The Aberdeen Wings hosted the Austin Bruins in the Odde Ice Center to cap off the end of the 4-game series during the Regular Season. The Wings would come away with an offensively strong win on Friday, but would fall just short on Saturday.
(Friday, March 6 – Odde Ice Center, Aberdeen, SD) Right away in the first, the Wings would find themselves in the penalty box, giving Austin the man-advantage. At the 14:59 mark, EJ Paddington would score on the Power Play for the Bruins. Shortly after, the Wings would be on the man-advantage, and Jonathan Doucette would score with assists from Caden Lee and Matthew Martin. Offense would start off strong for both teams, and at the 8:22 mark, EJ Paddington would score again for the Bruins, reclaiming their lead. Just two minutes later, the Bruins would add to their lead when Kyle Sorensen would find the back of the net. But, right after that goal, the Wings would again be on the Power Play, and just over 10 seconds later Jonathan Doucette would score his second Power Play goal of the night with help from Cooper Anderson and Matthew Martin. The Wings would then get a 5 Minute Major Power Play, but it would be cut short when the Wings would get a 2 minute hooking penalty. Just as the Wings would go full-strength again, Jibber Kuhl would score on the Power Play with assists from Owen Pitters and Gavin Reed. Although the Wings would start the period down a couple goals, each team would head into the locker rooms before the second period tied at three.
The second period would be a defensive contest between the two teams. They would have about an equal amount of shots on goal, and each goaltender would have to make some great saves. With just under six minutes left in the period, Herman Berggren would break the tie, and give the Wings the lead. With this being the only goal of the period, the Wings would have a 4-3 lead heading into the final period of the night.
In the third, scoring would start with Easton Edwards for the Wings at the 13:25 mark. This goal would be assisted by Jibber Kuhl and Finn Safir. The Wings would have a 5-3 lead, and frustrations would start to rise. As the period would wind down, penalties would be on the rise. However, the Bruins would pull their goaltender in an attempt to tie the game and take it to overtime. However, Brody Dustin put one into the empty net to extend the Aberdeen lead with help from Price Grimes and Jibber Kuhl. There would be even more frustrations after this goal, but no extra scoring. The Wings would win on Friday with a score of 6-3.
Adam Dybal was in net on Friday stopping 21 of 24, and ended the night with a .875 SV%.
(Saturday, March 7 – Odde Ice Center, Aberdeen, SD) Unfortunately, Saturday would not have the same outcome as Friday as the Wings would come up just short. Saturday’s scoring would start just 20 seconds in when Austin’s EJ Paddington would score. Shortly after, he would score again and extend the Bruins lead. As the time would start to count down on the clock in the first period, Matthew Martin would be able to shake off some Austin defenders and score on a breakaway with a nice pass from Cooper Anderson. The first period would end with Austin holding the lead with a score of 2-1.
Throughout the second period, the Wings and Bruins would trade penalties, but neither team would score on the Power Play. There would be no change in score after the second period.
In the second period, the Wings would really start to amp up their play, and would outshoot the Bruins. Each team again would trade-off penalties, but it would not be until the 4:33 mark until another goal was scored. This time, it would be Michael Coleman on the Power Play for the Bruins, extending their lead. With time counting down on the clock, the Wings would pull their goaltender in an attempt to tie the game. With 33 seconds left in the game, Price Grimes would score for the Wings with help from Jonathan Doucette and Finn Safir. However, they would not be able to get another to send it into overtime. The Wings would lose on Saturday with a score of 3-2.
Willum Braun was in net for the Wings on Saturday stopping 28 of 31, and ended the night with a .903 SV%.
The Wings will now be traveling for their next few games. This weekend, March 13th and 14th, they will be heading to Bismarck to take on the Bobcats in the VFW Sports Center. Puck drops at 7:15 both nights. After, there will be a weekday St. Patrick’s Day Game in Watertown as the Wings will take on the Watertown Shamrocks. All games will be streamed on NAHLTV, or you can listen to them on Hub City Radio: 94.1, The Rock.
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