Austin Bruins edge St. Cloud Norsemen 2-1 Saturday evening

In a game you heard on AM 1480 KAUS and myausitnminnesota.com, the Austin Bruins were looking for three out of a possible four points in their weekend series with NAHL Central Division rival St. Cloud at Riverside Arena Saturday evening, and a third period goal from Alex Laurenza was enough to push the Bruins past the Norsemen 2-1.

After a scoreless first period, Damon Furseth’s sixth goal of the season on the power play at 9:58 of the second period gave Austin a 1-0 lead, with assists to Ryan Hintz, his first, and to Ocean Wallace, his 11th.  Laurenza’s 14th goal of the season at 4:19 of the third period gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead, with assists to Damon Furseth, his 17th, and to Jackson Luther, his third, and although Hagen Moe scored for St. Cloud at 9:17 of the period, Bruins netminder Trent Wiemken and the team’s defense were able to hold the Norsemen off the scoreboard the rest of the way for the win.

The Bruins outshot the Norsemen for the game 32-12, with Wiemken making 11 saves to earn the win between  the pipes, and St. Cloud goaltender Max Wielandt turned away 30 shots in taking the loss.  The Bruins were whistled for two penalties for four minutes, while the Norsemen were called for three penalties for six minutes, and Austin was 1 for 3 on the power play, while St. Cloud was 0 for 2.

With the win, the Bruins are now 21-18-2-1-1 for 45 points and fifth place in the Central Division, four points behind St. Cloud for the final playoff spot in the division.  Austin is back into action at Riverside Arena Friday night to start a home-and-home series with the North Iowa Bulls, with face-off at 7:05 p.m. Friday evening.