BLAINE, MN – Alex Schilling was perfect after the first 39 seconds of regulation. Unfortunately for the Bruins, the Northeast Generals scored in those opening 39 and that was enough in a 1-0 final score on Thursday morning at the NAHL Showcase.
Playing in their fifth game of the regular season, the Generals wasted no time when Matthew Wiesner redirected a shot from Luke Perunovich past Schilling in the game’s first minute. Northeast had three powerplay chances in the first but couldn’t add to their lead, outshooting the Bruins, 13-10.
The Bruins played a much stronger second period, and got golden scoring opportunities from Evan Cholak and Mike Forman, but Northeast goaltender David Fessenden wouldn’t budge. The Bruins held a second period shot edge of 10-9.
In the third, the Bruins came with another push and a had a powerplay with just under three minutes remaining, but Fessenden held strong and when Toby Sengvongxay was forced to take a tripping penalty to stop an empty-net goal, the Bruins saw their comeback hopes extinguished. Schilling finished with 26 saves while Fessenden stopped all 30 Bruins shots for the shutout.
The Bruins will play an exhibition game against the USA National Team Development Program U-17s on Friday night at 7:15. They’ll resume regular season play, concluding the Showcase on Saturday at 3:30 PM against the Springfield Jr. Blues. Fans can watch all NAHL Showcase games live in HD on HockeyTV.com.
