Austin Bruins blank Minot 2-0 in regular-season finale Saturday evening

The Austin Bruins were looking to snap a five-game losing streak in their regular-season finale versus the Minot Minotauros at Riverside Arena Saturday evening, and goaltender Matt MacArthur turned aside all 24 shots he faced to help lead the Bruins to a 2-0 win.

After a scoreless first period, Walter Zacher scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 15:46 of the second period, with assists to Josh Giuliani, his 15th and to Jack Malinski, his 36th to make the score 1-0, and Damon Furseth provided a bit of insurance with a goal at 9:54 of the third period, with assists to Bryan Gilman, his fifth, and to Jackson Luther, his seventh of the season for the 2-0 final.

The shutout for MacArthur was his first of the 2022-2023 season, while Minot netminder Lawton Zacher turned aside 34 of the 36 shots he faced to take the loss.  In a game that saw two 5-minute majors and game misconducts called for cross-checking and boarding, the Minotauros were whistled for seven penalties overall for 35 minutes, while the Bruins were called for eight penalties for 38 minutes.  Neither team was able to tally a power-play goal, with Minot going 0-5 with the man advantage, while Austin was 0-3.

With the win, the Bruins finish the regular season with a Central Division championship and a 34-16-3-7-2 record.  Austin will kick off the Robertson Cup Playoffs against Minot Friday and Saturday evenings at Riverside Arena, with both games facing off at 7:05 p.m.