Express look to bounce Bobcats on Owatonna

To say the Express struggled against the Bismarck Bobcats this season would be a pretty big understatement.

In 12 games, the Express picked up just two wins and lost four other games in shootouts. The other six games were outright losses.

Ask anyone in the Owatonna locker room about those numbers, however, and they will all tell you that is old news.

“The playoffs is a whole different animal,” defenseman Tim Smith said. “Some teams show up and some teams don’t. We’re a playoff team. I think we proved that against North Iowa.”

It’s tough to argue with that. After going 6-7 against the Outlaws in the regular season, Owatonna jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the series, and then dispatched North Iowa in four games.

“The playoffs are just different,” Express coach Pat Cullen said, echoing Smith’s statement. “Right now, our record against Bismarck is 0-0. North Iowa had a better record than us in the regular season, and we beat them. Where do you draw the line?”

While I don’t know the exact answer to that question, I do know that the Express had a hard time against the Bobcats this season — much harder than against North Iowa. Owatonna went 0-3-3 in games at Bismarck, including a pair of losses in the final weekend of the regular season. Cullen said he was able to glean a few bits of information from those season-ending losses to Bismarck.

“All of that is in the past, it’s behind us,” Cullen said. “We have to move on and get ready for the series. Yeah, we found some stuff, but I’m not going to tell. Why would I? (The Bobcats) have the ability to read the paper, too.”

I don’t profess to know everything about hockey. In fact, I really don’t know much at all. But I do know the key to beating Bismarck is getting past the Bobcats’ defense and goalie duo of David Bosner and Matt Grogan. The Bobcats were second in the league in goals allowed with 2.09 per game. Only St. Louis had a better mark at 2.05. Bosner was second in the league with a 1.83 goals against average, while Grogan finished fifth at 2.17.

The Bobcats ran a rotation in goal all season and have continued that in the playoffs. Bosner won 24 games with a .933 save percentage, while Grogan had 19 wins with a .925 save percentage. Both goalies have played in two playoff games and have a GAA around 1.50.

Offensively, the Bobcats ranked third in the Central Division and eighth in the NAHL with 3.48 goals scored per game. Owatonna lit the lamp 3.69 times per game. The Express’ number took a big dip against Bismarck, however, as Owatonna averaged just 1.83 goals against the Bobcats.

If the Express hope to turn things around against Bismarck, finding holes around Bosner and Grogan is going to be key.

Share:

Guidelines: Welcome to the Owatonna People's Press community. Please keep your comments civil. Don't attack other readers personally and keep your language decent. If you would like to report abuse click here to notify us.

Login and voice your opinion!