LA CROSSE, WI – It was nearly deja vu all over again from a game played 15 days ago in the same venue between the same two teams, but this time the Bruins held their 1-0 third period lead, beating the Coulee Region Chill by that score to sweep the weekend series. It was the Bruins fifth consecutive win, eighth straight game with a point, and completed an undefeated November in which they finished 7-0-1.
On November 10th, the Bruins and Chill played a scoreless 40 minutes at Green Island Ice Arena, with Evan Cholak scoring late in the third period to give Austin a 1-0 lead. This game destined to repeat history when Cholak’s scored at 12:07 on a pass from Travis Kothenbeutel to break yet another scoreless tie. Two weeks ago, Andy McGlynn tied the game in the final seconds with the goalie pulled before the Chill eventually won in a shootout. On this night, the Bruins held strong and Kothenbeutel scrambled the final defensive zone faceoff with four seconds remaining to seal the 1-0 win.
Shots were 30-28 in favor of the Bruins but the game did not feature many quality scoring chances. Alex Schilling picked up his second career shutout, and the first team blanking for the Bruins this season. Each team went 0-for-3 on the power play. Nick Graziano was the losing goaltender for the second night in a row. The Bruins finished the regular season series with the Chill, 3-0-1.
With Bismarck’s defeat of Aberdeen and Brookings falling in Minot, the Bruins now own the best winning percentage in the Central Division, and share the lead with the Wings and Bobcats, at 26 points. The Bruins have games in hand on both teams. They travel to Bismarck next weekend for a pair of 7:15 PM faceoffs at VFW Sports Center. The five game winning streak is the first in over two seasons, with the last instance coming during the final six games of the 2014-15 season in March of 2015.
