Minot, ND – Despite a late offensive surge by the St. Cloud Norsemen, the Minot Minotauros held on for an 8-6 victory on Friday night at Maysa Arena.
The Norsemen fired out of the gate with a number of scoring chances that culminated in Ben Helgeson netting his first of the season to give St. Cloud the 1-0 lead. The lead was short lived as the Minotauros would tally three late-period goals from Kyle Kukkonen, Kaiden Scott, and Blaine Warnert, as Minot took a 3-1 lead into the break.
Early in the second period, Minot extended the lead to 4-1 when Donte Lawson netted a powerplay goal.
The third period provided the game’s most back-and-forth moments, as Jack Reimann scored a powerplay goal for the Norsemen just 1:37 into the game. Shortly after, Isaac Keller would answer for Minot. A pair of goals from Logan Kittleson and Nik Hong would spark life into the Norsemen offense before Joseph Harguindeguy broke up the run for Minot. Helgeson would score his second of the night on a second assist for Blake Perbix before a pair of empty net goals would solidify the victory for the Minotauros. Ryan O’Neill found the back of the net for the Norsemen with a second left, but the time expired before the Norsemen could mount any more scoring.
With the loss, the Norsemen are 0-6-0 and will look for their first win of the season on Saturday night in the series conclusion with Minot.
Mark Shelley will provide the play-by-play of the game on the Lyon Sheet Metal & Heating Norsemen Network beginning at 7:00 PM CT with puck drop slated for 7:05 PM.
For tickets and information on news and upcoming events go to st.cloudnorsemen.com and follow the Norsemen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.