Following a 1-0 victory at home on Friday, the Wings took to the road taking on Minot on Saturday. The win the night before saw the nearly 1,500 Wings fans play the role of the 7th man, or extra attacker. The energy and electricity distributed through the building kept the Wings battling all game long.
Friday night, the game got off to a quick one. At the 4:22 mark, Minot’s Nate Pionk scored his first career NAHL goal. But even down 1-0, the Wings didn’t hold back. As the puck would come down the boards towards the blue, Wings defenseman #4 Eric Moser (D-Chicago, IL) would keep it in eventually finding forward #16 Kyle Haak (F-Okemos, MI) for his 20th goal of the season. Assists were credited to #20 Josh Passolt (F-Hayward, WI) and #11 Victor Ostling (F-Stockholm, Sweden).
In the second period, tied 1-1, Minot would again get the first goal. John Snodgrass would skate in on a power play and beat Wings goaltender #30 Luke Kania (G-Chicago, IL). Two minutes later, Minot would take a 3-1 lead on a blast from the blue line from Jacob Dittel. Halfway through the second period, the powerful line of Ostling-Haak-Passolt would score again, with #11 Victor Ostling beating Minot goaltender Holmes. Assists credited to #16 Kyle Haak and #20 Josh Passolt.
Minot, holding a 3-2 lead, would battle the whole third period against the offensive attack from the Wings. Midway through, gloves would drop with Wings forward #25 Tucker DeYoung (F-Lake Bluff, IL) delivering two solid shots and taking Minot’s Jared Brandt to the ice. But the extra energy would not be enough to get the tying goal as the Wings would fall 3-2.
Following the game, the Wings learned that the Brookings Blizzard fell to the Austin Bruins, giving the Aberdeen Wings a playoff berth. On Sunday, the North American Hockey League announced that the 2014-2015 Playoff matchups would see the Wings taking on the Austin Bruins, and the Minot Minotauros taking on the Bismarck Bobcats. The Wings travel next weekend to take on the Minnesota Magicians to finish out the 2014-2015 regular season.
BUTLER-CAT HIT OF THE GAME
Aberdeen #25 Tucker DeYoung (F-Lake Bluff, IL)
SD WHEATGROWERS STARS OF THE GAME
3rd Star – Aberdeen #20 Josh Passolt (F-Hayward, WI)
2nd Star – Aberdeen #11 Victor Ostling (F-Stockholm, Sweden)
1st Star – Aberdeen #16 Kyle Haak (F-Okemos, MI)