AUSTIN, Minn. – Despite trailing 3-0 midway through the second period, the Bruins battled their way back to takedown the St. Cloud Norsemen, 4-3, in the shootout.
In the first matchup of the season against their in-state and division rivals the Norsemen, the Bruins found themselves in a big hole that began to open in the first. The Bruins normally stout penalty-kill unit surrendered the game’s first goal when Norsemen defenseman Jack Reimann beat Bruins goalie Tyler Shea to give the Norsemen a 1-0.
Later in the second, St. Cloud got back-to-back goals from Charlie Skinner, his third and fourth goals of the season, to extend their lead to 3-0. It was then that the Bruins turned on the jets. While on the penalty-kill, Carson Riddle fed Reggie Milletteon a shorthanded two-on-one and the third-year Bruin buried the puck for Austin’s first game of the goal.
In the third period, it took almost all of the frame but the Bruins completed the comeback. Down 3-1, the Bruins pulled within one with just three minutes left to go when John Lundy popped a shot over the sprawled Norsemen goalie Josh Langford. With the extra attacker on for the Bruins, Barrett Brooks netted his tenth goal of the season to tie the game at 3-3 with just 1:39 remaining in regulation.
Throughout overtime, neither team managed to get the game-winner so the victor would have to be decided by the shootout. In the second round of the shootout, it was Brooks once again who netted the puck for the Bruins, the only goal for the shootout thus far. That put the pressure on Norsemen shooter Brendan Kim who was stymied by Shea and the Bruins completed the comeback winning 4-3.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 9-14-2-2 on the season while the Norsemen fell to 8-16-0-1. Tyler Shea earned the victory stopping 25 of 28 shots while Josh Langford was saddled with the loss despite stopping 32 of 36 Bruins shots. Up next for the Bruins, they host the Aberdeen Wings for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday at Riverside Arena. Tickets for this weekend’s games are on sale now by visiting www.austinbruins.com/single-game-tickets.
