 222-3300 to reserve your seats for another great season of Championship Entertainment.