Perfect Preseason: Bruins Blank Magicians

Sep 17, 2017

RICHFIELD, MN – The Bruins ran the table of their preseason schedule, defeating the Minnesota Magicians, 4-0 on Saturday night to go 4-0-0 in exhibition play. The Bruins scored one in the first, two in the second, and an empty netter in the final minute of the third, while Alex Schilling and Owen Zdunski combined for the 21 save shutout.

The Bruins outshot the Magicians 15-4 in a dominant first period and opened the scoring at 14:48 when Arturas Laukaitis jammed a loose puck past Magicians goaltender Garrett Mackay. Travis Kothenbeutel and Evan Cholak assisted on Laukaitis’ third of the preseason – finishing tied with Cholak for the team lead. The Bruins led 1-0 at the end of one.

At nearly the identical juncture of the second period, the Bruins struck again, when Jarod Blackowiak finished off a Xander Lamppa scoring chance at 14:49. Lamppa showed good balance to stay on his skates and create a 2-on-1. His initial shot was stopped by Mackay before Blackowiak lifted a rebound over the sprawling goaltender. Owen Zdunski replaced Alex Schilling in the Bruins net midway through the period, which ended with the Bruins up 3-0 after Blackowiak set up Dominic Skrelja for a one-timer in the slot at 16:58.

The Bruins locked down defensively in the third, limiting the Magicians chances, and sealed the game when Garrett Dahm found the empty net at 19:23 – a shorthanded goal. The Bruins finished a perfect 4/4 on the penalty kill.

With the preseason behind them, the Bruins now look toward the annual NAHL Showcase and will open the regular season on Thursday morning at 10:00 AM against the Northeast Generals. They’ll take on the U.S. National U-17 program in an exhibition game Friday night at 7:15 and finish the Showcase by playing the Springfield Junior Blues on Saturday at 3:30 PM. All three games will be broadcast live in HD on HockeyTV.com.