The power play was on display in Thursday’s North American Hockey League Showcase contest between the Maine Nordiques and the Bismarck Bobcats.
Maine (1-1-0, 2 points) scored three times on the man advantage in a 4-2 victory over Bismarck at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota. Aidan Connolly scored a goal and had an assist for the Nordiques, while Auburn native and Army commit Reese Farrell had three assists.
“There was a bunch of veteran guys out there (on the power play), executing the game plan,” Nordiques coach Nolan Howe said. “Coach (Matt) Pinchevskly put them in a great position to be successful.”
The Nordiques’ power play went to work in the first period, and Connolly gave Maine a 1-0 lead nine minutes into the game.
Connolly then set up Matt Connor’s power-play goal with five minutes remaining in the first period.
Farrell assisted on each of Maine’s first two goals.
Rookie forward Bryce Bollman scored an even-strength goal with under three minutes to play in the first period. Liam Walsh and Evan Orloff recorded their first NAHL points with assists on the goal, which put the Nordiques up 3-0.
“(Bollman) is a hard-worker with an infectious personality. He loves being at the rink and he has a heck of a shot, too,” Howe said. “It was good to see that line connect, and got a good look from his linemates. It was our first 5-on-5 goal of the season. It’s something we look to build off of.”
Ignat Belov scored Maine’s third power-play goal of the first period to extend the lead to 4-0. Farrell notched his third assist on the goal, and Connolly also was credited with a helper.
In the second period, the Bobcats struck twice on power plays. Eddie Shepler notched the first goal nearly seven minutes into the period, and Drew Holt scored the second midway through the stanza.
“(The penalty kill) needs to get better, that’s three goals against in the first two games,” Howe said. “It’s something we really pride ourselves on, and it starts by getting the right personnel out there and guys doing their job. It’s something we look to clean up as we move forward.”
The Nordiques went 3-for-4 on the power play, while the Bobcats were 2-for-4.
Maine commit Tyler Gaulin scored an empty-net goal for the Nordiques in the final seconds of the game to make it 5-2.
Army recruit Gus Holt stopped 33 shots to pick up his first win of the season for the Nordiques. Erikk Forss turned aside 31 shots for Bismarck.
Maine plays the Kenai River Brown Bears on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
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