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 By Jeff Baranick
A memorable North Dakota prep basketball season
concluded this past weekend with some great performances
registered at the state A and B boys' cage tourneys
hosted by Bismarck and Minot, respectively. KDKT was on
the scene in the Capital City at the Bismarck Event
Center, covering all Beulah Miner and Killdeer Cowboy
contests. In particular, the Division A
title-tilt--pairing heavyweights Devils Lake and
Kindred--was one for the ages, considering how it
unfolded. Devils Lake--capitalizing on a red-hot start
from the field shooting--broke out to a commanding 42-16
lead late in the 1st half. But from that point forward,
the Vikings turned the tables on the Firebirds,
outscoring the defending champs 43-16 the rest of the
game to win the contest 59-58 on a buzzer-beating tip-in
by Soph G Brooks Bakko. Kindred once again displayed
terrific scoring balance, featuring four players in
double-figures, led by tourney-MVP Karson Ouse who
tallied 17 points. The Firebirds had three players notch
double-figures in points-production, paced by Sr P
Oliver Wirth who netted 18 counters. For Kindred,
Saturday evening's championship win was its first since
2021; and it followed runner-up state finishes garnered
in 2022 and last year. The Vikings ended their season
with a sterling final record of 25-1. In other placement
games at the state A, Wahpeton whipped Killdeer 65-45
for 7th, getting a combined 47 points from guard tandem
Brayden Steffens and Bjorn Kubela. In the 5th-place
tussle, Des Lacs-Burlington claimed consolation-bracket
honors by pulling away late from Beulah, 60-48. Leading
the Lakers to their double-digit win was Sr G Colton
Feller who poured in 28 points against the Miners and 84
total in three tourney outings. Finally, nabbing 3rd
place at the state A was hometown Shiloh Christian, as
the Skyhawks spanked the Thompson Tommies 76-64. The
Shiloh trio of Caden Englund, Wyatt Westin, and Carson
Quam combined for 58 points, with Englund recording a
double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while also
dishing out 7 assists. At the Division B state
tournament in the Magic City at the MSU Dome, hometown
Bishop Ryan earned its first championship since 1994,
routing defending state titlist Westhope-Newburg in the
final, 52-33. The Lions advanced to the title clash by
handling Hankinson in the quarterfinals 45-26 and
surviving district-foe Minot Our Redeemer's in the
semis, 61-56, in overtime. The Sioux reached the final
by blasting North Border in a quarterfinal-matchup 62-39
and holding off top-ranked & top-seeded Wilton-Wing in
the semis, 54-48. In other Saturday placement games at
the Dome, North Border outlasted Oakes in two overtimes,
70-68, to nab 7th place; New Rockford-Sheyenne nipped
Hankinson 59-57 for 5th; and Our Redeemer's walloped
Wilton-Wing 82-55 for 3rd. Regarding end-of-season
hoops' honors, in Division A, Devils Lake G Parker
Brodina was named Senior Athlete of the Year and
Kindred's Brad Woehl was accorded Coach of the Year
distinction. In Division B, Walker Braaten of
Westhope-Newburg was recognized as Senior Athlete of the
Year and Wilton-Wing head mentor Scott Wolff was
announced as Coach of the Year.
Filed
by Veteran KDKT Sportscaster Jeff Baranick
Listen for Jeff on Friday Night Live - Friday
Nights 9pm/Central
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 This
Week's Wrap-Up: The Bismarck Bobcats swept
the St. Cloud Norsemen this weekend and now have the
second-best record in the entire NAHL at 41-10-1.
Bismarck beat St. Cloud in game one of the series
5-4 in a shootout. Each team scored once in the
first period, twice in the second, and once in the
third. Jakub Kopecky scored the game's first goal 13
minutes into the first period assisted by Matthew
Rafalski and Josh Lehto. The Norsemen tied the game
at one with a goal in the final minute and a half of
the opening period. Keanu Krenn gave the Bobcats the
lead back with a goal in the opening two minutes of
the second period off an assist from Julian Beaumont
and Calle Arvedson. St. Cloud took their first lead
of the game 14 minutes into the second period with
two consecutive goals separated by 20 seconds. Wyatt
Sypniewski tied the game back up in the final minute
and a half of the period with a goal assisted by
Nick Snyder and Tristen Trevino. The Norsemen
regained the lead in the opening three minutes of
the third period. Tommy Cronin sent the game into
overtime with a goal seven minutes into the third
period assisted by Louie Kamienski and Julian
Beaumont. Neither team found the back of the net in
the overtime period, and St. Cloud was the first to
go during the shootout. Tomas Anderson sent back the
Norsemen's first shooter while Evan Hunter found the
back of the net on Bismarck's first attempt in the
shootout. Anderson denied St. Cloud's second shooter
while Cronin's shot was sent back. Anderson
stone-walled the Norsemen's final shooter to win the
game for the Bobcats. Julian Beaumont was Bismarck's
only multiple-point scorer with two assists. Tomas
Anderson was in the net for the Bobcats and saved 30
of the 34 shots he faced. The Bobcats followed it up
with a 2-1 shootout victory in the final game of the
series. St. Cloud got onto the scoreboard in the
opening three minutes of the game. Jakub Kopecky
tied the game up two minutes later with a goal
assisted by Keanu Krenn and Ollie Chessler. Both
defenses and goalies held strong for the remainder
of regulation and overtime periods. St. Cloud had
the first opportunity in the shootout and found the
back of the net. Evan Hunter answered with a goal to
tie it up at one. The next three shooters for both
teams were stoned-walled by the opposing goalies.
Anderson denied the Norsemen's shooter in the fifth
round of the shootout, but Alexandr Kim found the
back of the net to win Bismarck the game. Anderson
was in between the pipes for the Bobcats and saved
22 of the 23 shots he faced. Bismarck is back on the
road next weekend to take on the North Iowa Bulls on
March 28th and 29th. The Minot Minotauros split
their series with the Austin Bruins this weekend,
and they both remained tied for second in the NAHL
Central Division with 79 points. Both Minot and
Austin have clinched spots in the NAHL Playoffs.
Minot won game one of the series 3-1. Gavin
Middendorf put the Minotauros up 2-0 in the second
period as he scored his first goal assisted by Ian
Spencer and John Small. Middendorf's second goal was
assisted by Billy Batten and Adam Mahler. Austin
scored their only goal six minutes into the third
period. Middendorf recorded a hat-trick in the final
20 seconds of the game with a goal assisted by Ian
Spencer and Adam Mahler. Both Spencer and Mahler
recorded two assists in the win and were the final
multiple-point scorers for the Minotauros. Lukas
Swedin was in between the pipes for Minot and
survived the peppering he received from the Bruins,
saving 50 of the 51 shots he faced. Austin finished
with a dominant 5-0 win in game two of the series.
The Bruins scored four goals in the first period and
added their final goal in the opening minute of the
second period. Lukas Swedin started the game in the
net for Minot and played the entire first period
saving 12 of the 16 shots he faced. Will Mizenko
played the final 40 minutes in between the pipes for
Minot and saved 29 of the 30 shots he faced. Minot
will be back inside the Maysa Arena on March 28th
and 29th to host the Austin Bruins with puck drop at
7:35 pm on both nights. The UND Fighting Hawks
season came to an end on March 21st as they fell 4-2
to the Western Michigan Broncos. UND finished with a
21-15-2 overall record marking the first time since
1990 that they eclipsed 20 wins and didn't reach the
NCAA Tournament. Western Michigan scored the game's
first goal 12 minutes into the first period. Sacha
Boisvert answered with a powerplay goal in the final
2 minutes of the first period assisted by Cameron
Berg and Owen McLaughlin. Neither team scored in the
second period but the Broncos outscored the Fighting
Hawks 3-1 in the third period. Western Michigan
broke the tie seven minutes into the third period
and added to their lead with an empty net goal in
the final two minutes of regulation. Boisvert
brought the Fighting Hawks back within one with a
goal with 51 seconds remaining in the game assisted
by Owen McLaughlin. The Broncos added their final
insurance goal with an empty netter in the final 30
seconds. Boisvert and McLaughlin were the only
multiple-point scorers for UND. Boisvert lit the
lamp twice while McLaughlin recorded two assists.
Boisvert closed out his freshman campaign with 18
goals which are the most by a freshman since Brock
Boeser in the 2015-16 season. He also was the first
UND rookie to lead the team in both goals and points
with 32. McLaughlin finished his season with 30
points for the second-most on the team and paced the
squad with 25 assists. TJ Semptimphelter was in the
net for the Fighting Hawks and finished the game
with 37 saves. He finished his final collegiate
season with a .910 save percentage and an 18-11-2
record. The Minot State Beavers season has also come
to an end as they fell 4-0 to Adrian College in the
ACHA National Tournament Semifinals. Minot State got
to the semifinals by taking down Purdue University
Northwest 4-1 in the first round. The Beavers then
took down Drury University 4-0 in the quarterfinals.
Adrian College took control of the game with three
goals in the second period, and they scored their
final goal six minutes into the third period. Jake
Anthony was in between the pipes for the Beavers and
saved 22 of the 26 shots he faced. Minot State
finished the season with a 38-3-1 overall record and
they were 23-1 against conference opponents. Carter
Barley led the Beavers offensively this year with 50
points. He finished the year with 20 goals and 30
assists. Christian Kadolph was the second-leading
scorer with 49 points from eight goals and 41
assists.
Filed
by KDKT Sportscaster Josh Coleman
Listen for Josh on Friday Night Live - Friday
Nights 9pm/Central
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