The Aberdeen Wings will play host to the Bismarck Bobcats this Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, at the Odde Ice Center in Aberdeen.
The Wings (25-19-2-2) are currently sitting in second place in a very tight Central Division, tallying 54 total league points after 48 games played. The Bobcats (22-23-1-2) are sitting in sixth place with 47 points in 48 games played.
But the Bobcats are riding a seven-game win streak coming into the weekend games, currently sitting just four points out of a playoff spot with twelve games left to play in the regular season. And just seven points separate the Wings and the Bobcats in the standings.
Cade Neilson leads all scorers for the Wings, currently sitting in third place overall in the entire North American Hockey League (NAHL) with 62 overall points; that comes from 20 goals and 42 assists, five of which he recently picked up over the weekend against the St. Cloud Norsemen. Wings captain Kyle Gaffney is second overall on the team with 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists), while Jacob Bosse, Will Gilson and Ronan Walsh round out the top five points earners with 29, 28 and 27 points, respectively.
Jake McLean leads the Bobcats in scoring with 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) while Quinn Rudrud is right behind him with 41 points (24 points, 17 assists). Calvin Hanson’s 30 points (8 goals, 22 assists) round out the top three for the Bobcats, while five players sit with 26 points on the season.
The Wings are holding strong as the league’s top penalty-killing unit with an 86.9 percent kill rate. Bismarck is fifth in the division with 80.6 percent. Aberdeen’s power play unit has had a 20.1 percent success rate, third-best in the division, while Bismarck is also at fifth in that category with 16.1 percent.
Friday’s will be the ninth game between the two teams this season, with the Wings going 3-4-0-1 against them so far. We invite fans to join us at the Odde for Military Appreciation Night on Friday; just show a military ID at the door for a $5 general admission ticket. We also welcome Redfield Post 92 as the game’s color guard and will recognize the Aberdeen Cougar Pee Wee C state championship team during our first intermission. REA Hybrids is the game’s corporate sponsor inside the AutoMaxx Party Deck.
On Saturday, we’re hosting College Night; just show a valid student ID at the door for a $5 general admission ticket to the game. We also welcome the House of Glass as the game’s corporate sponsor inside the AutoMaxx Party Deck.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:15 p.m. Fans can purchase their tickets ahead of the weekend games online at tickets.AberdeenWings.com; tickets are also available in the lobby on game nights. $10 general admission tickets can also be purchased at any C-Express location in Aberdeen, with additional purchase.