Central Division Finals, Game 3: Aberdeen 7 @ Minot 2 (Aberdeen leads series, 2-1) – Adam Pitters and Joe Strada each had a pair of goals and an assist and Riley Murphy had a four-point night as the Wings scored early and often to cruise past Minot in Game 3 of the Central Division Finals by a score of 7-2. The Wings scored three goals in the 1st period to take a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes as Strada and Pitters both scored their first goals of the game in addition to a goal from Tim Makowski. Cole O’Connell had his first goal of the playoffs for Minot in the period. The lead swelled to 5-1 with a pair of 2nd period goals, again from Pitters and Strada, which ended the night for Minot goalie Nick Grabko. In the 3rd period, the Wings poured it on with two more goals in the opening minute of the final frame from Jonathan Bendorf and Nic Sicoly. Vince Marino would add a late goal for Minot to make it a 7-2 final as the Wings can now win the series with one more win in either Game 4 or 5. Matt Vernon had to make just 15 saves in the win, while Grabko took the loss with 10 saves. Ben Garrity made 9 saves in a relief appearance. Boxscore
GAme 4 is tonight from Minot. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:35pm. You can watch all the action at Buffalo Wings & Rings in Aberdeen or by logging on to HockeyTV.com. Or tune into 94.1 The ROck, HubCityRadio.com or The Rock App.