FOREST LAKE, MINN. – Jack Solomon stood tall in net Friday night stopping all 23 shots faced for his second shutout of the season as the Austin Bruins (35-11-2-2, 74 pts) beat the Minnesota Mallards (11-33-3-2, 27 pts) 5-0.
The Bruins struck early as defenseman Bobby Williams took a shot from the high slot to beat Mallards goalie Troy Wright at 0:27 to take an early 1-0 lead. The goal was Williams’ first as a Bruin and the second consecutive game Austin struck in the first 30 seconds.
Matsvei Marshchanok added to the lead just over halfway through the period with a shot from the right circle that banked in off the far post.
EJ Paddington, fresh off a Central Division Second Star of the Week performance in Aberdeen, deflected a shot from Bobby Williams past Wright to give the Black and Gold a three-goal lead. The goal was Paddington’s fifth in three games and his 34th of the season. He is now just two goals away from tying his former line mate Alex Laurenza’s single season record of 36 that was set last year.
Gavin Hruza joined the scoring in the second while action was four-on-four. Hruza was one on one with Mallards defenseman Bauer Murphy, cut towards the net and used Murphy as a screen before flipping the puck in the net for a 4-0 Bruins lead.
Action in the third was fairly even with neither team finding the advantage over the other. Hudson Routh headed to the penalty box for Austin with 2:24 on the clock for a hooking penalty. With under a minute to go, Solomon made several consecutive saves to keep his shutout intact. On the final save, the puck bounced to the stick of Alvin Ellison who found Routh behind the defense, creating a breakout chance with under 30 seconds to go. Routh shot the puck through the legs of Wright for the dagger with 17 seconds on the clock
Solomon’s seventh career shutout moves him up to a tie for first place all-time in career shutouts with former Bruins netminder Trent Wiemken.
With a Bismarck Bobcats loss in the shootout tonight, the Bruins take sole possession of first place in the Central Division back with a one point lead over the Bobcats. Austin returns to action tomorrow night at Riverside Arena in Austin for a Saturday night tilt with the Mallards. Tickets are available by visiting tickets.austinbruins.com. Fans can take advantage of the Bruins’ Pi Day promotion by using the promo code “PIE” and to buy one ticket and get one for just $3.14.
