MINOT, N.D. — The Austin Bruins saw their five-game winning streak snapped on Friday, when the two teams hot on their heels both picked up victories.
Austin dropped a 3-1 decision to North American Hockey League Central Division rival Minot at Maysa Arena. Meanwhile, second-place Brookings and third-place Bismarck both won, pulling them within three and seven points, respectively, of Austin in the division standings.
The Bruins (34-18-1, 69 points) fell behind 3-0 as Minot scored all of its goals in the second period. Jacob Howie, Tim Donohue and former Bruin Colton Kramer all scored for Minot.
Niko Hildenbrand scored the lone goal for the Bruins, with assists from Luke Dietsch and Alex Pettersson.
Dillon Kelley started in goal for Austin and stopped 30 of the 33 shots he faced.
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Brandon Wildung made 28 saves to earn the victory for Minot (21-29-3).
Aberdeen crushed Brookings 7-0 on Friday to improve to 31-18-4 (66 points), while Bismarck beat the Minnesota Wilderness 4-3 to improve to 29-20-4 (62 points).
The Bruins face Minot again at 7:35 p.m. tonight in Minot.
Tauros 3, Bruins 1
Austin#0#0#1#—#1
Minot#0#3#0#—#3
First period— no scoring. Second period— 1. M, Jacob Howie (Tim Donohue, Jadin Martin) 6:15. 2. M, Colton Kramer (Jake McCann) 15:23. 3. M, Donohue (unassisted) 16:18. Third period— 4. A, Niko Hildenbrand (Luke Dietsch, Alex Pettersson) 4:37.
Shots on goal— A 8-6-15—29; M 10-14-9—33. Goalies— A, Dillon Kelley (L; 30 saves); M, Brandon Wildung (W; 28 saves). Power-play opportunities— A, 0-for-1; M, 0-for-5. Penalties— A, 8-19 minutes; M, 4-11 minutes.
