Following a combined 13 goals game, Saturday night would be much different for the Aberdeen Wings.
Coming into Game 2 of the NAHL Central Divisional Series, the Aberdeen Wings were down one game of a five-game series to the Austin Bruins. The Wings made goaltending switch, going for #35 Andrew Shortridge (G-Eagle River, AK) in place of #30 Luke Kania (G-Chicago, IL) who was statistically hit with 7 of the 8 goals on Friday night.
Austin set the tone of the game, feeding off the 8-5 win the night before, with a goal at the 1:38 mark from Luke Dietsch. The defending NAHL Central Division champs would score again towards the end of the period from Jacob Kullberg. The 2-0 lead came outshooting the Wings 9-6 in the first period.
Midway through the second period, Austin’s JC MacLean would score their third goal of the night. With a minute left in the game, Austin’s Nico Sturm scored to lock down the 4-0 shutout playoff win for the Austin Bruins.
Wings fans were disappointed not only at the 4-0 shutout loss on Saturday, but also were shutout from watching the game on FASTHockey.com. Many Wings fans gathered at various locations around Aberdeen, including parties inside homes with billet families and friends. FASTHockey.com is a web-based broadcast forum that allows hockey fans to watch nearly every junior hockey league live and on-demand. The issue Saturday night was not that of FASTHockey, but rather the internet connection within Riverside Arena in Austin, Minnesota. Without the internet, the games could not be broadcast. Wings play-by-play broadcaster Jay Kleinknecht also had troubles because of the inability to refresh the statistical website that shows game notes, times, and stats.
Game 3 of the NAHL Central Divisional Series will be Friday, April 10th at the Odde Ice Center. Doors open at 5:30pm, with the puck drop at 7:15pm. Wings fans can show up in advance for early bird beer specials. Saturday night, the Wings will also honor local area youth players including the two members of the Aberdeen Cougars who were part of Team South Dakota which won its 2nd consecutive U16 National Championship. Should the Wings win on Friday night, that would force a Game 4 on Saturday, April 11th at the Odde Ice Center. Should the Wings win that game, it would force a Game 5 which would be played April 17th in Austin. As always, listen on 94.1 The Rock, ESPNAberdeen.com, or watch/listen on FASTHockey.com. For more information, including playoff tickets, follow on Twitter, like on Facebook, or keep checking AberdeenWings.com.