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Five Magicians strike pay dirt in 5-4 win over Bismarck Century

Ryan Ladika/MDN Zachary Diehl lines up his long wrist shot from the center of the offensive zone in the first period.

It was a clash of two titans on Tuesday night, as the unbeaten Minot High School Magicians hosted the undefeated Bismarck Century Patriots at Maysa Arena. The contest served as Minot’s sixth of the season, as the hometown club was looking to build off a narrow 3-2 victory over Dickinson High School Saturday.

The Patriots caught the Magi off guard early, peppering Minot goaltender Tre’ Sortland with three quick shots on net before the first minute had elapsed.

Century kept the pressure on for much of the first period, and drew first blood after Isaiah Thongphet was called for roughing four minutes and 51 seconds into the frame. Colton Schulte wristed one past Sortland on the man advantage, and the Patriots snagged an early 1-0 lead.

Minot was gifted an opportunity to level the score just over two minutes later. Century forward Brady Bauer committed an illegal slashing penalty with 12 minutes and 16 seconds to play, and in the following moments Cullen Curl was called for interference to give the Magi a 5-on-3 chance. Minot couldn’t cash in, though, and the score remained 1-0 as time expired on the power play.

The Magi continued to persevere, though, and finally found the back of the net with 19.5 seconds on the clock. Jacob Theis dialed up a wrist shot from the top of the near circle to tie the game at one goal apiece. Overall, it was a fairly even period with respect to goals and shots, with Century outshooting the Magi 11-7 in the first frame.

The Magicians wouldn’t be caught off guard twice. When the horn for the second period sounded, Minot unleashed a fury of shots on Patriots netminder Luke Pengilly, and the tide began to turn.

The first-place Magi seized its first lead of the match with 12 minutes and 11 seconds to play. Caelton Eslinger flicked the puck past Pengilly and jumped into his teammates’ arms along the boards in jubilation.

The momentum was with the home five now. After an answer from Century 46 seconds later that would again even the contest, Minot potted three unanswered goals from Derwin Hauser, Aiden Morelli and Riley Opperude, the first of which came just ten seconds after the Patriots’ second tally. Opperude’s goal extended his grasp of the team lead in scoring and tied Casey Fjeld for the same honor in goals scored.

After being outshot 11-7 through the first 17 minutes, Minot now held a 5-2 lead and a 21-13 shot advantage entering the final period.

With a firm grasp on the flow of the game entering the final period, Minot did just enough to hold the visitors at bay. The Magi survived a pair of late Patriots goals and a lengthy 6-on-5 man advantage after Century pulled its goaltender, still holding their 5-4 advantage when the final horn blew. Minot, now 6-0-1-0, remains in first place with 17 points on the season and are scheduled to square off against Hazen/Beulah for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at Maysa Arena Thursday night.

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