MASON CITY, IA – The Bismarck Bobcats overcame a 2-0 deficit and a raucous crowd at the North Iowa Ice Arena to force overtime but eventually fell in a shootout to the North Iowa Outlaws by a score of 3-2 on Saturday.
The loss halts the Bobcats’ league-high winning streak at seven games, though the Bobcats have now gone 15 straight games with at least one point in the standings—also a league high—including a 2-0-1 mark over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Staring down a two-goal Outlaw lead, the Bobcats got on the board with 5:02 left in the second period when George Malliaras redirected a Nick Jensen pass on a shorthanded rush through the pads of North Iowa goalie Keegan Asmundson to cut the lead to 2-1 Outlaws.
The two sides deadlocked through the rest of the second and most of the third before Dominic Panetta jammed a rolling puck from Nick Jensen past Asmundson to force a 2-2 tie and send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, the Bobcats carried the play but Asmundson shut down numerous transition chances for the visitors, making the shootout necessary.
Ryan Bohrer scored on the first North Iowa shootout chance and Asmundson turned away all five Bobcat shooters to lift the Outlaws to their first win in their last seven games.
The Bobcats are now 0-4 in the shootout and 0-6 overall in overtime and shootout games.
The scoring opened in the first period when Lucas Dillon turned a Bobcat defensive zone turnover into a 1-0 lead, beating Faragher with a quick wrister.
Bohrer also tallied a regulation score in the second to make things 2-0, grabbing the puck off a John Avino shotblock and snapping a low-slot effort under Faragher to put the Bobcats in the second period hole.
Faragher finished the night with 39 saves but fell to 8-3-5 on the 2009-10 season.
Asmundson, in only his second start of the year, picked up his first win with 28 saves.
Bobcat defenseman Devin Schmitt left the game with 11:18 left in the first period after being checked from behind into the glass behind the Bismarck net. The third-year blueliner left the ice on a stretcher and was treated and released from Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa after the game.
The Bobcats open December at home next Saturday with a 7:15 PM rematch with the Alexandria Blizzard, who the Bobcats swept 2-0-0 this past weekend in a home-and-home series.
The game will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at BismarckBobcats.com via B2 Networks. The pre-game show starts at 6:45 PM.
You won\’t want to miss any of the games this season, so order your Season Tickets, Family Packs and Group Nights today by calling the Bobcat Hockey Office at 701-222-3300 or by e-mailing the office for more information at gobobcathockey@aol.com.
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