Austin Bruins fall to Minot Minotauros 4-2 at Riverside Arena Saturday evening

Coming off a 4-3 loss to the Minot Minotauros Friday evening, the Austin Bruins were looking for a split of the series with their NAHL Central Division rival at Riverside Arena Saturday evening, but it was the Minotauros making a 3-0 lead at the end of two periods stand up in a 4-2 victory to sweep the series.

Minot led 3-0 heading into the third period when Austin’s Damon Furseth cut into the deficit with a goal at 5:15, his third of the season, with an assist to Tristan Zarsky, his third.  The Bruins cut the deficit to 3-2 at 6:46 of the period when Jackson Rilei found the back of the net for the first time this season, with an assist to Will Diamond, his third, but Jack O’Hanisain gave the Minotauros a two-goal lead back at 4-2 when he scored at 8:14, and Minot netminder James Norton and the Minotauro’s defense made the lead stand up the rest of the way for the win.

Austin outshot Minot 31-28 for the game, but Norton made 29 saves to earn the win between the pipes, while Trent Wiemken, who committed to Bemidji St. this week made 24 saves in facing 28 shots to take the loss.  The Bruins were called for three penalties in the contest for six minutes, while Minot was whistled for two penalties for four minutes, and neither team was able to tally on the power play.

With the loss, Austin is now 15-10-1-0-1 for 31 points and fourth place in the divison, three points behind second-place Bismark and two points behind second-place St. Cloud.  With the win, the first place Minotauros are now 19-6-1-0-0 for 39 points, five points clear of second-place Bismark.  The Bruins return to action in Aberdeen versus the Wings next Friday night, with face-off from Odde Ice Center at 7:15 p.m.