ST. CLOUD, Minn. – After a dominant home sweep over the Austin Bruins a week prior, the Bobcats found themselves in a split series with the St. Cloud Norsemen, picking up their 10th win of the year whilst falling into second place in the Central Division.
Friday: Bismarck 1, St. Cloud 2
The Bobcats outshot the Norsemen 32-18 on Friday night but couldn’t overcome a strong goaltending performance from Axel Kylin, falling 2-1 at the Municipal Athletic Complex.
St. Cloud struck first just 3:48 into the opening period when Cristian Nichols found the back of the net off assists from Dante Rodriguez and Tucker Lovejoy to give the Norsemen an early 1-0 lead right after a power-play had expired.
Bismarck responded with consistent offensive pressure throughout the opening frame, outshooting St. Cloud 10-6, but Kylin turned aside every attempt to preserve the Norsemen’s advantage heading into the first intermission.
The Bobcats continued to push in the second period, firing 13 shots on goal while holding St. Cloud to just six. Despite the increased pressure, neither team found the back of the net, leaving Bismarck searching for the equalizer heading into the final 20 minutes.
It marked the first time this season that a Garrett Roth-led squad entered the third period trailing after both the first and second periods, leaving the Bobcats with an uphill battle in the final frame.
The third period was arguably Bismarck’s best of the night, but it still wasn’t enough to overcome Kylin’s performance. An empty-net goal from St. Cloud sealed the 2-1 victory.
Coming into the weekend, Bismarck held the second-best power play in the league, while St. Cloud ranked last in penalty killing. However, the Norsemen made life difficult for the Bobcats on the man advantage throughout the night.
Bismarck finished just 1-for-6 on the power play Friday, with its lone goal coming on a 6-on-3 advantage with the net empty in the final 30 seconds.
The win marked St. Cloud’s first victory over Bismarck since Oct. 11, 2025, and gave the Minot Minotauros sole possession of first place in the Central Division.
Saturday: Bismarck 4, St. Cloud 1
Saturday’s performance looked much more like the Bobcats’ recent form, as Bismarck delivered a dominant team effort in front of a career-best 26-save performance from Easton Thvedt to return to the win column.
Mark Evans and Teddy Richardson combined to give the Bobcats their first two goals of the contest, with Evans scoring his first goal since Sept. 18 early in the second period to silence the home crowd.
Bismarck continued to apply pressure and was rewarded late in the second period when Will Leonard scored his third goal in five games, extending the lead to 3-0 heading into the final frame.
NAHL defenseman scoring leader Brenden Espenell joined the scoring in the third period, netting his sixth goal of the season to put the game further out of reach for the Norsemen.
St. Cloud broke Thvedt’s shutout bid late in the third period with a power-play goal from Mate Tardi, but it was too little, too late as Bismarck secured the 4-1 victory and earned a split on the weekend.
The Bobcats now head to Austin for their first road trip against the Bruins this season, just two weeks after sweeping them at home. Bismarck will look to carry Saturday’s momentum into the matchup, get its power play back on track, and climb back into sole possession of first place in the Central Division.