OWATONNA, MN – The Bismarck Bobcats exploded for a five-goal second period then fought off a furious rally from the Owatonna Express to secure a thrilling 5-4 win Thursday at the Four Seasons Centre.
Trailing 2-0 after the first period, the Bobcats came alive offensively in the second, starting with Frankie DeAugustine’s 17th goal of the season, a short one-timer from Sam Dougherty 6:16 into the period to chop the Express lead to 2-1.
Less than four minutes later the game was tied 2-2 as former Express forward Blake Schammel finished an up-ice rush off a feed from Jason Nash—acquired at the deadline with Schammel from the Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the trade deadline—with 9:55 left in the second.
Castan Sommer kept the rally going 1:07 after Schammel’s equalizer, rolling a high shot through traffic and past Owatonna goalie Charlie Williams to boost the Cats to a 3-2 lead.
The lead grew to 4-2 with 4:36 left in the second as Donald Olivieri scorched a rising power play slap shot over Williams’ glove.
Charlie Mosey capped the five-goal surge 1:27 after Olivieri’s strike, finishing a 2-on-1 with DeAugustine to extend the lead to 5-2 heading into the second intermission.
Owatonna, though, fought back hard in the third, cutting the visitors’ lead to 5-3 with 5:30 left in regulation as Lawrence Cornellier shoveled a loose puck past Bobcat goalie Ryan Faragher.
At the 1:33 mark, Cornellier tallied his second of the period off a Willie Faust rebound, pulling the Express to within 5-4, but the Bobcats’ forecheck held Owatonna at bay over the final minute and a half—not even allowing the Express into the Bobcat defensive zone in the last 60 seconds—to preserve the 5-4 win.
The Express got out to a fast 2-0 lead, scoring goals within 1:06 of each other off the sticks of Ben Persian and Sheldon Taylor, but failed to score over the next 35-plus minutes of the game as the Bobcats took charge offensively.
Faragher turned away 32 shots on the way to his league-leading 25th win of 2010-11 while Williams slipped to 21-8-4 despite 33 saves.
The Bobcats continue their three-game road swing Friday with a 7:00 PM start against the Coulee Region Chill at the Omni Center.
Friday’s road contest will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at http://nahl.fasthockey.com/. As with all away games during the 2010-11 season, fans are encouraged to view the game at Reza’s Pitch—the official away game Home of the Bobcats—at the corner of Third and Front in Bismarck. Pre-game coverage will begin at 6:30 PM CT.
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2010-11 season! Call the Bobcat Hockey office at (701) 222-3300 or email gobobcathockey@aol.com for more information on reserving your seats for the entire season as the Bobcats look to defend the Robertson Cup!
BOBCAT HOCKEY
2010 ROBERTSON CUP CHAMPIONS
Bobcats Hold off Express for Wild Win
