The second period was a more even affair as the shot totals went in St. Cloud’s favor 12-10, with Danish defenseman Luis Gerhoffer scoring his first goal of the season. But it was answered twofold by Aberdeen’s Filip Henriksson and Melker Hof to give the Wings a comfortable lead going into the third period. Henriksson would score another goal early in the third period to increase the lead. Just when the game was looking out of reach, St. Cloud forward Mate Tardi scored three goals in less than five minutes, two on the power play, to give himself a natural hat trick and give the Norseman some life. But it may have been short-lived, as Aberdeen defenseman Lucas Schaefer would score his first goal of the season exactly halfway through the period, and Riffey would score his second not long after to give Aberdeen their eighth goal of the night. St. Cloud’s Blake Duan would score late in the period to cut the lead to three, but they would not get another one past Braun as the Wings picked up the win 8-5. The Wins marks 800 in the storied career of Wings Head Coach and General Manager Scott Langer. Scott is the All Time Winningest Coach in NAHL History.
Both teams will play again Saturday to continue this Central Division rivalry series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm, you can watch the game on NAHLTV of head to the Aberdeen Buffalo Wild Wings. Listen on 94.1 The Rock, HubCityRadio.com or The Rock App.
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ST. Cloud, MN (AberdeenWings.com) – [SAT] Aberdeen 5 vs St. Cloud 8 -The St. Cloud Norsemen defeated the Aberdeen Wings in a high-scoring Saturday night battle. Payne Riffey kicked off the scoring just two minutes into the opening frame to give the Wings an early lead, but Cristian Nichols scored for the Norsemen on the man advantage to even the score at the end of one. An eight-goal second period started with a power-play goal from St. Cloud’s Lucas Schaefer. The Norsemen would score the next two with Niklas Anderson and Kruz Sauer giving St. Cloud a one-goal advantage. But Aberdeen answered quickly when Ari Popovskiy added one just 18 seconds later, and Schaefer added his second goal of the frame to tie the score once again. The Norsemen capitalized on a long power play, finding three goals with Sauer and Nichols scoring their second of the game and Dante Rodriguez adding his first. Tucker Lovejoy continued the Norsemen’s power play scoring in the third period, but Aberdeen wasn’t going quietly, with Filip Hendriksson closing the gap to two with three minutes remaining. Dante Rodriguez brought the St. Cloud lead back to three and took home the victory by a score of 8-5. Braun stopped 26 of the 34 shots he faced.
The Wings return to the Odde for a single game vs. Watertown this Friday October 16th. Tickets are on sale now at Tickets.AberdeenWings.com or any of the C-Express locations in Aberdeen! Saturday the in state rivalry hits the road to Watertown for the 2nd of 3 straight games vs. the Shamrocks.