AUSTIN, MN – Travis Kothenbeutel scored the overtime winning goal and set up two others as the Bruins defeated the Minnesota Magicians, 5-4 in OT on Friday night at Riverside Arena, making them 3-0-0 in the preseason.
The Bruins, who still haven’t trailed in a game this preseason, grabbed a 1-0 lead midway through the first when Evan Cholak ripped a shot off the left wing, set up by Kothenbeutel. It was Cholak’s team leading third goal of the preseason. Just over a minute later, Anthony Stark’s shot from the right point found twine and the Bruins led 2-0, which was the score after one period.
At 3:36 of the second period, Sviataslau Kuchynski took a feed from Kaiden Scott from below the goal line and extended the Austin lead to 3-0. A pair of quick strikes by the Magicians’ John Keranen at 8:49 and 9:25 made it a 3-2 game at the end of forty minutes.
Kothenbeutel sprang Arturas Laukaitis for a breakaway goal at 3:06 of the third to restore the two-goal lead, but the Magicians rallied for a pair in the middle stages of the frame to tie the game and force overtime.
After killing off a penalty late in the third and into the OT period, the Bruins received their first power play of the night and Kothenbeutel cashed in with a shot through a screen from the center-point to end the game at 2:48 of overtime.
The Bruins wrap up their preseason schedule on Saturday night at Richfield Ice Arena against the Magicians. Puck drop is 7:30 and the game is available on HockeyTV.com, with the AWAY feed carrying the Bruins broadcast.
