ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Bruins scored four unanswered goals on a Sunday night to topple the Norsemen, 6-2.
With the playoffs still in reach for the Bruins, a win over the Norsemen would prove to be critical in their chase for the postseason. Fortunately for Austin, the Bruins struck first with exactly six minutes remaining in the first period. Barrett Brooks netted his eighteenth goal of the season, his first of two goals on the night, to elevate the Bruins to a 1-0 lead. St. Cloud pulled even less than three minutes later when Nick Young beat Hudson Hodges over the shoulder. Late in the period, the Bruins regained the lead when John Lundy pinballed a shot off bodies in front with 7.4 seconds remaining in the opening period.
The Norsemen battled their way back and tied the game early in the second, but that would be all for the home team as the Bruins took control. The go-ahead goal belonged to Barrett Brooks who increased his team-lead goal total to 19 on the season with his second of the night.
In the third, the Bruins took control. Quickly into the period, Travis Shoudy registered his fourth goal of the season with a snipe over the shoulder of Norsemen goalie, Paxton Geisel. The Bruins increased their lead to 5-2 in the third period when Alex Trombley fed Garrett Dahm on a 2-on-1 that got buried by the Mercyhurst commit. As time wore down, the Bruins tacked on an empty netter thanks to Grayson Valente who fired a shot from the Bruins defensive end into the yawning cage for the 6-2 Bruins lead and ultimate victory.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 20-26-5-3 on the season and pulled even with the Minnesota Wilderness for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NAHL central division. Austin gets set for two more games against the Norsemen this coming weekend, with a road game on Friday night before returning home to Riverside Arena on Saturday, May 15, for the regular season finale. Tickets for the Saturday night’s game are on sale now by visiting www.austinbruins.com/single-game-tickets.
