Sports

Bottineau-Rugby falls short of repeat trip to state

By Tyler Ohmann

02/19/2013

A lot can happen in 10 days.

It was 10 days ago that the Bottineau-Rugby (BR) hockey team was a single point behind West Region-leading Bismarck Century and was about to embark upon a tough stretch of hockey against the regions top three teams a week before the West Region Tournament.

Only 10 days later the Braves’ season came to a close with a loss to Bismarck High on the final day of the region tournament.

In that 10-day span the Braves fell in six of their final seven games, being denied a chance to compete in a second straight state tournament.

“It was an awfully fun team to be around throughout the season,” stated Braves head coach David Hoff. “I think we overachieved in a lot of ways but came up a little short of getting back to the state tournament.”

BR began the region tournament on Thursday afternoon as they played the fifth-seeded Jamestown Blue Jays in the opening round.

The slugfest started with a four-goal period from the Blue Jays, who hopped out to a 4-2 lead after the first frame.

The Braves’ two goals came from Luke Amsbaugh and Andrew Hill. Junior Harrison Aide assisted on both goals and senior Cody Longie notched a helper on the Amsbaugh goal.

In the second period both teams traded three goals apiece, as the Blue Jays kept the two goal advantage heading into the final period.

Scoring in the second period for the Braves were Aide (Wyatt Johnson, Hill), Johnson (Aide, Hill) and Hill (Amsbaugh, Aide).

BR thought they finally swung the momentum their way as a Longie goal on a pass from Aide drew them to within a pair, and an unassisted Aide marker brought them to within one.

However, Jamestown senior Jake Still well earned his sixth point of the game and second goal on an empty-netter to sink the Braves chances.

Junior netminder Riley Monson stopped 27 of 36 Blue Jay shots, while Ben Walz of the Blue Jays had 26 stops in 33 attempts.

The Braves tried to put the game behind them as they faced eighth-seed Hazen-Beulah in loser out game on Friday.

BR led early though as Noah Grant scored on an assist from Longie and senior Sheldon Thompson used passes from Aide and Nigel Hagenesss to give BR a 2-1 lead after one period.

Despite an early Aide goal from Amsbaugh in the second period, the Braves found themselves in a tie.

Despite out shooting the North Stars nearly two to one through two periods, BR found themselves tied as Colin Johnson had a fantastic start in the crease for HB.

However, Bottineau hung tight and in the final frame Braden Pewe netted the game-winner. Grant earned the assist as the Braves went up 4-3.

Aide added an unassisted goal late in the period to solidify the win, the first in six games for BR.
The Braves out shot the North Stars 57-19 in the 5-3 win.

“I liked the character we showed in the Hazen/Beulah game. Tied at three going into the third period,” Hoff stated. “We really put pressure on them all period. We were able to get two but could have had more.”

The Braves still had a shot to make it to state. Standing in their way though was Bismarck High, and the Demons had the Braves’ number giving them their worst loss of the season (5-2) a week earlier.

The Braves offense, which is usually in peak form, looked to be on once again early in the first period.
Amsbaugh netted a rebound of an Aide shot to put the Braves up 1-0 early in the first period, and things looked to be going BR’s way.

However, 16 seconds later the Demons tied the game, and the momentum tilted their way.
It would remain that way throughout as the Braves were unable to capitalize on any scoring chances, and wound up falling 3-1.

“I liked our effort on the final day against Bismarck High. Our lack of depth doesn’t lend itself to being a great three-day team but our kids really battled hard,” Hoff stated. “We missed some good opportunities and against a good team like that you have to take advantage of those when you get them.”

Monson finished with 33 saves in 36 chances in the game. Brett Malkmus played outstanding for the Demons as he stopped 30-of-31 shots.

Braves make All-Region

Junior Harrison Aide and senior Cody Longie were both awarded with spots on the West Region’s All-Region team. The pair were both unanimous picks.

Aide, who completed the season with a state-leading 34 goals, a state-best 56 assists and a state-best 90 points was named to his first All-Region squad.

Longie, who completed the weekend second behind only Aide in points (63) and assists (37), was named to his second All-Region squad. The defenesman made it last season.

Braves head coach David Hoff was named West Region Coach of the Year. Alec Rauhauser of Bismarck Century (currently third in the state with 61 points) was named Senior Athlete of the Year for the West Region.

Moving on

After losing 13 seniors in 2011-12, the Braves again lose a strong senior crop. Five seniors from this season will be graduating and moving on: Cody Longie (All-Region, 63 points), Wyatt Johnson (18 points), Tanner Lunde (two points), Maverick Gronvold (two points) and Sheldon Thompson (Region tournament goal, one point).

However, the Braves will have a strong nucleus returning including of course Harrison Aide and his school-record 90 points, Luke Amsbaugh (55 points), Andrew Hill (34 points), Cody Bedlion (18 points), Noah Grant (12 points), Nigel Hageness (12 points) Braden Pewe (11 points) and goaltender Riley Monson.

BR concluded the season with a 15-7-1 overall record.