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Minotauros prove again that playoff seeding is irrelevant

Alex Eisen/MDN A group of Minotauros admire the Central Cup Friday evening in Minot.

Some might call them Cinderella, but they rightfully deserve to be addressed as the Central Cup champions.

The Minot Minotauros eked into the NAHL Robertson Cup Playoffs as an overlooked four seed in the Central Division.

After a double overtime goal by Nolan Sawchuk in Game 3 against the Austin Bruins Friday night, they are one of four teams that get a shot at winning the Robertson Cup.

Playoff hockey is a weird beast. In just two seasons, the Minotauros have experienced both sides of the spectrum.

Last year, Minot won the Central Division regular season title to earn the No. 1 seed heading into the postseason. However, they were ousted by the No. 4-seeded Aberdeen Wings in the first round. Ironically, that series-winning goal also came in double overtime.

“Not much, I guess,” Minotauros head coach Marty Murray said about the impact of seeding in the postseason. “That might be the lucky straw to grab. Aberdeen did it last year as the No. 4 seed and now we did it. Maybe that’s what we should shoot for every year, I don’t know (laughs). In all seriousness, I thought we played playoff hockey down the stretch and got contributions from everybody. In the playoffs, that is what it takes.”

What happened in the regular season is forgotten history. The Tauros found their groove at the right time — winning five straight postseason games — and are now headed into uncharted territory.

In the organization’s seven-year history, the Minotauros have never gotten this far before.

“We are rolling at the right time and everything seems to be clicking,” Game 3 hero Sawchuk said.

The Minotauros will be the only four seed headed to Minnesota to challenge for the Robertson Cup. They will get the highest seeded team remaining in the semifinals: the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, the 2016 champions.

Minot is prepared to embrace the challenge.

“It doesn’t mean anything to us to be the No. 4 seed,” Minotauros forward Keenan Lund said. “We know we can skate with anybody.”

The Minotauros will play the early games in the best-of-three semifinal series. Game 1 (May 11) and Game 2 (May 12) will start at 4:30 p.m. If necessary Game 3 (May 13) would start at 3 p.m.

All games are being played in the Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minnesota.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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