The Aberdeen Wings pulled goaltender Greg Orosz from between the pipes trailing 2-1 within the game’s final 90 seconds Saturday night in Bismarck, but the Bobcats punched in two goals to seal the Wings’ fate as they fell 4-1.
After winning four in a row, Aberdeen has lost their last two games and fall to 18-14-0-2, but maintain their third place status in the Central Division.
Owen Michaels opened up the scoring for Bismarck just 1:29 in to the game. They increased their lead to two when Quinn Rudrud snuck one past Orosz with less than five minutes left in the second period. Aberdeen saw three power play chances in the first two periods but couldn’t capitalize with the extra attacker.
At the 7:29 mark in the final period, Ronan Walsh picked up a bouncing puck between the circles and went top shelf to get the Wings on the board. It was his 14th goal on the season, while Owen DuBois grabbed his 14th assist and Will Gilson got his ninth.
With 1:27 remaining on the clock Orosz made a break for the Wings bench, but Jake Mclean found the empty net just ten seconds later. Orosz stay out of the pipes, and Blaise Miller took advantage at the 19:10 mark to seal the 4-1 win.
Overall, the Wings went 0-4 on the power play while holding the Bobcats to 0-2. Bismarck edged out the Wings in shots on goal, taking 30 while holding the Wings to 28; Orosz stopped 26-28 in the loss.
DuBois had two assists overall on the weekend, while Jacob Bosse, Parks Wallace and Walsh each grabbed a goal for the Wings.
The Wings have a full week of practice before heading back to Austin, MN to face the Bruins for a weekend of hockey; puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21-22, inside Riverside Arena. Fans can watch the games using their HockeyTV login or live at Buffalo Wings & Rings in Aberdeen, the official home for all Wings away games. Fans can also listen to the games’ audio via Hub City Radio’s 94.1 The Rock, or on The Rock app.
The Wings return to Aberdeen to finish January at home as we welcome the North Iowa Bulls to the Odde Ice Center once again. Stay tuned to AberdeenWings.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.