Minotauros edge Wilderness 3-2
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Fresh off a three-game win streak with victories against the St. Cloud Norsemen and Kenai River Brown Bears, the third-place Minot Minotauros welcomed the Minnesota Wilderness to Maysa Arena for the third time this season Friday night, kicking off a two-game set.
The Minotauros entered the matchup with a 1-1 record against Minnesota this season, having earned a 4-2 win Oct. 16 and suffering a 5-4 defeat the following night to wrap up the first series between the two squads.
Backed by Keenan Rancier in net, Minot took control of the contest right away, keeping pressure on the visiting five skaters through the opening minutes of the first period. The Minotauros received a power play opportunity four minutes and 53 seconds into the frame when Minnesota's Cole Hansen committed a tripping penalty.
The Minotauros were unable to cash in on the chance, but held a 4-1 advantage in shots when a timeout was called just over six minutes in.
The Wilderness struck pay dirt first, despite seeing few quality scoring chances. Aided by Mitchell Allard, Bobby Metz squeaked one by Rancier just before the halfway mark of the period, and Minnesota grabbed an early 1-0 lead on its fifth shot of the game.
The momentum started to shift the other way following the game's first score, and despite receiving another chance on the man advantage, Minot could not solve the Wilderness' Kaleb Johnson. Minnesota entered the first break in action holding a 1-0 lead and outshooting Minot 11-9.
Minot returned from the first intermission with the same intensity with which it started the contest, and quickly reaped the benefit. A long shot from just inside the blue line found its way behind the net, and the Minotauros' Logan Anderson found the back of the net off a rebound allowed by Johnson just three minutes and 39 seconds into the middle stanza. The goal was Anderson's second of the season, assisted by Ethan Schmunk, and the game was all knotted up at one goal apiece.
Another fortunate scoring chance presented itself with nine minutes remaining. Kaiden Scott and Brett Roloson found themselves on a two-on-one opportunity entering the offensive zone, and a perfect pass from Roloson set Scott up nicely with an open net.
Scott missed the initial shot, but put the puck in on the rebound to give Minot a 2-1 lead. The tally was his eighth of the campaign, and Roloson's assist was his first of the year.
The Wilderness struck back with four minutes and 19 seconds left, and the game entered the second intermission tied at two goals apiece. Both squads also registered 22 shots through the first 40 minutes.
Much of the final frame was played to a stalemate, as both teams had registered 30 shots on goal when the halfway point was reached. The Minotauros finally broke through with three minutes and 20 seconds left, though, as captain Jack Westlund served the puck past Johnson on a redirect from Cole Stofflet. The crowd erupted as Westlund celebrated against the glass with his teammates the goal that sealed the 3-2 victory.
Minot is scheduled to face Minnesota again Saturday night with an 8:05 p.m. puck drop.