The Jamestown Ironmen tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Bismarck Bobcats held on for a 4-3 victory.
A goal by Cory Chapman put Bismarck up 4-1 in the second period, but Jamestown pulled to within one on Tyler Dunagan‘s tally 19:59 into the third period.
The win gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead in the best of one series.
Bismarck forced the Ironmen’s netminders to work between the pipes, getting 33 shots and forcing 29 saves. Blake Wojtala made 16 stops and Joe Ballmer made 13.
The Bobcats were helped by Stanislav Dzakhov, who had one goal. Dzakhov scored 1:25 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Bismarck. Matt Pohlkamp assisted on the tally. Chris Diver also scored for Bismarck. More assists for Bismarck came via Matt Anders, who had two and Rory Vesel, Bob Kinne, Shane Omdahl, and Patrick Moore, who each chipped in one.
Jamestown put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Bismarck to score on any of its three power plays.
The Ironmen were helped by Daniel Cesarz, who registered one goal. Cesarz scored 1:07 into the second period to make the score 1-1. Nicholas Sierra picked up the assist. Jamestown also got a goal from Victor Johansson as well. Other players who recorded assists for Jamestown were Ryan Doucet and Michael Mazzotta, who contributed one a piece.
Bryan Nies took the win and made nine saves before being replaced by Aaron Nelson who made five saves. The Bobcats incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. Jamestown incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with three minors.
