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Minotauros face off against Wings

Minotauros outlast Wings 3-2 in double overtime, force Game 4

Ryan Ladika/MDN Ryan Petersen takes a shot from just above the right circle during the first period of the Minotauros' Thursday night contest against Aberdeen.

Keenan Rancier has authored a plethora of memorable moments throughout his time in Minot, but his Thursday evening performance stands head and shoulders above the rest.

The 6’2″ netminder propelled his team through 60 minutes of regulation hockey and three and a half minutes shy of two full overtime periods, sending the Minotauros to a 3-2 win-or-go-home Game 3 victory over the Aberdeen wings Thursday night at Maysa Arena.

“It was a very exciting game,” Rancier said. “We were on the face of elimination so it was nice to be back at our home barn, and fans got behind us. We played a really good game, so it was nice to come out on top.”

Rancier has been heavily relied upon throughout the season, as he faced the most shots of any NAHL netminder throughout the regular season. Thursday was no different. He saw 71 shots in 96 minutes and 27 seconds of ice time and made 69 saves, good for a .972 save percentage and the new Minotauros single-game record. The previous mark Rancier broke was set by Brandon Wildung’s total of 67 saves on April 12, 2014.

He took little credit for his jaw-dropping performance, deferring instead to his teammates’ blocked shots in front of him that saved him from an even loftier Wings shot total.

“It was great, the longest game I’ve ever played so that was nice, but the guys helped me out in front too,” Rancier said. “The D-men blocked a lot of shots, so without them, it could have been up in the triple digits.”

The Minotauros entered the evening in search of their first win against the Wings since their 3-0 shutout of Aberdeen April 6, and their Thursday effort gave the squad its third victory of the season against the Wings.

Against Rancier, Aberdeen once again rode with its workhorse Jake Sibell, the netminder who played the most minutes in the NAHL during the regular season and whose .952 save percentage was the highest mark in the league.

Both netminders were perfect in a scoreless first period that saw Rancier turn away all 12 shots he faced. Minot successfully dispatched of its sole chance on the penalty kill when Tyler Kostelecky was sent to the box for a tripping infraction, and the Minotauros skaters threw seven shots on goal to keep pace with the Wings.

Aberdeen controlled the momentum in the second frame as well, outshooting Minot 17-8, but the Minotauros kept the game scoreless until Jack Westlund took a costly tripping penalty with four minutes and two seconds left in the frame.

Aberdeen cashed in on its power play chance almost immediately, as Jake Goldowski put the puck in over Rancier’s right shoulder off a rebound 23 seconds after the penalty was called. Rancier remained stingy through 40 minutes of play, though, and had made 28 saves to keep Minot in the game down 1-0 entering the final 20 minutes.

The Minotauros, playing for their postseason lives, exploded out of the second intermission, tying the game just 16 seconds into the final frame. Brett Roloson threw a shot on goal that was saved by Sibell, but at the expense of a rebound that gave Minot a scoring chance on a silver platter. The puck bounced to Logan Anderson in front of an empty net and he did not hesitate, flicking it in to tie the game at one goal apiece.

The Maysa Arena crowd exploded with joy when Minot took its first lead of the game seven minutes and 39 seconds into the frame. Brett Roloson streaked into the offensive zone along the left boards with two Wings skaters hot on his heels, and executed a perfect backhand shot past Sibell as he crossed the blue paint to give Minot a 2-1 lead.

The Wings’ Will Arquiett responded with a goal of his own with five minutes and 42 seconds to play, tying the game at two in the final minutes of regulation. Both netminders held the game tied when the final buzzer sounded, sending the contest to overtime for the first time in the series.

Try as they might, Aberdeen simply could not solve the Minot netminder. Appearing to get stronger as the game wore on and minutes ticked off the clock, the Wings threw the kitchen sink at Rancier. Their 19 shots in the first overtime period were the most of any frame to that point, but Rancier was a brick wall between the pipes.

Minot recorded 11 shots of its own in the first overtime, but Sibell matched Rancier save-for-save, treating the remaining fans to a second overtime period.

The war of attrition wore on, as Rancier and Sibell continued to dazzle on their respective ends of the ice. Not one shot found its way past either for the first 16 minutes of the second overtime, until Robert Kincaid flung a try Sibell’s way. The netminder made his 48th save of the game, but another rebound kicked away and floated toward the right circle.

Cade Stibbe corralled the puck and wristed a desperation try toward the net. Sibell, now out of position, could only watch in horror as the puck slid past him.

The Minotauros, exhausted and elated, jumped into a massive group hug at center ice. The squad had forced a Friday night Game 4 with its first win of the series.

“I’m happy for the guys to get rewarded for how well they’ve been playing,” head coach Shane Wagner said. “Last Saturday they played incredibly well and we didn’t get rewarded for it. The guys battled and they deserved those two points, so I feel good that they got them.”

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