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Battle for First

Minotauros enter weekend series with first place on the line

Ryan Ladika/MDN Minot forward Dean Schwenninger takes his chance in the shootout during the Minotauros’ eventual 6-5 comeback win over Austin Oct. 22.

As far as first-half regular-season series go, the next on the Minot Minotauros’ schedule is a large one.

The red-hot Minotauros, winners of nine of their last 12 games dating back to the beginning of November, will welcome the Austin Bruins back to the Maysa Arena for the second time this year to begin a two-game set Friday night.

On the line between the two squads? The possibility of sole possession of first place in the NAHL’s central division with half of the 60-game regular season already in the rear-view mirror.

Minot, 16-11-1-0 through 28 games, and Austin, 15-9-1-2 in 27, enter the weekend matchup tied atop the division boasting 33 points apiece. North Iowa, Aberdeen and St. Cloud all remain hot on their heels, as each are within seven points of the two division leaders.

“We’ve been proud of our progress and the guys’ buy-in to our culture and what we’re trying to establish our identity as,” Minotauros head coach Cody Campbell said. “Our players’ resilience as a group has been very, very rewarding to watch and see grow here throughout this first half of the season.”

Minot’s recent hot streak is a welcome sight for the club after an underwhelming start to the new season. The Minotauros struggled through the year’s first month and half, winning just three of their first 11 games.

An Oct. 16 meeting with the North Iowa Bulls, marking the fourth consecutive contest between the two teams, finally set Minot back on track. After producing seven goals in its previous three games, the team exploded for six that Saturday evening alone to earn its first win over the Bulls this year and a split of the two-game series.

The victory marked the first of three in a row, and the Minotauros would finish the month with the edge in four of their final five games before rattling off nine more wins in 12 tries from Nov. 4-Dec. 11.

“With this group of kids, we’ve been injured, and key guys have been out of the lineup at different times. Somebody new has stepped up when they’ve needed to step up,” Campbell added. “That’s shown in some of the comeback wins we’ve had. It’s been a good first half here, but we’re looking to finish out on a high note and continue to build through the second half of the season.”

As an added shot of encouragement entering the weekend set, Minot has been at its best when facing off against its Minnesotan rivals. In six meetings with Austin this year, the Minotauros have triumphed in five while outscoring the Bruins by an aggregate 22-13, good for over 3.5 goals per game to Austin’s 2.2.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily a matchup thing, or we’ve just been motivated and found a way to play well and play fast,” Campbell said of his team’s dominance of the Bruins. “Obviously some of that’s a little bit of luck on different nights. They’re going to pose a tall task here this weekend that we need to be really prepared and ready for.”

Zack Simon has spearheaded the offensive charge for Minot in the season series, scoring five goals and adding seven assists in five games against Austin this year.

First-year NAHL netminder Zach Sandy has taken a stranglehold of the crease on the other end, appearing in 10 of his team’s last 12 games and yielding three or fewer goals in nine of those 10.

Thanks to his impressive play as of late, the Fargo, North Dakota native has bumped his season save percentage up to .932, representing the best mark in the league among netminders with at least 10 appearances, and is one of just 10 active goalies with a goals-against average south of 2.40.

“Just another ultra-competitive person,” Campbell said of his netminder. “He prepares like a pro, takes care of his body, and mentally in that position, it’s hard to prepare mentally every night for what you go through every night as a goalie. He’s done a great job handling that load.”

The two teams will display few surprises this weekend, as Campbell noted the added degree of difficulty the familiarity between the clubs brings. But Minot is right where it wants to be entering the season’s second half: in the thick of postseason contention with a chance to make a statement.

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