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Braves fall 2-6 to Ice Dawgs in away game

By Sue Sitter - | Dec 31, 2022

Sue Sitter/PCT Bottineau-Rugby’s Macen Heisler, left, looks for a pass Dec. 27 at Kim Braaten Arena in Mayville.  The Bottineau-Rugby Braves fell to the May-Port Ice Dawgs 2-6.

The Bottineau-Rugby Braves had little time to rest during holiday break as they hit the road for two away games hoping to improve their record.

The 1-3 Braves’ first stop was Kim Braaten Memorial Arena in Mayville, where Bottineau-Rugby took on the May-Port Ice Dawgs Tuesday, Dec. 27. The Ice Dawgs went into the match with a four-win, two-loss record.

Both defenses stayed sharp for much of the first period until the Ice Dawgs penetrated Braves territory and hung on. Forward Braden Faul shot the first of six goals for May-Port, assisted by Walker McGillis.

The Braves, who have struggled with penalties this season so far, stayed clear of the box for the period and held the Dawgs at bay for a while.

Midway in period 2, the Dawgs struck again, this time with a goal by McGillis, assisted by Johnathan Mus.

The Braves began to struggle.

The first penalty of the game, a roughing call, landed the Ice Dawgs’ Mus in the box. The power play opportunity faded away in two minutes with the Braves unable to take advantage.

The next penalty call landed Braves forward Alex Lorenz in the box. Lucas Fugleburg landed a power play goal for the Ice Dawgs, assisted by Mus and Noah Mehus.

About one minute later, McGillis landed his second goal for the Ice Dawgs, assisted again by Mus.

Early in the third period, Bottineau-Rugby’s offense began to jell. Braves swarmed May-Port goalie Trevin Applegren.

Tukker Fedje landed the first of two Braves goals, assisted by Rugby High senior Macen Heisler.

A Braves roughing penalty opened up another chance for a power play for the Ice Dawgs. Mehus took advantage, shooting the team’s fifth goal unassisted.

The clock ran down another minute before the Braves found a chance to stay inside May-Port territory. Heisler shot the Braves’ second goal, assisted by Alex Lorenz.

In a last-ditch effort to narrow the gap as the clock ran down, the Braves subbed an extra player for their goalie. The move failed when Mehus gained control of the puck and smacked the Ice Dawgs’ sixth and final goal of the game.

The Braves boarded the bus with a 6-2 loss to add to their record and one day of practice before heading to Bismarck to take on the Bismarck Legacy Sabers.

Braves Coach Jesse Nostdahl said after the game, “We can’t afford to make as many mistakes as we have been making.”

“As we are trying to grow and learn we just need to grind through as we develop more chemistry and comfort in our gameplay,” he added. “Our margin for error is very low, so we need to tighten up our defensive play and be loose when we go on the attack.”

“We’ll keep at it here and hopefully we can take some steps in the right direction consistently,” he said.

Results from the game against Bismarck Legacy will appear in the Jan. 7 Pierce County Tribune.