The 2011-12 season for the Austin Bruins came to a close Saturday night at the hands of the Bismarck Bobcats. It was a 4-1 loss at home in game four in the best-of-five North American Hockey League Central Division Championship Series that ended the second spectacular season for the Bruins. Bismarck advanced to the national championship in Texas.
Games one and two in Bismarck were spilt by the teams as they headed to Riverside Arena for games three and four. After a too-little-too-late 3-2 loss for the Bruins Friday night, it was do-or-die Saturday. I have been to a fair share of games this season, including the clinching win of the first playoff series and even the growingly-popular "Paint the Rink Pink" night.
Boys came to play
The first period between the Bruins and Bobcats was about everything you could ask for in a good hockey game. It was clear the boys on both sides were ready to play - and hit. Players were flying on their skates, bodies were being thrown hard into the boards and the crowd of 1,778 came to Riverside with tons of energy.
It was the Bruins who struck first, with a power-play goal by No. 9 Chris Fischer at 8:14 of the first period. Little did they know it would be the last goal of the season. Bismarck tied it up on the power play with just under five minutes remaining in the first period.
Bruins just didn't have the magic
Neither the second or third periods were as energy-filled and evenly-paced as the first. The Bobcats nabbed the momentum early in period two with a goal just about a minute in for a 2-1 lead they wouldn't look back from. It came from a nice rush into the zone, beating Austin goalie Tyler Bruggeman.
As the second wore on, I just had a feeling the Bruins were not going to get it done. Bismarck was a strong team and their pressure on the Bruins when they tried to set up offensively was pretty darn good. The back-breaker for the Bruins came with about 10 minutes left in the game when the Bobcats made it 3-1. The fourth tally was an empty-netter.
Clever visiting goalie in a good atmosphere
Not a bad hockey game. Although, I could have done without the macho-type goaltender for Bismarck. He seemed to have quite the temper on him. Right from the first whistle, he took issue with players getting anywhere near his crease. He was a little too quick to get upset that early in the game, in my opinion. There were a couple times where I thought he also knocked the goal off its pegs when there was some scrambling pressure in front of him. Not cool, dude.
Going back to the atmosphere, it wasn't just the Bruins fans that were cheering. Bismarck had a good contingency of fans in the arena as well, maybe the biggest visiting crowd I've noticed at Riverside. Good for them for making the drive to support their boys. I also liked the Bobcat jerseys; black and "Andover Huskies" gold, as opposed to the Bruins and their black and yellow-gold.
Season two in the books
Even though the Bruins season ended with a tough loss, I'd say it was a pretty successful second year for the hockey club. As I've learned from my stories as work, their attendance at Riverside doubled this year, and they continue to be out helping the community. I just wrote a story last week about some Bruins players helping to move books for the Austin Public Library's spring book sale.
I look forward to going to more games next year. The Austin Bruins have gotten this community excited about hockey, even if they sometimes do get a little more excited to see the fights than the end-to-end play. Good luck next year, Bruins.
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