Sports

OT thriller keeps Braves undefeated in region play

By Tyler Ohmann

01/17/2012

In a week where senior Logan Millican scored six goals, had six assists and expanded his state scoring lead to 11, plus broke the school record for career goals, one would think it was his week.

However, the hero for the Bottineau-Rugby Braves hockey team was another senior, forward Jackson Bernstein.

That is because Bernstein scored the game-winning goal that gave the Braves a 3-2 overtime win over the Bismarck Demons on Saturday which kept the Braves’ West Region undefeated streak alive at eight games, and vaulted them into first place in the region with 18 points.

“I saw Harrison (Aide) chip it down to Luke (Amsbaugh) behind the net, so I just camped out in front of the net,” Bernstein said. “After that I just watched the puck to my stick and put it home.”

“It was really nice to see Jackson come up with the game winner,” said Braves Head Coach David Hoff. “He did a nice job of establishing position in front of the net and making his stick available for the pass which Luke was able to get to him.”

Thinking ahead is a key that Bernstein said he used on the play.

“You always have to be one or two passes ahead especially against Bismarck,” Bernstein said. “The Bismarck teams are quicker, and you have got to be ahead.”

None of this is to say that Millican’s work wasn’t appreciated. He did score the go-ahead goal in the third period against the Demons, and also assisted on the team’s first goal of the night, scored by Nick Monson.

“I really enjoyed playing in this game. We need more tight battles like this one,” Hoff stated. “Both teams had their times when they controlled the play.  They are deeper than we are and it showed at times. I really like how we find a way to make a play when we need it.”

Senior netminder Cody Brooks stopped 35 shots, including a big stop that led to the Millican goal in the third period.

“It was huge for us to get those four points. We played hard as a team,” Bernstein said. “It feels good, and it’s good for us. It was a real challenge for us, but we battled hard today.”

Buck up Boissevain

The week began for the Braves when they cruised to a 5-1 win over the visiting Boissevain Broncos.

Bottineau jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, bucking the Broncos with stout defense.

“We played a solid game against Boissevain,” Hoff stated. “We played a lot of players in that game and played real solid defensively as a team.”

Millican and Aide each had a pair of goals in the contest; Cody Longie scored the other.

Brooks finished with 24 saves.

Home away from home

The remaining win came in a 13-4 rout of the Wiliston Coyotes on Friday night in Rugby.

Bottineau-Rugby jumped out to a 5-0 lead through a period of play. The Braves scored three more in the second and five in the third en route to a 13-4 trouncing of the Coyotes.

However, Hoff was unimpressed with Bottineau’s defense, especially down the stretch.

“I thought we were sloppy defensively against Williston,” Hoff stated. “I thought they outworked us in our defensive zone.  I know the score was 13-4 but we have to take care of the puck better than we did.”

One thing is for certain, goal scoring was not the problem against the Coyotes on Friday, and it came from a bevy of scorers.

Millican and senior defenseman Ging Martin each had hat tricks in the win, while Amsbaugh, Monson and Kyle Volk had a pair of goals a piece. Also scoring for the Braves was Longie. Millican added five assists, Aide, Volk and Longie each had four and Zach Kihle had three.

Brooks finished with 26 saves to secure the win.

Bottineau-Rugby is now 10-3 overall and 8-0 in the West Region, putting them in first place ahead of 7-0 Bismarck Century, who did not play this weekend.

Bottineau-Rugby’s three losses came on a trip in which the Braves took on three of the best teams from Minnesota. Bernstein said the trip taught them a few lessons.

“We learned how to compete and to play hard all game,” Bernstein said. “We saw how those guys drove hard to the net every play, and we just learned from that. Plus, you always have to learn how to play from behind too.”

The Braves will next play at Hazen-Beulah on Friday evening at 7 p.m. They will then travel to Dickinson to take on the Midgets on Saturday at 2 p.m. (MST).

Notes:

•  Millican’s third goal put him at 72 career goals, which is the new Bottineau High School record. He broke the previous record of 71 held by Chad Nehring. He is also easily in the scoring leader for the entire state of North Dakota with 38 points. To date Millican has tallied 24 goals and 14 assists in 13 games. Jared Olson of Hazen-Beuluah is second with 27 points.
• Braves sophomore Aide is third in the state in scoring with 25 points on eight goals and 17 assists.
• Senior Kyle Volk is also in the top ten, ranking eighth with 21 points.
• At 10-3, Cody Brooks is leading the state in wins. He also has a 2.79 goals against average and a .897 save percentage in 14 games.