BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats pulled away late and goalie Jake Williams turned in his second consecutive shutout as the ‘Cats dominated the visiting North Iowa Outlaws for a 6-0 win Friday at the VFW Sports Center.
Williams’ goose-egg tied him for the league lead in shutouts with teammate Ryan Faragher; the Montreal, QC, native hasn’t given up a goal since the third period of the Bobcats’ 4-2 win over Albert Lea on January 29th.
“I wasn’t pleased with my rebound control tonight, but my defense was great in keeping them off anything that slipped out there,” said Williams, who is now 6-0-0 since coming to the Bobcats in early January from the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. “Though it’s always nice to get a shutout and know you can be a lot better.”
The Bobcat offense got rolling late in the first period when Ryan Jacobson gathered in his own loose puck in the high slot of the Outlaw zone and lining a low shot off the post and in past North Iowa netminder Keegan Asmundson for a 1-0 ‘Cats lead with 6:54 left in the opening frame.
Defenseman Tom McCarthy added to the home lead 1:46 later, bouncing a 40-foot slap shot high off an Outlaw defender’s stick and over a screened-out Asumundson to make it 2-0 Bobcats.
Bobcat center Trent Johnson extended the edge to 3-0 with 5:44 remaining in the second period, beaming a Dominic Panetta pass over Asmundson’s blocker for his seventh goal of the year.
In the third period, the home side put on the after burners as recent Air Force commit Casey Kleisinger popped home two straight tallies before linemate Sean McKenzie capped a three-goal third with his 12th goal of the year, sealing a 6-0 win for the Bobcats.
“Even though North Iowa is in fourth place and having some trouble lately, we knew we couldn’t come in here and overlook them,” said McKenzie, who also added two assists on the night. “That team is fighting for its playoff life right now and we know that it doesn’t matter if the Pittsburgh Penguins or a Peewee ‘B’ team is in the barn, we have to play our best for a win.”
Asmundson made 28 saves but suffered his 10th loss of 2009-10 in net for the Outlaws.
The win improved the Bobcats to 30-9-8 (68 pts) and extended their lead in the Central Division to 10 points over the second-place Owatonna Express (27-17-4, 58 pts) as the Express fell 4-2 at Alexandria Friday.
The Bobcats and Outlaws wrap up their two-game series at the VFW Sports Center Saturday with a 7:15 PM contest—North Iowa’s last game in Bismarck for the regular season.
Saturday’s 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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