Austin Bruins Split Weekend Series Against Minot Austin and Minot split their weekend series as the Bruins bounced back Saturday, while Rochester swept St. Louis with wins on Friday and Saturday.

The Austin Bruins and Minot Minotauros split their weekend series, with Minot taking Friday’s matchup 5-4 before Austin responded with a 4-2 win Saturday night.

On Friday, Austin got off to a strong start when Logan Lambrecht scored on the powerplay just 15 seconds after Minot was called for slashing. The Bruins carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission despite being outshot 15-10.

Minot came out firing in the second period, scoring twice in just eight seconds. Philip Wiklund tied the game on a breakaway before former Rochester Grizzlies forward Briggs Knott put the Tauros ahead. Joey Dellacroce added a power-play goal later in the period to give Minot a 3-1 lead.

Austin battled back in the third. Viktor Olihn cut the deficit to one before Brett Ludvigsen scored on the power play to tie the game at 3-3. The Bruins converted three of five power-play opportunities, but Minot found the deciding goal late in the period when Wiklund finished a pass from Jacob Faith at 16:05 to secure the win.

The Bruins bounced back Saturday night with a 4-2 victory. Andrew Leung opened the scoring in the first period, beating Minot goaltender Ryan Bodnar with a wrist shot from the blue line. Logan Brown extended Austin’s lead in the second period, giving the Bruins a 2-0 advantage heading into the third.

Minot responded with goals from Knott and Dellacroce to even the score at 2-2.However, first-year Bruin Tevin Stukel delivered the go-ahead goal late in the third period, scoring his first career NAHL goal to put Austin back in front.

Leung sealed the victory with an empty-net, shorthanded goal in the final minutes. The veteran defenseman finished the night with two goals, while goaltender Hayden Demaso stopped 26 of 28 shots to earn his second win of the season.

Austin improved to 6-3-0-0 on the season with the win, while Minot fell to 7-2-0-0. The Bruins will head to North Dakota next weekend to face the Bismarck Bobcats.

The Rochester Grizzlies also had a successful weekend, sweeping the St. Louis Jr. Blues in a two-game series.

Friday: Rochester Grizzlies 5, St. Louis Jr. Blues 2

Saturday: Rochester Grizzlies 4, St. Louis Jr. Blues 1

Both games were played at the Blues Arena, with Rochester earning back-to-back wins to complete the weekend sweep.