The Minot Minotauros scored at even strength, shorthanded and on the power play all in the second period and held on for dear life in a 4-2 victory over Aberdeen on Friday at Maysa Arena.
Trailing 1-0 midway through the second period, the Tauros registered three unanswered goals in a span of five minutes, 25 seconds en route to their second victory of the season.
"We didn't have a real good first period," Tauros coach Marty Murray said. "We didn't come out the way we wanted to, but we responded well in the second period and did some good things in the third to preserve the win."
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Adam Lawson/MDN
Mason Morelli controls the puck during the first period of the Minotauros’ 4-2 win over Aberdeen, Friday at Maysa Arena.
Minot defenseman Travis Maxwell scored his first goal of the season at 9:51 of the second period on a slap shot from the blue line through traffic that beat Aberdeen goaltender Marcus Zelzer to tie the game. Forwards Lucas Oliver and Tim Donohue were credited with assists.
After assisting on the Tauros' first goal, Donohue registered his fifth goal of the season on the power play at 12:46. A scrum in front of the Wings' net resulted in three double minor penalties two for Aberdeen and one for Minot and the man-advantage for the Tauros (2-8-1).
"Tim's been great as of late," Murray said. "He's our captain for a reason. He plays the right way and plays hard, not only scoring goals, but blocking shots. He's a player that leads by example."
Less than a minute into the power play, Minot forward Ryan Doner found Donohue in front of the net, who one-timed a shot past Zelzer.
"It's just simple play," Donohue said. "The first guy forechecks, the second guy picks it up and gives it to someone and score. We've done that all year. We just have to stick with it."
Minot forward Collin Abitz added a shorthanded goal on a 2-on-1 breakaway just 10 seconds after Oliver was sent to the penalty box for slashing.
The Wings (4-7) cut Minot's lead in half with 11:36 remaining in regulation on a power-play goal by forward Kyle Haak.
Minot goaltender Tyler Parks and timely penalty kills by the Tauros gave Minot its first win in regulation this season.
"I was pretty nervous, but my team did really well. That led to the win," Parks said. "I thought the team played really well and they helped me out a lot."
Parks finished with 28 saves and the Tauros killed off six of seven Aberdeen power plays, including three in the third period.
"It's just all mental," Donohue said. "You can't go out there and run someone or look for the big hit. It's puck first and you just have to keep your head and do everything right."
Donohue added an empty-net goal with 33 seconds remaining in regulation.
Zelzer made 25 saves in a losing effort.
"I think we have more in the tank," Murray said. "I think we can be better than we were tonight, but it's a win and we can build off it."
The Tauros travel to South Dakota to play Brookings (7-3) tonight at 7.