Sports
Patriots end Braves reign in close game
Tyler Ohmann
01/31/2012
A 7-3 win over rival Minot gave the Bottineau-Rugby hockey team first place in the West Region, but their reign on top lasted only five days.
That is because an anticipated match up against Bismarck Century ended tragically for the Braves as the Patriots captured a 2-1 victory with a game-winning goal with nine seconds left in regulation.
The win vaulted the Patriots ahead of the Braves in the region standings.
“The game was a tough one to lose. I thought we really competed hard for the entire game ,” said Braves Head Coach David Hoff. “Both teams really played well.”
The two teams were deadlocked for nearly the entirety of the first two periods until Braves sophomore Harrison Aide busted open the game with a goal late in the second period. Assists on the goal came from Cody Longie and Zach Kihle.
However, two power play goals from Century, including the game-winner with nine seconds left, gave the Patriots the crucial win.
Both teams were undefeated in region play entering the contest.
“The goaltenders from both sides made big saves when needed and the defensemen on both sides made it tough to get the puck to the net,” Hoff stated. “It really was a good high school game, we just came out on the wrong end of it on the scoreboard.”
Cody Brooks finished with 23 saves in net for the Braves, while Century goalie Devon Butz had 27 saves. The Braves out shot the Patriots 28-25.
However, the Braves week began on a high note as Bottineau-Rugby captured a 7-3 win over rival Minot in Bottineau on Monday.
The Braves jumped out to an early lead thanks to senior Logan Millican, who had a hat trick early into the second period as the Braves led 4-0.
“We just wanted to come out really hard, and we weren’t surprised we were up 4-0,” Millican said. “We are a good offensive team, and we just wanted to get the puck on the net.”
As to his success, Millican boiled it down to hard work.
“I just wanted to work hard, and work hard down low to get pucks to the net,” Millican said.
Fellow senior Nick Monson also added a goal in the first period to propel the Braves out to a big lead.
But Minot was not about to give up as they scored three unanswered goals to close out the second period trailing by only a goal.
“They were down by four against Century too and they just chip away,” Millican said of the Minot comeback attempt. “We just knew we had to play our game, and keep it going.”
However, the Braves poured on the offense in the third period with three more goals. The first came from senior Kyle Volk as he banged home a rebound. Assists were credited to Aide and freshman Luke Amsbaugh.
Amsbaugh and Aide would assist on Bottineau-Rugby’s sixth goal of the evening as well, which was scored by Nick Monson.
The Braves final score came from Aide. Volk and senior defenseman Ging Martin assisted.
“We wanted to make sure that they couldn’t get back into it and keep the momentum,” Millican said of Bottineau-Rugby’s third period scoring.
Brooks finished with 18 saves in the win.
“I was pleased to see us come out in a big game and play pretty well for the most part. In the past we have had big games but not always played well,” Hoff said. “I think we are growing as a team and program. We expect to play well.”
“It is so much fun to play against good teams, compete hard, and come out on top in the end,” Hoff added.
Millican echoed his coaches sentiment on the victory and the state of the team.
“It meant a lot, because we were battling for the top region spot, so it was a big win,” Millican said.
Bottineau-Rugby currently sits in second place in the West Region with 24 points and an 11-1 record in region play. They are 13-4 overall.
If both the Braves and the Patriots run the table they close out the season with a head-to-head match up on Feb. 10 in Bottineau, which would determine the region’s regular season victor.
This week Bottineau-Rugby hosts Mandan at 7:30 p.m., Friday. The Braves then travel to West Fargo to take on the Packers on Saturday night.
Bottineau-Rugby beat Mandan 10-1 on Jan. 7. The West Fargo Packers are 8-10 overall, 4-8 in East Region play and currently sit in seventh place in the East Region with nine points.