ABERDEEN, SD – The Aberdeen Wings scored four unanswered goals to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 win against the Bruins on Saturday night at Odde Ice Center.
The Bruins had a pair of one goal leads over the first half of the game. Liam Thrawl opened the scoring at 8:52 of the first, putting home a rebound off a shot from Jason Koehn. Aberdeen’s Jack Kelly tied the game just under four minutes later with a shot through traffic past Robbie Goor. Early in the 2nd, Travis Kothenbeutel made a tremendous individual effort to restore the Bruins lead with an unassisted goal streaking up the right wing. The turning point game at the 8:16 mark of the middle frame when Jan Stefka took a five-minute major penalty and a game ejection, eventually leading to a power play goal by Kevin Fitzergald. Shortly after, the Wings took their first lead when Carter Roo deflected a Andrew Noel shot past Goor. Aberdeen led 3-2 heading to the third.
Fitzgerald put the game on ice with his second of the night midway through the third and then Joey Strada added an empty netted. Logan Haskins was awarded a penalty shot in the final minute but was stopped by Arrtu Kulmala, who played well for Aberdeen, earning his third win with 24 saves. Goor also stopped 24 in the losing effort.
The Bruins head home to host Bismarck on Friday and Saturday night at Riverside Arena for a pair of 7:05 faceoffs. Single game tickets go on sale Monday morning at the Bruins ticket vendors: Hy Vee, Jim’s Marketplace, Games People Play, and the Holiday Inn. The first 500 fans through the gate on Friday receive a can koozie courtesy of Kaplan University.
