ST. CLOUD SWEPT BY BISMARCK IN HOME SERIES.
The Matchup- The Norsemen opened up a home series against the Bismarck Bobcats on Dec. 1-2 at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex where they fell by scores of 4-3 (Shootout) and 9-2.
A Look At The Central- With a pair of losses, St. Cloud now sits in second place totaling 32 points. The Norsemen are three points back from the league leading Minot Minotauros who are on top of the Central Division with 35 points.
Series Recap: In game one, Lucca Munoz (Chicago, Ill.) got the home side on the board just 44 seconds into the contest. Bismarck would respond with two goals from Keanu Krenn and Kyle Doll to end the first period of play. Tyler Dysart (Sunnyvale, Calif.) knotted things up at the 2:58 mark of the second period. Julian Beaumont would once again give the Bobcats a lead late in the second stanza. St. Cloud would not be denied in the final frame when Gavin Gunderson (Roseau, Minn.) forced the game into an extra session when he tied the game up at three with just two minutes remaining. Both teams could not find the back of the net in overtime so this forced a shootout. Evan Hunter’s goal in the shootout would prevail to be the game winner.
In game two, Bismarck built on the momentum they had from game one after receiving goals from seven different scorers. For St. Cloud, Keaton Orrey (Eagan, Minn.) and Braden Panzer (Grand Forks, ND.) scored the two goals for the home side in the second period of play. St. Cloud fell by a final score of 9-2.
Between The Pipes- Ryan Manzella (Eagan, Minn.) and Max Weilandt (Northbrook, Ill.) split time in both games of the series. Manzella turned aside two shots and Weilandt stopped 21 shots in game one. In game two, Manzella made 23 saves and Weilandt made 10 saves in relief.
Up Next On The Schedule- The Norsemen will travel to Odde Ice Center on Dec. 29-30 to face divisional foe the Aberdeen Wings in a two game road series. Puck drop for both games will be at 7:15 p.m. (C.T)
Dain Solberg, Freelance Writer