Bobcats Outscore Bulls 11-2 in Dominant Weekend Sweep in North Iowa
The Bismarck Bobcats traveled to Mason City, Iowa this past weekend to take on the North Iowa Bulls.
Looking at Friday’s contest, it was a full sixty-minute effort from the Bobcats as they came out of the gates swinging. On the power play, it was Matthew Rafalski pounding a one-timer from the deep slot to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Just minutes later, on the rush, Evan Hunter picked a corner and didn’t miss his spot as he went blocker side on Kyle Ozgun to make it 2-0 Bobcats. The scoring wasn’t done there as Nat Bannister would notch his 1st of the season on a hard wrist-shot from the point to increase the Bobcats lead to 3. Bismarck would take that lead into the 1st intermission.
The 2nd period was a good start for the Bulls as they would get on the board on a short-angle shot that beat Tomas Anderson just under the bar. That wouldn’t deter the Bobcats though as just 3 minutes later, Gabe Kenne would get his 4th of the season to regain the 3-goal lead and make it a 4-1 hockey game. That would start a 3-goal onslaught from the Bobcats where all 3 goals would come in a 2:44 span. Keanu Krenn would get the 5th goal for the Bobcats as he slammed home a one-timer into a wide open cage to give the Bobcats the 5-1 lead. The Bobcats were buzzing in the middle frame, and Evan Hunter would get his 2nd of the night on a redirection off of a Zane Rowan shot from the far faceoff circle. Hunter’s 2nd of the night made it 6-1 Bobcats which is where the 2nd period and eventually the game would go final.
Anderson would finish the night with 19 saves on 20 North Iowa shots and notch his 12th win of the season. Bismarck finished the night 1/ 4 on the power play and 1/1 on the penalty kill. The Bobcats also outshot the Bulls 31-20.
As for Saturday’s contest, it was a bit of a slower start for the Bobcats, as they didn’t register a shot on goal in the first 7 minutes. Nonetheless, they would find their groove as in the late stages of the 3rd period, Olle Karlsson would find Jakub Kopeckÿ streaking up the left wing and he made no mistake going high glove on Ozgun to take the 1-0 lead into the intermission.
The 2nd period was where the momentum really shifted into the Bobcats favor. After a strong penalty kill to start the 2nd period, Rafalski would get his 2nd goal in as many games to double the Bismarck lead to 2-0. That would be the start of a dominant 2nd period, as just a few minutes later, blueliner Charlie Sandven would net his first of the season on a give-and-go with Brendan Ruskowski along the goal line. Then later in the period, Kyle Doll would get on the scoresheet on a net-front scramble. Doll located the loose puck and jabbed it into the back of the net to get his 1st goal of the early season. Bismarck would take the 4-0 lead into the 2nd intermission, also leading shots on goal 22-11.
The 3rd period was where the game slowed down. Both teams combined for just 9 shots on goal the entire period. The Bobcats got the opening goal of the final frame off the stick of Nat Bannister, who now has goals in back-to-back games. Then in the last 15 seconds of the game, the Bulls would break the shutout that goaltender Kai Weigel had going and notch a late power-play goal. The horn would sound, completing the weekend sweep for the Bobcats and giving them a 5-1 win.
The Bobcats improve to 19-1-1 (39 pts) on the season and still claim the top spot in the Central Division and overall in the NAHL.
The next contest for the Bobcats is this upcoming Wednesday, at home, against the Minot Minotauros. Puck drop is set for 7:15 P.M. Be sure to bring the friends and family visiting in for Thanksgiving to enjoy the best entertainment in Bismarck-Mandan.