The Aberdeen Wings went on the road for the first time since January 23 and picked up a 3-1 win against the Austin Bruins at Riverside Arena.
It took a full 25 minutes for a goal after neither team scored in the first period. But at 5:55 in the second, Spencer Schneider snuck one past Austin’s Tyler Shea to the put the Wings up 1-0. He was assisted by Clayton Cosentino, who picked up his league-leading 27th assist of the season, and Cullen Ferguson, who picked up his third.
With less than a minute left in the second, Austin’s Ben Dexheimer scored on a power-play goal to tie the game. However, the Wings answered just 33 seconds later when Ferguson scored off an assist from Nico deVita. The teams headed into the final break with the Wings leading 2-1.
Each team killed two penalties in the third period but neither team managed to score. At the 18:33 mark, Austin’s Shea stepped away from the net and Thomas Manty took advantage, scoring the game’s final goal off an assist from Christian Abrams.
The Wings outshot the Bruins in each of the three periods, overall taking 39 shots compared to Austin’s 21 shots. Wings goalie Jake Sibell stopped 20-21 shots and remains the NAHL’s top goalie with a 1.05 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage. Shea stopped 36-38.
For Wings head coach Scott Langer, it was a good time for the team to hit the road after a very heavy home schedule to start the season.
“There is no better place to gel as a team than being on the road,” he said after the win. “The team played solid road hockey, limited our opposition’s chances.”
Aberdeen improves to 24-1-0-1 on the season while Austin falls to 7-11-2-2. The teams will have a rematch Saturday, Feb. 13 in Austin. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Fans can watch the game via their HockeyTV subscription or at Buffalo Wings and Rings in Aberdeen. Fans can also catch the game audio via Hub City Radio’s 94.1 The Rock.
“Our goal is to be better tomorrow as a group,” Langer said. “Consistently get better.”