BLAINE, MINN.–With the Bismarck Bobcats’ season-opener tied 3-3 in the third period, the Lone Star Brahmas’ Charlie Masek took a shot from the left circle. The puck deflected off a Bobcat defenseman and over the glove of goaltender Linards Lipskis for the go-ahead goal. Lone Star did not relinquish their lead en route to a 5-3 win at the North American Hockey League Showcase.
The Bobcats started strong, scoring in the opening 5:09 on Evan Hunter’s first career NAHL goal. Landon Fleming tacked on a power play goal later in the first period to give Bismarck a 2-1 lead at the intermission.
Lone Star scored the only two goals in the second, but Bobcat co-captain Nico Chmelevski quickly responded with a game-tying strike 1:18 into the third.
The only multi-goal lead in this seesaw game was the 5-3 final score, made possible by an empty-net goal in the last two seconds of play.
Despite the result, the Bobcats controlled the shots on goal and much of the possession from start to finish. Shots were 25-15 for the Bobcats, including 8-3 in the third period.
Game two for the Bobcats features a coaching reunion: Layne Sedevie’s Bismarck Bobcats against Garrett Roth’s Oklahoma Warriors. Roth, Sedevie’s teammate at Bemidji State University, served as the Bobcats’ assistant coach for eight seasons. It is their first matchup against one another as head coaches.