Shepard, Bobcats Stymie Wings for Third Shutout
ABERDEEN, SD – Hunter Shepard turned in 28 saves and got a late burst from his offense as the Bismarck Bobcats blanked the Aberdeen Wings 3-0 Friday at the Odde Ice Center.
Following a scoreless first that saw Shepard compile 14 stops, Bobcat co-captain Joe Tyran got the visitors on the board with 10:36 to go in the second period, threading a slap shot through a screen set by Willie Brown and under the cross bar to make it 1-0 Cats after two.
Jared Pike doubled that lead to 2-0 on the power play with 12:43 left in the third, redirecting an Aaron Herdt shot from the right wing between the legs of Aberdeen netminder Gavin Paczosa for his second goal in as many games.
The Bobcat defense, meanwhile, blanketed the Wings: holding the home side without a third-period shot until there was 9:39 left in regulation, and only allowing seven more after that.
Leading scorer Alex Strand tacked on a big insurance goal with 5:22 remaining in the game, rocketing a rising slap shot on the rush that Paczosa got a piece of yet managed to squeak into the net to push the score to 3-0.
Aberdeen nearly spoiled Shepard’s goalless night with one second left, but a back-door redirect from Kyle Siemers skidded two inches wide of the right post, ending the game and giving the second-year goalie his third shutout of 2015-16.
Paczosa stood tall with 34 stops but could not avoid falling to 3-4-1 in his second NAHL campaign.
The Cats now turn their attention to a Saturday tilt with the Brookings Blizzard—who were idle Friday—scheduled for a 7:30 puck drop at the Larson Ice Center.
Saturday’s bout will be broadcast live locally on SuperTalk 1270, KLXX-AM, the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, and worldwide online at NAHL.FASTHockey.com—the official web television partner of the North American Hockey League—with pregame coverage starting at 7:00pm.
Season tickets are still on sale for the 2015-16 season at a pro-rated price; if you want to beat the rush of over 40,000 fans for this year, now is the time! Call 222-3300 to reserve your seats today.
BOBCAT TV HIGHLIGHTS: