Wings stay undefeated with huge 7-0 over Bismarck

Dec 5, 2020

An undefeated Aberdeen squad traveled to face a tough Bismarck team Friday night and skated away with a 7-0 win over the Bobcats.

The big win kept the undefeated Wings perfect on the season.

Spencer Schenider got the scoring started for the Wings just over halfway through the first period with a tight-angled goal to put the Wings on the board 1-0. Assisting on the goal was Nico deVita and Liam Fraser. Payton Matsui added a goal of his own at the 14:32 mark unassisted and the Wings headed into the locker room leading 2-0.

The second period’s lone goal came from Thomas Manty, assisted by Clayton Cosentino and Natan Vertes, at the 16:36 mark. The Wings built up a 3-0 cushion heading into the final twenty minutes.

“I felt once our guys got their legs going halfway into the first period, we played solid hockey,” head coach Scott Langer said.

However, they wouldn’t need the cushion and instead widened the gap. The third period’s scoring barrage started at the 2:06 mark with Manty finding the back of the net for the second time in the game, assisted by Cosentino and Vertes.

After the goal, Bismarck pulled goalie Noah Altman, who stopped 17 of the 21 shots he faced, and Tommy Aitken took his place between the pipes.

However, a little over three minutes later, Vertes added a goal of his own on the power play, assisted by Jordan Randall and Cade Neilson. Randall would add his own goal just over a minute-and-a-half later; picking up the apple was Neilson and Trevor Russell.

The game’s final goal once again came on the power play — Liam Fraser scored just over eight minutes into the third to give the Wings their fourth goal of the period and the 7-0 lead. Cosentino — who picked up his third assist of the game and his 21st of the season — and Matsui assisted on the game’s final goal.

“We found a way to get out of a second period that we were outplayed, and responded with a solid road third period,” Langer said. “Our team continues to use its depth to win games. We have all four lines chipping in.”

The Wings outshot the Bobcats 33-23, holding Bismarck to just five shots in the first and third periods. Aberdeen went 2-4 on the power play, denying Bismarck’s four chances in the process. Aitken stopped nine of twelve shots.

Wings goalie Jake Sibell stopped all 23 shots he faced and earned the game’s first star honors.

“Sibell was a big reason for our success tonight,” Langer said. “He was tough when Bismarck pushed back in the second period.”

The Wings improve to 13-0-0-0 on the season. Bismarck falls to 4-7-0-0.

The rematch happens Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7:15 p.m. at the V.F.W. Sports Center in Bismarck. Fans can watch the game via their HockeyTV subscription or live at Buffalo Wings & Rings in Aberdeen. The game is also broadcasted on 94.1 the Rock.