Sean Williams/MDN Kolby Amici (17) of the Minot Minotauros scored a short-handed goal in a 5-4 loss to the North Iowa Bulls on Saturday night.

Hoping to pick up an important sweep of the North Iowa Bulls (29-22-3), the Minot Minotauros (26-26-2) hit the ice for the final matchup of their two-game series with the Bulls on Saturday night.

Unfortunately for the Tauros, a late effort by the Bulls propelled them to walk away victorious this time, as they secured the split with a 5-4 win.

Unlike Friday night’s tilt that saw a first-period explosion, the Tauros and Bulls were held scoreless in the opening frame with goaltenders Noah Rupprecht of Minot and Mitch Day of North Iowa pitching shutouts for the time being.

The second period, however, flipped the script of the contest with both teams scoring two or more goals. The Tauros struck first 1:08 into the period when John Emmons went bar down on a Hunter Longhi assist to make it a 1-0 game. Six minutes later, Jackson Bisson of the Bulls netted the equalizer.

Continuing a similar pattern, the Tauros and Bulls traded goals once more in the second period, but this time both were short-handed scores. Kolby Amici gave the Tauros the lead again 9:38 into the second period on an unassisted score, then Tristan Kimmen evened the contest at 2-2 a couple minutes later.

In a back-and-forth affair during the second period, the Tauros would land the final punch in the closing minutes when Nick Sewecke scored (assists to Longhi and Weston Knox), making it a 3-2 game in favor of Minot heading into the final intermission.

Despite the Bulls outshooting the Tauros 15-12 in the second period, the Tauros were able to make their shots count as they maintained a one-goal lead with one period to play.

A break in the action would not slow down either team, and unfortunately for the Tauros, the Bulls would outscore them 3-1 the rest of the way as they pulled off a late comeback to earn a series split.

Three minutes into the final period, Logan Dombrowsky of the Bulls made it a 3-3 game. After a Kimmen cross checking penalty, the Tauros looked to score their first power-play goal of the night. They proceeded to do so, as Chase LaPinta scored his 30th goal of the season on the man advantage, giving Minot the lead again at 4-3.

Moving into the final 10 minutes of the game, it would be all Bulls as Nolan Abraham and Carter Davis scored to bring the game to its final of 5-4 in favor of North Iowa. Minot’s goaltender Rupprecht stopped 35 of the 40 shots he faced, while Day of North Iowa stopped 30 of the 34 shots he saw.

Following the split, the Minotauros currently sit four points behind the Aberdeen Wings in the North American Hockey League Central Division standings. The two teams will meet this weekend in Aberdeen, in what will be a massive series for the Tauros’ playoff hopes.