The Gillette Wild pulled out a 4-3 (OT) overtime victory over the Bozeman Icedogs on a clutch goal by Alex King.
Gillette got the win thanks to a great game by King, who had one goal and three assists. King scored 56 seconds into overtime to make the score 4-3 Gillette. Chase Engdahl assisted on the tally.
The Wild\’s penalty kill excelled, as Gillette gave up one goal despite allowing 11 power plays.
The Wild forced their penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up 11 minors and one major for 47 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 21.0 minutes per game Gillette had been spending in the box. The Wild\’s offense rang up 56 shots on Bozeman\’s net.
Gillette also got a goal from Andrii Istominov as well. Other players who recorded assists for Gillette were Brandon Miller, who had one and Trent Dillinger, who had three.
The the Icedogs penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled nine minors and two majors for 58 minutes in penalty time. Bozeman surpassed its season average of 24.0 penalty minutes per game. The Icedogs\’ defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals.
Bozeman was helped by Ricky Green, who registered one goal. Green scored on the power play 54 seconds into the second period to make the score 2-1 Gillette. Steven Nisbet picked up the assist. Bozeman also got points from Gunnar Mogck, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Ryan Erickson also scored for Bozeman. More assists for Bozeman came via JD Costantini and Kegan Couture, who each chipped in two.
Sean Kelley recorded 13 saves for Gillette. The Wild registered one goal on nine power play opportunities. Gillette ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Darren Banks was ejected from the game. The Icedogs\’ Zach Skop stopped 52 shots out of the 56 that he faced. For Bozeman, Weston Blatter was ejected from the game.