AUSTIN, MN – Trailing late in the second period, the Bismarck Bobcats got big performances from their two captains, Matt Gates and Ryan Faragher, and rallied for a big 3-2 win against the Austin Bruins Saturday at Riverside Arena.
Staring down a 2-1 deficit in the last five minutes of the middle frame, the Bobcats worked to create an offensive zone turnover and Nick Miglio converted a Tyler Richter centering feed with a rolling backhander over Bruins goalie Keegan Asmundson for a 2-2 tie with just 2:46 left in the second.
Gates put the Bobcats ahead to stay 5:02 into the third, stripping the puck from Austin defenseman Michael Matthes for a short breakaway and popping a five-hole shot through Asmundson’s legs to make it 3-2.
Faragher preserved the one-goal margin over the last 14-plus minutes, making 14 third-period stops including a number of momentum-changing kick and blocker saves en route to his league-best 27th win of the year.
“Coming into March, I’ve been saying we need big plays from our big players,” said Bobcats head coach Layne Sedevie. “I don’t want to say Matt and Ryan put the team on their backs, but they are two of our best players and they made it happen for us [Saturday].”
The Bobcats opened the scoring just 3:45 into the contest as Gates found Castan Sommer wide open on a 2-on-1 and Sommer blazed a wrist shot over Asmundson’s glove for a quick 1-0 lead.
Austin answered just over four minutes later when Jordan Greenberg tipped a 40-foot shot from Charlie Adams past Bobcat keeper Ryan Faragher, forcing a 1-1 tie with 11:53 left in the first.
Adams gave the Bruins their first—and only—lead of the night with 5:53 to go in the second, rocketing home a one-timer from Christian Folin on the power play, just over three minutes before Miglio triggered the Bobcat rally.
Asmundson made 32 saves but slipped to 15-16-1 on the year.
The Bobcats return home for a three-game series at the VFW Sports Center starting with a 7:15 PM Thursday contest against the Aberdeen Wings before the Bruins come to town for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday.
Thursday’s contest will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at http://nahl.fasthockey.com/. Pre-game coverage will begin at 6:45 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