BISMARCK, ND – In a game that could only be played on Friday the 13th, the Bruins fell to the Bismarck Bobcats, 6-4 on Friday night at VFW Sports Center. Leads changed hand rapidly but Alex Strand's consecutive third period goals made the difference.The game saw 81 combined shots, but 51 by Bismarck who improved to 3-0-0 against the Bruins this season.
It was the Bruins scoring first when A.J. Drobot notched his first of two on the night, taking a beautiful cross ice pass from Marcus Karlstrom and burying his third of the season at 8:56 of the first period. Justin Misiak picked up a secondary assist. The Bobcats drew even at 14:47 when Tobias Fladeby found a loose puck that had trickled just behind Bruins goaltender Kris Carlson and touched it over the goal line. The score was 1-1 after one period, despite 31 combined shots.
The Bruins regained their lead at 7:38 of the 2nd period when Jade Miller picked up his team leading 11th goal on a breakaway set up by Dawson DiPietro and Paul O'Connor. Not even a minute later, Bismarck's Travis Wood answered with a breakaway goal of his own – his 3rd goal of the season – all against Austin. After Jared Resseguie was called for a five minute kneeing penalty, the scoreboard at VFW Sports Center began malfunctioning, with the buzzer going off intermittently. Through the chaos, Gilbert Gabor was able to net his 7th of the season to restore the Austin lead at 12:45. DiPietro and Miller added assists. Intermission was called early to repair the clock and when play resumed, the Bobcats tied it on an off goal by Nick Alexander at 16:48. It was 3-3 after 40 minutes.
The Bobcats gained their first lead when new acquistion Gianni Brandi tallied a powerplay goal at the 10:00 mark. 41 seconds later, Drobot tossed a puck off a defender and in for his 2nd of the night and a 4-4 tie. Jacob Paganelli and Dalton Gally picked up helpers. Alex Strand scored at 11:01 and then added a powerplay tally at 17:09 and Bismarck never looked back.
Bismarck's Hunter Sheppard got his 8th win, making 26 saves while Carlson was the tough luck loser, stopping 45 of 51 shots. The Bruins will look to split the weekend on Saturday night with another 7:15 faceoff at VFW Sports Center. The broadcast on FASTHockey.com will begin at 7:05.
