ALEXANDRIA, Minn.—The Alexandria Blizzard, off a two game loss, came out of this weekend’s series with a win over the Austin Bruins and a loss to the Coulee Region Chill.
The Runestone Community Center, decorated in ugly Christmas sweaters, hosted the Austin Bruins Friday night. The Blizzard, who lost both of their last games to the Bruins, gave their fans an exciting performance as they fought hard for a redemption win.
Colton Kramer, forward for the Bruins, struck first as he put the puck past Blizzard goaltender, Jacob Meyers, at the 8:51 mark in the first period. To tie the game 1-1, Grand Forks, N.D. native, Casey Purper, scored a Blizzard goal to close out the first.
The sole goal in the second period came from Bruins defensemen, Connor Quinn, who capitalized on a Blizzard penalty by scoring a power-play goal and taking the lead 2-1.
It wasn’t until six seconds left in the third period and a Blizzard empty net, that Dylan Zink, Blizzard defensemen, got a piece of the puck, with his slap shot, to sail into the net creating an overtime opportunity for the Blizzard.
A shoot-out seemed inevitable as the overtime period winded down without sight of a game-winning goal. It would be up to NAHL goalie of the month, Meyers, to perform at a level that he has been recognized for and to stop the Bruins from driving the puck into the net.
The Blizzard would rely on Charlie Aus, Dylan Zink and Seth Ronsberg to get the puck past Bruins goaltender, Tyler Bruggeman. The Blizzard strategy was simple.
“Our mentality was to have some fun with it, it’s just like were in practice, and put the puck in the net,” said forward Ronsberg.
With all aspects of the game up to par, Meyers stopped each of the three Bruins shots as Aus, Zink and Ronsberg sniped the puck past Bruins goaltender, Bruggeman, to finalize a Blizzard shoot-out victory.
The victory celebration however, would fall short as the Blizzard hosted the Chill Saturday in the Pack the House affair at the RCC.
The Blizzard would strike first with a goal from forward, Nick DAvolio, but with a brief breakdown, the Blizzard would go on to lose 3-4 to the Chill.
“We outplayed them for 95 percent of the game,” said Ronsberg. “For five minutes in the game we had a defensive meltdown, which caused them to score a couple of goals and it cost us the game.”
The Blizzard will have the chance to redeem themselves when they travel to the Omni Center to go head to head with the Chill Friday and Saturday. Face-off for those games will be at 7 p.m.
Alexandria’s Miracle Match-Up, an exhibition game against the Russian Red Stars, will take place on Dec. 19 in the RCC. Tickets can be purchased at the Blizzard office in the RCC or by calling 320-763-7600. For more information, contact bryant@alexandriablizzard.com
Kaylee Kulich
Public/Community Relations