Minotauros Playoff Time 2021

I T ’ S P L A Y OF F T I ME !

MAY 2021

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M I N O TA U R O S

TANK

MAY 2021

MINOTAURO

MINOTAUROS SEASON IN REVIEW

MAY 2021

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By RYAN LAD IKA Sports Reporter • rladika@minotdailynews.com

Minotauros forward Blaine Warnert (24) enjoyed great individual success late this season with a hat trick against the Minnesota Wilderness on April 9. He repeated the feat on May 1 in a road contest against the Austin Bruins.

Ryan Ladika/MDN

Through their first 54 games of the 202021 season, the Minot Minotauros recorded 23 wins and entered their May 14 contest having clinched their eighth consecutive postseason appearance with a 4-3 overtime defeat to the Bismarck Bobcats May 7.

See REVIEW — Page 4

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Review

M I N O TA U R O S

Continued from Page 3

Under the watchful eyes of head coach Shane Wagner and assistant coach Wyatt Waselenchuck, the club failed to match its 27-16-1-6 finish following the 2019-20 campaign, but its 23-22-6-2 record and 54 points entering play May 14 were good for third in the NAHL’s central division in a down year for most of Minot’s division rivals.

The season was still packed with exciting moments, clutch performances and significant milestones throughout, and it is not over yet, as the Minotauros are on a collision course for a first-round postseason matchup with the Bismarck Bobcats.

OCTOBER 2020

Minot began its season in encouraging fashion, as the Minotauros defeated the visiting Bobcats by a 1-0 final score. Keenan Rancier set the tone for his season with 46 saves in the victory, including a 20-save third period. Damon Zimmer scored the lone tally in a game marred with roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

The Minotauros would split their next four games, dropping the second of the season-opening back-to-back with Bismarck 3-2 in a shootout before bouncing back with a 4-2 victory against the Minnesota Wilderness. Minot once again was unable to sweep their second back-to-back of the season, falling 5-4 in overtime to Minnesota October 17.

The squad righted the ship against the St. Cloud Norsemen to wrap up the first month of play, sweeping the two-game set by a 10-4 total score. Six ‘Tauros skaters found the back of the net in a 6-3 victory October 23, and Rancier saved 32 of 33 shots in a 4-1 win the next night to wrap up a 4-0-1-1 first month.

NOVEMBER 2020

The season’s second month of play, as well as almost a full month off, presented a larger challenge, as Minot was unable to secure its first November win until November’s final game. Following the Minotauros’ October 24 contest, the team did not play again until November 20.

Minot met the eventual first-place-finishing Aberdeen Wings for the first time to open the year, and the Wings greeted the Minotauros with a 7-0 rout, followed by another 5-2 victory at Maysa Arena.

A home-and-home-and-home three-game series against Bismarck followed, but Minot’s offense was mostly stifled by the Bobcats in the first two games. Bismarck outscored the Minotauros 9-4 over said contests, and Minot was glaring at the possibility of a winless month.

The squad bounced back and registered its first November victory on the month’s third-to-last day. Minot entered the third frame grasping a slim one-goal lead, but Bismarck’s Will Magnuson tied the affairs at three with his third goal of the season just under 14 minutes in.

The contest appeared destined for overtime until Carter Korpi came through in the final three minutes with his fourth goal of the season, propelling Minot to its fifth win of the season and ending a relatively disappointing month on a high note.

MAY 2021

DECEMBER 2020

The month of December brought with it an increased workload for the Minotauros, as seven games against Austin, St. Cloud and Bismarck awaited the Magic City representatives. Minot was able to build off its first win in 35 days, earning a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over Austin December 4. Zimmer and Cade Stibbe, Minot’s eventual points leader entering play May 7, contributed the game’s first two goals against Bruins netminder Tyler Shea.

The Minotauros blew the lead in the final frame, but Stibbe came through in overtime with his second score of the game and third of the year to lift Minot over Austin.

Kyle Kukkonen and Jacob Thomas each recorded a goal the next night in a 2-0 shutout win to secure the sweep of the Bruins, and Minot soared over the Norsemen with an 8-6 victory six days later that saw nine total third-period goals and 13 Minot skaters find the scoresheet, highlighted by Kukkonen’s five-point, four-assist evening.

Unfortunately for the Minotauros, the month’s highest high would have an equally low low awaiting them. St. Cloud responded with a 3-1 win the next night, and Minot was swept in three games by Bismarck December 18-31, a stretch that saw the Minotauros shut out in consecutive games to punctuate the 2020 calendar year.

JANUARY 2021

December’s late struggles continued into the new year, as Minot again required a last-game victory to avoid a winless month. The Kenai River Brown Bears made their way to the Magic City to kick off NAHL festivities in 2021, and left with a pair of wins, outscoring Minot 9-3 over the two-game set.

The Minotauros hit the road for a brief one-game trip to Aberdeen, but Jake Sibell stopped 24 of 25 Minot shots to lead the Wings to a 3-1 victory. Minot’s lone goal in the contest was the first of the season from Tyler Kostelecky.

Another date with the Norsemen at Maysa Arena awaited the Minotauros, and after a 3-1 loss opened an eventual six-game homestand, Minot finally put another in the win column with a 4-2 victory January 30.

The Minotauros were slightly outshot 33-31in the contest, but Stibbe, Kaiden Scott, Ethan Schmunk and Jay Buchholz all bested Paxton Geisel in net to help give Minot its first win in 50 days.

FEBRUARY 2021

The Minotauros’ schedule began to pick up once the calendar turned to February, as that month and the following two would see Minot play a total of 28 games, or exactly one half of its 56-game slate in just three of the eight-month season.

Minot had its chance to exact revenge upon the Brown Bears, as February began in similar fashion to January, with a two-game set against Kenai River at Maysa Arena.

The home squad took care of business this time, sweeping the Brown Bears with identical 4-2 victories in both games. The Minotauros utilized four unanswered scores

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in the first game, the first two of which came from Kostelecky, and Rancier stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

Four Minot skaters combined for four unanswered goals the next night as well, and Rancier stood on his head in stopping 35 of 37 Kenai River shots to complete the sweep.

The Minotauros extended their win streak to five with another sweep of the Minnesota Wilderness the following week. Minot threw 34 shots at Minnesota netminder Kaleb Johnson and came away with three scores while again leaning on Rancier, who came away with 37 saves on 39 shots.

The Minotauros upped their offense the following night, recording 44 shots and reaping five goals in reward. Rancier was no doubt grateful for the increased offensive output, but he still held Minnesota to just one tally on 37 shots.

Challenges closing out the month reappeared, and Minot went 0-4 to complete the month after struggling against Aberdeen and Minnesota once more. Minotauros skaters scored just once in two games against the Wings and allowed nine total in a two-game set against Minnesota.

MARCH 2021

After an eight-game month of February, a nine-game month of March awaited Minot with the benefit of home ice appearing just three times. The ‘Tauros wrapped up a sixgame roadie with two against St. Cloud before returning home, and the Norsemen earned wins in both contests, sending Minot to two tough-luck overtime losses by 4-3 and 3-2 final scores. Buchholz was the standout offensive performer during the series, recording three goals between the two games.

Minot returned to its winning ways at home against Bismarck to open up another home-and-home series. Robert Kincaid and Blaine Warnert each tallied third-period goals, their first and third of the year, respectively, to life the home team over the Bobcats 4-3.

The Minotauros again hit the road, and took their next two games, the first a 4-1 victory to sweep the series against Bismarck, and a 2-1 upset of the Wings. Kostelecky found twine twice in the Bismarck win, and Rancier carried Minot over Aberdeen, allowing only one goal on 42 shots. Logan Anderson potted both Minotauros goals in Minot’s first victory over Aberdeen of the year.

The two teams returned to Maysa Arena to decide the three-game set and Aberdeen returned the favor, taking both by a combined 10-4 score. A visit by the Austin Bruins helped get Minot back on track, as the Minotauros swept Austin with two 4-3 wins to close out a 5-2-2-0 month.

APRIL 2021

An 11-game slate in April represented the busiest month of the season for Minot, with the majority of games again scheduled away from the friendly confines of Maysa Arena. A white-knuckle contest against St. Cloud April 2 kicked-started the full slate, highlighted by a three-goal second frame that gave the Minotauros a 4-3 lead entering the final period.

Gunnar Johnson came through for the Norsemen with a game-tying score six minutes and 20 seconds into the period, and Minot appeared to be headed for its second overtime in three games. With just 27 seconds remaining in regulation, Blaine Warnert wristed the puck past Geisel to lift Minot over St. Cloud to its first April win.

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St. Cloud responded with a 5-3 bounce-back win the following night, but Minot needed to shake off the defeat with haste, as the Wings were once again next on the schedule.

The cards were stacked against the Minotauros with starting goaltender Keenan Rancier getting the night off and Carter Clafton in net against Aberdeen starter Jake Sibell, but Minot shocked the first-place Wings with a 3-0 shutout win, their second of the season against Aberdeen. Clafton shone in his chance under the bright lights, turning aside 36 Wings shots.

The Minotauros continued their offensive success in the opener of their next series against Minnesota, as Warnert notched his first hat trick of the season in the eventual 6-2 victory. Kostelecky also scored twice in the winning effort.

The Wilderness struck back with a slim 2-1 overtime win the following night, and another contest against St. Cloud on the road handed Minot its second consecutive loss April 11.

Another visit from Austin righted the ship, as Minot racked up six goals for the second time in four games in a 6-3 victory, but the Minotauros sputtered to a 0-3-0-1 finish to the month against Aberdeen, St. Cloud and Austin.

MAY 2021

Minot opened the season’s final month with a 3-2 victory over the Austin Bruins, with all three goals produced by Warnert for his second hat trick of the season. The second-place Bismarck Bobcats paid their last visit to Maysa Arena following Minot’s one-goal win, but the Minotauros were unable to scratch out a victory against Bismarck.

Minot was swept in the two-game set and outscored 10-6 in its final two home games of the regular season.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS Stibbe, Kotelecky, Warnert and Minotauros captain Jack Westlund throughout the season had been Minot’s most prolific scorers, combining for 115 points through the season’s first 54 games.

Rancier was impressive with a significant workload of the course of the campaign as well, as he recorded a .913 total save percentage through 54 games accompanied by a goals-against average just over three despite facing the most shots of any netminder in the NAHL, 66 more than the next highest.

PUSH FOR THE PLAYOFFS Minot entered its May 14 contest having clinched its eighth postseason berth in a row, and if the current standings hold with the Minotauros in third place, Minot would face the Bismarck Bobcats in the first round, with the best-of-five series beginning on the road in Bismarck.

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Stibbe looking forward to Tauros playoff push

MAY 2021

Fargo native Cade Stibbe has been a consistent offensive force for the Minotauros this season and looks to lead his club to playoff success against Bismarck.

Ryan Ladika/MDN

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By RO BERT BR EWER Sports Editor rbrewer@minotdailynews.com

On Friday, May 7, the Minot Minotauros faced off against the Bismarck Bobcats needing just one point in the standings to clinch a playoff berth. As it turned out, the Tauros got the point they were looking for.

Trailing 3-2 with under three minutes to go, Minot forward Brett Roloson took advantage of a power play opportunity with a score to tie the game. This play ultimately forced the game into overtime which gave the Tauros a playoff berth for the eighth consecutive year.

Earlier in the game, fellow Minot forward Cade Stibbe also made his presence felt offensively. The club's leader in points recorded his 13th goal of the season which gave Minot an early 1-0 lead in the first period.

Prior to the Bismarck contest, Minot won its overtime game against the Austin Bruins 3-2 on May 1 thanks to a hat trick performance from Blaine Warnert. According to Stibbe, he believes the morale of the team is quite strong heading into the postseason due to the fact that multiple Minot players are capable of contributing on any given night.

"We just need to keep the energy up and keep playing our style of hockey," Stibbe states. "We

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are a hard-nosed, gritty hockey team and we have to stay true to that identity."

"We are a hard-nosed, gritty hockey team and we have to stay true to that identity."

—Cade Stibbe, Forward

When it comes to matching up against NAHL Central Division runner up Bismarck in the playoffs, Stibbe, now in his second year with Minot, says the Bobcat defensemen are very skilled puck handlers, particularly near the blue line. In order to combat such slick puck handling, Stibble notes how important it will be for the Tauros to play with their trademark intensity.

"Our guys will have to come out and play with relentless team speed. We will also have to match their execution level for 60 minutes, and that will give us a great chance to win," Stibbe adds.

Looking beyond the Bismarck series, there is a possibility that Minot may have to do battle with the first-place juggernaut Aberdeen Wings in the postseason. If a showdown with Aberdeen was to happen, Stibbe remains confident in his team's chances to win the series as the Tauros are the only team to beat the Wings more than once this season.

Minot notched a 3-0 win over Aberdeen at the Maysa Arena on April 6, and also earned a 2-1 road victory over the Wings on March 17.

Meanwhile, Minot's leading point producer says it is Aberdeen's well-structured system as well as their consistent execution that poses the most problems for the opposition. Stibbe adds that he looks forward to a potential matchup with the Wings as it would serve as a great measuring stick for where the Tauros are as a collective unit.

"Taking on the best competition, that is really what the playoffs are all about. We want to win the Robertson Cup this year and I think we have the guys who can do it. I hope we do get a chance to take on Aberdeen because a series with them would be an awesome challenge."

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Keenan Rancier helped lead the Minotauros to a third-place finish in the NAHL Central Division. They will now face the Bismarck Bobcats in the opening round of the playoffs.

M I N O TA U R O S

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Ryan Ladika/MDN

PLAYOFF PREVIEW:

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Minot Minotauros vs Bismarck Bobcats

By RYA N L ADI KA Sports Reporter rladika@minotdailynews.com The Minot Minotauros will embark on a playoff push this season for the eighth time in the history of the team after clinching their postseason spot with a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Bismarck Bobcats May 7.

Minot will enter the NAHL’s postseason for the eighth consecutive year, not counting the canceled playoffs due to the COVID19 pandemic last spring. The team has historically struggled to survive the first round of the postseason, only advancing past their initial playoff series once in the seasons between 2013 and 2017.

The Minotauros enjoyed a bit more success in their postseason appearances in the years following 2017, highlighted by a Robertson Cup Championship Game appearance in 2018, but the team fell 2-1 to the Shreveport Mudbugs in pursuit of their first NAHL title.

Before the 2020 postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Minot also earned a postseason berth in 2019 and defeated the Bismarck Bobcats by way of a three-game sweep before falling to the Aberdeen Wings in four in the second round.

Minot will now prepare to once again face the second-place Bobcats in the first round of a best-of-five series, assuming the standings entering play May 14 hold with Minot finishing in third place in the central division and Bismarck in second.

SEASON SERIES

The Tauros collected four wins over the Bobcats in 12 games this season. The majority of the two teams’ meetings occurred within the first three months of the season, with Minot facing off against Bismarck twice in October and three times in November and December.

The Minotauros struggled against their higher-seeded opponent throughout the season series, but especially near the beginning of the season when Minot won only one of its first four matchups with the Bobcats. The sole victory in that span was a 1-0 shutout on the first night of the season; Damon Zimmer tallied the only score and starting goaltender Keenan Rancier stopped all 46 shots the Bobcats threw his way.

Minot dropped each of the next three contests by a 12-6 aggregate score before it finally snapped its skid with a 4-3 victory

November 28. The Minotauros responded with another three-game losing streak against the Bobcats, as they were outscored 13-3 including two straight shutout defeats from December 18-31.

Entering their May 7 matchup, Minot was riding a two-game win streak, having earned a 4-3 win March 12 and another 4-1 victory March 13. Overall, the Bobcats outscored Minot by a 42-28 total through the season series en route to a 4-5-2-1 record.

OFFENSE

Minot had scored 148 total goals through its first 54 games this season, good 2.7 per game and the third-most in the division overall. With 1,568 total shots on goal during that span, the Minotauros are recording an average of just over 29 shots per game.

Cade Stibbe was the team leader in points entering the team’s May 14 contest, as the 5’7” forward had recorded a total of 32 points, including 13 goals and 19 assists, during that span. He had put together consecutive games with at least one point seven different times to begin his season, and at one point had compiled a four-game point streak March 5-13 that saw him score three goals and help on four more.

Tyler Kostelecky and Minotauros’ captain Jack Westlund have also recorded impressive numbers in the offensive zone this season, coming in second and third on the team with 29 (16 goals, 13 assists) and 29 (11 and 18) points, respectively, entering Minot’s May 14 game.

Kostelecky has contributed multi-goal efforts on four different occasions this season, and had put together a four-game point streak twice this year. Westlund at one point had registered seven points in a four-game span April 2-9, punctuated by a three-assist night to help lead Minot over the Minnesota Wilderness 6-2 April 9.

On the other end, Bismarck has experienced a bit more success in the offensive zone than their counterpart, having potted 171 goals in the same number of games, giving them a tick over three scores per game and ranked second in the NAHL’s Central Division to Aberdeen’s eye-popping 237.

With 1,586 total shots on net through their first 54 games, the Bobcats are averaging one more shot per game than the Minotauros, at just over 29.

Ryan Taylor sat atop the Bobcats’ scoresheet entering their May 14 contest with 41 points made up by 19 goals and 22 assists.

George Grannis followed closely behind with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 total points.

Grannis, in his fourth season with Bismarck, has increased his offensive production with each passing year. He recorded just five points during the 2017-18 campaign, then 15 in 2018-19, and finally 26 in 2019-20 before his 38 this season.

Assuming the current standings hold, Minot would travel to Bismarck to open the first-round best-of-five series. Teams often perform better at home, and this series is no exception. The Bobcats own a 14-9-2-3 record on home ice overall, and Minot sputtered to a 10-11-4-1 record away from Maysa Arena through 54 games.

Where the rule differs a bit is on the special teams units. Minot’s power play is actually better on the road, converting 17.2 percent of its chances against 15.3 percent at home, and Bismarck also performs significantly better on the man advantage on the road, 27.7 percent against 15.8 percent at home.

and both have allowed under three goals per game as well.

On the special teams side, Bismarck’s penalty kill has been a strength through their first 54 games, dispatching of 85 percent of the infractions the squad takes. This mark outpaces Minot’s by a wide margin, as the Minotauros have killed just 43 of 174 penalties in that span, good for a 75 percent success rate. The Bobcats’ kill is also much more efficient at home, doing away with almost 90 percent of penalties, while Minot is succeeding at a 75 percent clip on the road when shorthanded.

Bismarck had also allowed the secondfewest goals among central division teams, as their 144 goals against were bested only

by Aberdeen’s 73 entering play May 14.

Minot, on the other hand, had allowed the second-most goals in the division with 185.

Only St. Cloud had allowed more goals during that span with 192.

Keenan Rancier has been the mainstay between the pipes throughout the season for Minot, appearing in 42 of Minot’s first 54 contests. Backup goalie Carter Clafton has made up the majority of the games Rancier has had off, earning 11 games in net.

Rancier had posted a save percentage of .913 through his first 42 games, allowing 135 goals, the most in the league, for a 3.22 goals against average and recording two shutouts.

Rancier had also faced the most shots in the NAHL at 1,543, 66 more than the next highest mark (the Northeast Generals’ Hugo Haas’ 1,477). He has also dealt with a pretty heavy workload, as his 2,519 minutes entering May 14’s contest were the second-most in the league, only to Aberdeen’s Jake Sibell’s 2,696.

Bismarck has split its time in net more evenly among their rostered netminders.

Through 54 games, three goalies have played at least 14 games, with Tommy Aitken earning the majority of the starts. The Winchester, Massachusetts native recorded a .910 save percentage through his 21 games.

Aitken had also faced only 543 shots through his 21 games, an average of 25.9 per game. Extending that out to Rancier’s much greater workload, he would be on pace to face approximately 1,088 shots through 42 games.

Ian Shane and Cameron Korpi have combined for most of the remaining starts in net for Bismarck with 15 and 14 games, respectively. The duo boasts save percentages of .915 and .926 in their limited time on the ice,

As the standings and numbers would suggest, Bismarck likely holds a slight edge over the Minotauros in the series. The Bobcats have split time between goaltenders more evenly than Minot has throughout the season, meaning the Bismarck netminders likely enter the series on fresher legs than Rancier, who has done the majority of the Minotauros’ goaltending himself.

The Bobcats defense has also prevented more shots from reaching its net than the Minotauros’ unit, and Bismarck has enjoyed a bit more success in the offensive zone.

Keeping in mind the series’ first two games would also start on the road, and Minot faces an uphill battle to advance to the second round.

The Minotauros have consistently shown the ability to win crucial games in hostile environments, though, such as their 2-1 road victory over the first-place Aberdeen Wings March 17, or their 3-0 shutout victory authored by Clafton over Sibell and those same Wings April 6. A confident Minotauros offense is led by Stibbe, Kostelecky Westlund and Blaine Warnert, who recently tallied his second hat trick of the season May 1.

Rancier has shown extended signs of brilliance between the pipes as well, most notably a January 27-February 13 stretch when he did not allow more than two goals in any of his six starts.

A playoff series victory against the Bobcats is certainly well-within the abilities of the club, but they will need to bring their best game to Bismarck in order to accomplish the feat.

DEFENSE AND GOALTENDING

THE VERDICT

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M I N O TA U R O S

MAY 2021

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