BISMARCK, ND (NAHL.com) – Both Dakota teams head into this contest looking to punch their ticket to the Central Division Final. In a win-or-go-home affair, the two teams found twine in the opening frame. The Wings struck first thanks to a tally by the University of Alaska-Anchorage commit, Matthew Martin, in the first three minutes of the contest.

Less than three minutes later, Caden Bell would ring the bell for Bismarck on the power play off a deflection from Aberdeen’s netminder, Willum Braun. As the contest was tied moving into the middle frame, there were crooked numbers on the scoreboard. The Bobcats outshot the Wings 17 to 5 in the first 20 minutes of regulation. Moving into the second period, Aberdeen would regain the lead quickly thanks to a tally by Caden Lee during a frenzy in front of Bryce Francisco’s blue paint. The goal would be reviewed and ultimately be named a good goal with 14:31 on the clock.

The Bobcats would strike back seven minutes later as Alex Lunski tips in a power-play goal in front of the net to even the score 2-2 in the middle frame. However, before the teams head to the second intermission, the Wings would snatch a lead back off of a power play in the final minute of the period. Jibber Kuhl strikes in one-timer fashion to give Aberdeen the 3-2 advantage into the final 20 minutes of regulation. In the final frame, the captain would strike for the second time in the postseason.

Owen Pitters lights the lamp exactly nine minutes into the third period for the Wings. The final two daggers of the contest would come from Brody Dustin scoring empty-netters in the last three minutes of the game as Bismarck pulled their netminder. The Wings punched their ticket to the Division Final and will face the Austin Bruins on Friday and Saturday night this weekend. Between the pipes, Willum Braun turned aside 35 out of 37 shots on net to secure the Wings the victory. A note about this series: the first team to score would eventually be the winner of the contest.