Bismarck Bobcats Preview

Bismarck Bobcats:

- This will be the first full year led by Coach Byron Pool who took over part way through last season.

- The Bobcats finished last in the Central Division standings last season.

- The Bobcats scored the 2nd fewest goals in the NAHL in 2007/08 with 148. Only the Kenai River Brown Bears scored fewer with 144.

- Important pieces gone from last year's Bobcat team: Goalie Jake Kremer (University of Minnesota), Kyle Maggard (43 points), Joel Whited (37 points), Tye Lewis (27 points/Omaha-USHL), Nick & Nate Taurence (traded to Motor City Machine)

- The Bobcats have a total of 9 guys with previous NAHL experience on the roster.

- Former Express forward Jordan Singer is a member of the Bobcats this season. He was traded with former Express defenseman Chris Slavik from Motor City to Bismarck for the Taurence twins.

- Other former Express players with the Bobcats include Devin Schmitt and Derek Kohles.

- The Bobcats finished 1-2-1 at the Showcase last weekend. They beat Motor City 4-1, lost to Traverse City 3-2 in a shootout, lost to Mahoning Valley 5-1, and lost 5-1 to the USNTDP U17 team. They are currently in 2nd place in the division, 1 point ahead of the Express.

- The Express and Bobcats will play 12 times during the regular season with each team hosting 6 games.


My take: It's hard to get a read on this year's Bobcats. They had a problem scoring goals last season. Despite their last place finish in the division, they were competitive in most of their games last year, mostly due to outstanding goaltending from Jake Kremer. Kremer will be a member of the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team this season. So, you have trouble scoring goals to begin with, lose your top 2 scorers, and lose your excellent goalie. Not exactly a recipe for success. That being said, you can't write this team off. Jordan Singer and Cody Keefer are going to score some goals for the Bobcats, and the Bosner kid in goal should give them at least a chance every night. It's too hard to tell what their batch of rookies will be able to accomplish. With 4 out of 5 teams qualifying for the playoffs, the Bobcats will be a factor.

--BK