Bobcats continue rolling
Depth doesn't appear to be an issue for the Bismarck Bobcats. With two of their top scorers out of lineup due to suspension and injury, the still-undefeated Bobcats put up five goals on the Watertown Shamrocks, defeating them 5-2 at VFW Sports Center on Friday night.
The Bobcats were playing a forward short, rolling 11 forwards and eight defensemen. Roth also made the decision to start a new goaltender, Kai Weigel, who was not in goal for either of the team's earlier wins over Watertown.
"Every single guy in our roster is going to help us win hockey games on a nightly basis, and it might not be on Friday, but Saturday, someone else is going to step up and make a huge play for us," Bobcats coach Garrett Roth said. "That's the mindset that our guys have."
The Bobcats outshot the Shamrocks 12-5 in the first period, but the Shamrocks opened the scoring almost halfway through the period. Joe Rice jammed the puck home to give Watertown one goal on three shots.
"I didn't think we were playing with a ton of urgency. We were a little lackadaisical with the puck possession," Roth said. "After they got that first goal, I thought we were able to kind of start getting our game back and playing the game the right way,"
The top line of Wyatt Sypeniewski, Brendan Ruskowski, and Alexander Kim saw a lot of offensive-zone time and multiple scoring attempts, including two net-front scrambles. Keanu Krenn, who scored the game-winner in last Saturday's win over Austin, had another high-danger chance but Jakub Kral was able to glove it down before he could bury the rebound
"We were generating chances," Roth said. "We just weren't able to capitalize on any of our opportunities through the first 30 minutes."
Those same first-line players who had been so close in the first period struck late in the second period. Sypniewski got a stick on the puck, deflecting it into the net to open scoring for the Bobcats.
"Tristen (Triveno) was able to make a really big time play, found a found a lane to the net," Roth said. "Sypeniewski, had net-front presence, and was able to get a big-time tip to be able to redirect it past the goaltender."
Kim's goal came seconds later, streaking in along the left.
"Evan Hunter got the puck and I was just driving to the net," Kim said. "He made a good pass to me, and I just put it in there."
With seconds left in the second period and on a power play, Kim scored again. He came in alone on the right and shot it bar down and in to give the Bobcats a quick two-goal lead.
Kim said that the shift in offense from the first 30 minutes of play to their flurry of goals late in the second was from more physicality.
"We just played harder, more physical," he said. "That's why we got more chances offensively."
His power-play goal was welcome, after the Bobcats struggled with it for much of their early season.
"It was awesome, you know, especially on a line rush like that," Roth said. "We've done a nice job of getting possession, creating chances. We just haven't had those second and third chances that you need to have consistent power play and a high percentage. But we've been better as of late."
The Shamrocks scored again less than two minutes into the third. However, the Bobcats answered shortly. Krenn held onto the puck patiently before sending the puck up behind the goalie's head, hitting the cross bar and dropping in to the back of the net. Gabe Kenne squashed the Shamrocks' hopes entirely with a minute left to play in the game, scoring the fifth and final goal on an empty net.
The Bobcats finished with 41 shots to the Shamrocks; 15, holding them to under 20 shots.
"We did a really nice job in the neutral zone and holding our lines," Roth said. "That's something that we want to have good side pressure. We want to be able to take away time and space and not give up easy ice entering our zone and our guys did a really nice job."
The Bobcats will faceoff against the Shamrocks on Saturday night and hope to finish off strong at home.
"Tomorrow, we got another game in hand against Watertown here, so we got to show up," Roth said. "Ultimately, our goal is to continue to build towards the end of the season and play our best hockey and playoffs. And tomorrow is just another day for our team to develop, get better and continue to make strides towards playoffs."
