The Aberdeen Wings were hoping for puck luck on St. Patrick’s Day, but none was to be found as they fell 2-1 against the Minot Minotauros at the Odde Ice Center Wednesday.
The Wings rarely need to rely on luck, however, as this was just their third loss in 36 games. But after outshooting the Minotauros nearly two to one, it seemed that nothing wanted to go Aberdeen’s way.
Minot’s Logan Anderson got the first goal of the game at the 7:45 mark in the first period. After a scoreless second, Anderson got his second goal of the night at the 11:10 mark in the third.
With the Minotauros leading 2-0, Aberdeen put on the pressure when Liam Fraser notched his twelfth goal of the season when he deflected the puck from Kevin Mackay, who picked up his ninth assist on the year, and Trevor Russell, who snagged his 23rd. A late push, coupled with the man-advantage and plenty of time camped in the Minot zone, just wasn’t enough.
Minot improves to 16-15-4-1, while the Wings still sit at the top of the Central Division at 33-2-0-1. Minotauros keep Keenan Rancier was nearly perfect in goal, stopping 41 of the 42 shots fired his way.
“Minot’s goaltending was very good,” Langer said. “They did a good job of keeping us to the perimeter of the ice surface.”
Dominik Wasik stopped 21 of 23. Both teams went 0-3 on the power play.
“These games will happen in a long season,” Langer said. “You have to have a short memory and be ready to battle in Minot.”
Aberdeen will look to get revenge when they travel to the Maysa Arena in this weekend; the puck drops at 7:35 in Minot both Friday and Saturday. Wings fans can watch the game using their HockeyTV login, or live at Buffalo Wings & Rings in Aberdeen. The game’s audio is broadcast via Hub City Radio’s 94.1 The Rock.
“We want to be hard to play against, every shift of every period,” Langer said. “We play the Wings Way hockey, the outcome will be good.”