Bobcats, Jackalopes move above .500 with wins on Thursday

October 20, 2017

Bismarck 4 @ Minot 1 - An aggregate 10 points—three goals and seven assists—on the night for the line of Matej Murin, Jared Resseguie and Michael Mahan made the difference Thursday as the Bismarck Bobcats beat the Minot Minotauros 4-1 at Maysa Arena. Fresh off a four-point weekend against Kenai River, Murin got the scoring started for the Bobcats 7:01 into the game on a transition redirect of a Mahan pass that snuck inside the left post for a quick 1-0 Bobcat edge. That lead would double to 2-0 just 4:59 later on the power play as Tanner Vescio found Cooper Haar wide open on a back-door pass that Haar snapped home for his second goal of the season. Minot would eventually slice into the Cats’ cushion when Miroslav Mucha capitalized on a Noah Ganske rebound off the left post—swatting the bouncing puck in for his team-best fifth goal and a 2-1 count. Just 2:41 into the third, Resseguie restored the Cats’ two-goal advantage at 3-1, batting in a Mahan rebound after Minotauro netminder Jack Robbel made the initial stop following a turnover Murin created in the right-wing corner. A strong defensive period by the Bobcats limited Minot to just six shots in the final six minutes, with Resseguie capping off the night with an empty-netter from Murin and Mahan for the final 4-1 margin. Ryan Ullan secured his third straight win in net by stopping 24 of 25 shots sent his way; Robbel made 11 saves but slipped to 1-2-0 on the year. Boxscore

Topeka 0 @ Odessa 3 - In the Jackalopes fifth game of the season at Ector County Coliseum, Odessa used two second-period goals to take the lead and never looked back. After adding an empty-net goal with less than a minute to go in the third period, Odessa downed the Topeka RoadRunners 3-0 in North American Hockey League action. Jackalopes goaltender Alex Camarre stopped all 42 shots he faced in the game. This was the first shutout for the Jackalopes at home since Nov. 9, 2012. Jackalopes’ defenseman Nick Wilson scored both of the goals in the second period of a wrist shot and a one-timer seven minutes apart. Odessa center Peyton Frantti added the last-minute empty netter. Topeka goalie Emil Gransoe made 33 saves in the loss. Boxscore