BISMARCK, ND–The Bismarck Bobcats face their closest geographical rival in the Minot Minotauros this weekend in home-and-home action starting Friday night in Bismarck.
The Bobcats (8-3-0) enter the weekend in third place in the NAHL Central Division with 16 points, a point behind Aberdeen and two behind first-place Austin. Bismarck split with Brookings last weekend, dropping the Friday night contest at Brookings 2-1, then grabbing a 3-1 win at the VFW Sports Center Saturday.
Minot (2-8-2) has lost six straight, their last win coming over the Austin Bruins 4-2 September 28th. They have six points in the division, a point ahead of Brookings for fourth place in the Division.
"I think this is going to be a good test for us," says Bobcat head coach Layne Sedevie. "I like that we’re back into our Central division schedule. They work extremely hard, and it’s turned into a really nice rivalry."
Aaron Nelson (Bismarck, ND) earned the NAHL Central Division Easton Star of the Week award for the second time in three weeks with his 67 saves against Brookings, including 37 in the loss Friday. He lowered his goals against average to 2.15.
Stanislav Dzakhov (Moscow, Russia) had a pair of goals last weekend, taking him to nine on the season, tied for the NAHL lead in goals scored. Filip Starzynski (Warsaw, Poland) and Nate Repensky (Duluth, MN) each had two points last weekend, including Repensky’s first goal this season. Starzynski now has 16 points, third in the league in scoring. Repensky has 14 points, tied for eighth overall.
The Minotauros are led by forward Tim Donohue, with six points this season. Goalie Brandon Wildung 1-6-1 this season, with a 2.63 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.
Faceoff Friday night at the VFW Sports Center at 7:15 p.m. Saturday’s game is in Minot, with faceoff at 8:05 p.m.