AUSTIN, MN – Jon Richards giveth, Jon Richards taketh away. The young Bruins forward tied the game with a 5 on 3 goal late in the third period on Saturday night but his penalty moments later would eventually lead to Chase Springman’s game winning goal in a 3-2 Bruins loss to Minot.
Like Friday, Minot jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Zach Bross and Alex Adams scored first period goals at 3:36 and 13:05, respectively. The Bruins took the momentum into the locker room, however, after Tanner DuFault scored at 16:33, firing a rebound into an open net after a Dante Zapata drive to the goal.
A scoreless second period set the stage for Richards’ brief heroics in the third. Colton Berg and Jake Dittel took consecutive penalties with under four minutes to go and Richards blasted a one-timer off a broken pass from Travis Kothenbeutel past ‘Tauro netminder Austin Park. Richards went for cross-checking on the ensuing shift and although the Minot power play was less than a minute long, Derek Frentz and Adams set up Springman on the back door with 1:12 to go for the eventual game winner.
Park improved to 2-0-0 with a 23 save performance. Jake Kucharski also stopped 23 in the losing effort. The Bruins see the Bismarck Bobcats again next weekend with a pair of games at Riverside Arena starting at 7:05. Tickets go on sale Monday morning at our vendors: Hy-Vee, Jim’s Marketplace, Games People Play, and the Holiday Inn.
