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Tauros strike first, take Game 1 away from Austin

AUSTIN, Minn. — Buzzing with confidence after coming from behind to knock off the Aberdeen Wings in the first round, the Minot Minotauros ripped home ice advantage away from the Austin Bruins Friday evening to open the second round of the NAHL Robertson Cup Playoffs.

The Minotauros won their third straight postseason contest with a 4-1 victory at the Riverside Arena in Austin to grab a 1-0 lead in the best out of five game series.

The Minotauros have never advanced out of the second round in franchise history. The last time they reached the Division Finals in 2015, Minot fell in five games to the Bruins.

“It’s nice to get out of the gate with a (series) lead, that’s for sure,” Minotauros coach Marty Murray said. “We really wanted to put a focus on our Game 1. It’s not like we played bad, we just had one bad period in Game 1 against Aberdeen. So, we wanted to make sure we started the series off on the right foot and not have to play catch up.”

Following a scoreless first period, Minot scored the opening goal of the series a minute and 37 seconds into the second frame with Austin Koss finishing his first goal of the postseason. Michael Talbot and Keenan Lund picked up the assists.

“All the goals carried the same amount weight,” Murray said. “All three goals were big in a way, and then there was the empty netter at the end to seal the deal.”

Travis Kothenbeutel found the equalizer six minutes later for the Bruins.

That was the only puck that got past Tauros goaltender Samu Lonkila, who stopped 23 shots.

Keenan Lund, following the lead of Koss, notched his first goal of the postseason halfway through the second period. That turned out to be the game-winning goal, and was assisted by Brian Adams.

The Minotauros extended their lead with two more goals in the third period. Grant Loven got one, assisted by Miroslav Mucha and Connor McGinnis, and captain Alex Adams put in his team-leading fourth goal of the season on an empty netter with three and a half minutes remaining.

“It’s nice to get the first one, but it doesn’t mean anything right now,” Murray said. “We can sit and enjoy this one for a few hours, but then it’s game day again tomorrow. We got to make sure that we are even better than what we were tonight because I know they are going to come out swinging.”

Game 2 is 7:05 p.m. tonight in Austin. Game 3 (May 4) and, if needed, Game 4 (May 5) will be at Maysa Arena in Minot.

Follow the Minot Daily Sports on Twitter @MDN_Sports.

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