Defensive Battle Goes Against Bruins, Fall to Bobcats 1-0

Feb 14, 2020

AUSTIN, Minn. – In a game that didn’t see its first goal until the third period, the Bruins lost a tightly-contested battle with the Bobcats, 1-0.

Friday night’s game at Riverside Arena wasn’t one filled with goals. The battle of the Millers – Brett for Austin and Andrew for Bismarck – proved to be the story of the game. Each team’s goaltender and defensive unit held steady throughout the game. Through two periods, neither team had given up a goal and neither team had committed a penalty. After two periods of play, even the shot totals were low as both teams blocked shots and forced the other to take chances that never found the goaltender. Austin led the way in shots after 40 minutes, 13-9.

In the third period, the action began. The Bobcats committed the game’s first penalty. The Bruins couldn’t manage to score with the power-play and ultimately went 0-for-3 on the night, despite their final two power-plays only lasting a total of 52 seconds.

Midway through the third period, the Bobcats got the game’s lone goal when Nate Clark found the back of the net for the third time this season, giving Bismarck the 1-0 lead. That score would hold up throughout the rest of the third period and the Bobcats earned the crucial two points in the victory. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 25-13-2-4 on the season while the Bobcats improve to 26-11-4-3.  Brett Miller made 16 saves on 17 shots in the loss, while Bismarck’s Andrew Miller turned aside 24 of 24 Bruins shots.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night for a rematch at Riverside Arena. Tickets for the game are on sale now at all the Bruins vendors including Games People Play, Hy-Vee, Holiday Inn, and Jim’s Marketplace.