Submitted Photo Riley Tuenge of the Bottineau-Rugby Braves battles for the puck with Minot Magician’s Jaxson Bradley in the quarterfinal round of the Western Dakota Association’s regional tournament in Bismarck.

After earning a playoff berth at the Western Dakota Association regional tournament in Bismarck Feb. 17-19, a roller-coaster ride of emotions lay ahead for the Bottineau-Rugby Braves.

Game 1 of the hockey tourney loomed large for the Braves. The Minot Magicians stood between the Braves and a chance to move onto state in Fargo. Regular season games against the Magicians had ended with Minot wins for years. Braves Head Coach Jesse Nostdahl estimated the last time the Braves had beaten the Magicians was “probably around 10 years ago.”

The Braves aimed for the Magicians’ defensive zone from the start. The Magicians did the same, landing the first of their two game goals more than fifteen minutes into the first period, shot by Zachary Diehl, assisted by Jaxson Radke. With the clock stopped, officials discussed the shot with each other and both teams.

“Their first goal was a high stick and shouldn’t have counted,” Nostdahl contended. Twenty seconds after the shot was ruled a goal, the Magicians struck again, this time with a goal shot by Brock Jones, assisted by Jayden Luck and Ben Svangstu. The first period ended with a 2-0 Minot lead.

The Braves returned to the ice determined to fight.

“The boys stayed focused and committed to their style of play,” Nostdahl said.

The Braves’ defenders held the Magicians back in their own zone. Braves goalie Easton Freeman, a sophomore at Bottineau, stayed busy at the net, logging 24 saves on 26 shots on goal for the game. Six minutes into the second period, the Braves struck their first blow with a goal by Colton Getzlaff, assisted by Matt Olson and Jacob Shriver. Less than one minute before the period ended, Ethan Siemens tied the score for the Braves with an unassisted goal.

The Braves stayed in Magicians territory for much of the third period, holding Minot at bay. With just under a minute and a half to go, Siemens landed the go-ahead goal for the Braves. A timeout by the Magicians did little to help. Freeman kept the goal secure and the Braves denied Minot any more shots. The 3-2 win gave the Braves bragging rights and a chance to move on to semifinals.

Versus Bismarck Legacy Sabres

The Braves took on the Bismarck Legacy Sabres next. The Braves had seen two regular-season defeats to the Sabres before regionals.

An Olson goal assisted by Siemens and Getzlaff led the Braves’ scoring drive in the first period before Lucas Vasey tied the score with assistance from Marcus Butts for the Sabres.

The Braves kicked off the second period with a power play goal by Siemens, assisted by Gabe Glasner and Macen Heisler. Seconds later, Vasey tied again, assisted by Butts and Caleb Moore on even strength after Butts returned from the penalty box on a two-minute cross-checking call. Less than a minute later, Sabres took the lead on a goal shot by Easton Moos, assisted by Avery McMahon and Josiah Will.

Sabres capped their lead with a goal shot by Elliot Houn, assisted by Butts. Penalties set the Braves back, with Dalton Vietz-Reile serving five minutes for checking from behind and Heisler serving two minutes for tripping. However, in the same period, the Sabres interfered with a Braves shot, giving them a penalty shot opportunity. The Braves failed to score, giving the Sabres a 4-2 win.

Versus Mandan Braves

On the last day of the tournament, the Braves fought a hungry Mandan Braves team for a state play-in berth. Mandan’s Kyyan Jahner scored first, assisted by Carter Kilen and Matthew Haider. Rugby’s Andrew Lemar would score the Bottineau-Rugby Braves’ only goal for the game in the second period, assisted by Heisler. Mandan Braves would answer with goals shot by Tukker Horner and Kilen to win the game 3-1.

Nostdahl said he was “really proud of the guys for proving a lot of people wrong. That win against Minot will go down as probably the crowning achievement of the year.

“It would have been nice to win another game or two, but hey, we put ourselves in a spot where we had two chances to go to state. It just wasn’t our night on those last two games,” Nostdahl added.

“At the end of the day I thought we poured our heart and soul into the everything,” Nostdahl said. “We’ll be losing a lot of seniors here, those guys helped transform our culture and the young guys were fortunate to learn a lot from them.

“Hopefully the guys put in a lot of work this off season, and they all have a bright future ahead of them,” Nostdahl added.