Bobcats Whitewash Thunder 5-0

Oct 29, 2009

BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats rode a rock-solid defense and a strong offensive attack to a big 5-0 win over the visiting Albert Lea Thunder at the VFW Sports Center on Friday.

Ryan Faragher once again starred in the shutout, with the red-hot Bobcat netminder stopping all 25 Thunder shots on the way to his second straight shutout.

“Ryan has definitely earned all this playing time and these shutouts,” said Bobcats assistant coach Layne Sedevie. “he’s done everything asked of him and more. As a goaltender, I can tell you that it’s not easy to get a shutout and he’s playing so well right now it looks like it’s coming so easy to him.”

Another hot hand has been that of Bobcat forward Ryan Jacobson, who extended his goal scoring streak to three games just 7:08 into the game, deflecting a long Sam Rendle shot through the legs of Thunder goalie Joe Rogers for a quick 1-0 Bobcat lead.

Twenty-four seconds later, Sam Dougherty extended the lead with a five-hole strike on a 2-on-1 play with linemate Trent Johnson to make it 2-0.

“Coach has been emphasizing going hard to the net all week, and Trent did a good job of that and it really sucked in the defender on the play,” said Dougherty, “I sold the pass a little bit to see if I could catch [Rogers] cheating over to Trent and that’s exactly what happened.”

In the second, Albert Lea turned up the heat on the Bobcats, efforting 12 shots at Faragher, but none found their way past the Fort Frances, Ont., native.

Bobcat forward Casey Kleisinger scored the lone goal of the second, bouncing a transition snap shot off Rogers and in for a 3-0 advantage.

The home team came out firing in the third as Jacobson tallied his second of the night, rocketing a slap shot over Rogers’ glove for a 4-0 cushion only 2:32 into the third.

Jacobson has now scored six goals in his last five games.

Dominic Panetta, who missed a large portion of the second period receiving stitches on his face after taking a heavy hit behind the Thunder net, snapped a transition shot over the glove of relief netminder Ben Waalkens for the final 5-0 margin.

The Bobcats wound down the final minutes of the contest in the Albert Lea zone, cruising to the shutout win at home.

“We were really happy to pick up the win for Faragher tonight,” added Dougherty. “He’s been great the last few weeks and we loved getting him that shutout. He really deserves it.”

Rogers, lifted briefly for Waalkens in the third, finished with 22 saves and dropped to 2-8-0 on the year. Waalkens had 4 saves on 5 shots.

The Bobcats and Thunder will wrap up their two-game series Saturday night at the VFW Sports Center with a 7:15 PM matchup.

Saturday’s game will feature Trick or Treat with SCRRRATCH, with all kids age 13 and under admitted free (with paid adult) along with candy and prizes for the youngsters and an intermission costume contest. For the adults on Halloween night, the team has “Buck-Off Beers” all game long.

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.

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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