The path to the Robertson Cup came into focus for the Minot Minotauros with the release of their 2026-27 regular season schedule on Wednesday, June 24.

The Tauros’ 59-game schedule includes 28 home games, 28 road games, and three games played on neutral ice as part of the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minn, from Sept, 23-26. Minot’s three opponents at the NAHL Showcase will be announced later in the summer.

The rest of Minot’s schedule features contests against the five other teams in the Central Division. During the offseason, the Central Division shrank from eight teams down to six with the North Iowa Bulls relocating to Austin and moving to the nine-team South Division. The Minnesota Mallards moved to the eight-team Midwest Division. As a result, the Central Division becomes the second smallest division in the NAHL amongst the five. Only the newly formed Mountain Division has fewer with five teams, as the Billings Cattle Punchers, Grand Junction River Hawks, Idaho Falls Spud Kings, Ogden Mustangs and Pueblo are all set to make their NAHL debuts this season.

The Tauros will play 12 games against Bismarck. Watertown, St. Cloud and Abderdeen, and eight contests with Austin. They officially drop the puck on their 16th season on the road against Aberdeen on Sept. 18. Minot’s welcomes St. Cloud for its home opener at Pepsi Rink on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7:35 p.m.

The Tauros meet Austin for the first time this season the following weekend on Oct. 9 at Riverside Arena. They close out the month of October with their first meet up with Watertown on Halloween weekend at Prairie Lakes Ice Arena.

Minot doesn’t tussle with rival Bismarck until the week of Thanksgiving, where the two North Dakota teams meet in Bismarck on Nov. 25 before heading to Minot for a two-game series beginning on Nov. 27. They close out the calendar in Bismarck on New Years Eve and ring in the new year with a pair of games beginning on Jan. 1, 2027.

Prior to the start of the regular season, the Tauros are scheduled to play four exhibition games during the first two weekends of October. They play the Bozeman Icedogs, a member of the NA3HL, on Oct. 4-5 and Bismarck on Oct. 11-12.

Austin is the defending Central Division regular season and postseason champion, finishing with a 43-12-4 record for 90 points. The Bruins finished seven points clear of Bismarck, who went 39-15-5 a year after winning the Robertson Cup. Aberdeen and Watertown also qualified for the postseason last season. Minot finished 23-31-5 for 51 points, putting them seventh in the formerly eight-team division.

The NAHL’s 52nd season begins on Sept. 11 featuring teams from the East, Midwest and South Divisions. The Central and Mountain Divisions begin the following weekend.