ABERDEEN, S.D. – Levi Stauber’s eighth goal of the season would prove to be the only tally of the night for the Bruins as they fell to the Aberdeen Wings, 5-1.
The Bruins owned the puck in three minutes of the game, jumping out to a 3-0 shot lead over the Aberdeen Wings and drawing a penalty on defenseman Dalton Weigel. With the momentum flowing in Austin’s direction, Aberdeen took the game’s first lead shorthanded off the stick of Brad Belisle. Shortly after taking the lead, Aberdeen took advantage of a Bruins defensive zone turnover and beat Kyle McClellan for the 2-0 lead. Belisle was once again the goal-scorer of record, marking his second tally of the night.
In the second period, Belisle completed his hat-trick when he redirected a shot from Max Salpeter through the legs of McClellan for the Wings third goal of the night and the 3-0 lead.
With the second period coming to a close, the Bruins had a flash of offensive power and broke their goose-egg. Dante Zapata bent down to take an offensive zone faceoff and won a clean draw right back to Levi Stauber who was hanging out at the top of the circle. Stauber wasted no time blasting a shot past Wings’ goalie Matt Vernon and getting the Bruins on the clock with only 6.9 seconds left to go in the middle frame.
In the third, the Bruins tripped over themselves by committing some penalties which made the uphill climb more difficult. Aberdeen would add two more, including an empty netter by Belisle marking his fourth goal of the game, and earned the win 5-1.
With the win, the Wings have tied the Johnstown Tomahawks for the longest consecutive win streak in the NAHL this season at 17. The loss for the Bruins is their 6th straight. Both teams meet again on Saturday for an encore. Austin wraps up their five-straight road games on Friday, February 1 against the Minnesota Magicians in Richfield. The Bruins next home game is Saturday, February 2 for the ninth annual Paint the Rink Pink Night. Tickets for that game are on sale now at all the Bruins ticket vendors including Games People Play, Hy-Vee, Holiday Inn, and Jim’s Marketplace.
