The Aberdeen Wings hit the road for the first time in the 2020-21 preseason for a pair of games in North Dakota over the weekend.
On Friday, the Wings headed Bismarck to take on the Bobcats. Bismarck jumped out to a big four-goal first period lead before Clayton Cosentino got the Wings on the board late in the period. Cosentino added another in the third period, along with a goal from Spencer Schneider on a power play and one from Marshall Walker. Ultimately, the Wings fell short on the comeback and Bismarck took a 6-4 exhibition win. Jake Sibell stopped 22 of the 28 shots he faced Friday.
Saturday’s action took the Wings to Minot to face the Minotauros. Nico deVita got the scoring started in the 1st period, but Minot responded with two of their own to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room. The two teams traded goals in the second period with Liam Fraser going under the bar for the Wings, but the deficit remained a goal at 3-2 after two periods. Minot built their lead to 4-2 with a power play goal in the third. Clayton Cosentino made things interesting scoring a goal with a pulled tender, but it wasn’t enough and Minot won 4-3. Dominik Wasik stopped 21 of the 25 shots he faced.
“This weekend allowed our new faces to see what it is like to play on the road in the central division of the NAHL,” head coach and general manager Scott Langer said. “The lesson learned is you have to start when the puck drops. There were positives in each game that we will bring into our week of work before we play Austin.”
The Wings return to the Odde Ice Center for their final exhibition weekend as they take on the Austin Bruins in a pair of games this Friday & Saturday night. Tickets will be available online or at any of the C-Express locations in Aberdeen.