The Fresno Monsters tried to dig themselves out of a two-goal hole, but the Bismarck Bobcats held on for a 2-1 victory.

A goal by Rory Vesel put Bismarck up 2-0 in the third period, but Fresno pulled to within one on Mitchell Snyder's tally 15:34 into the third period.

The Bobcats were led by goalie Bryan Nies, who finished with 35 saves while allowing one goal. Nies managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 1.75 prior to the game.

Bismarck stifled the Monsters' power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. The Bobcats relied on a core group of players for most of their offense, as Shane Omdahl, Vesel and Joe Hockert took 17 of the team's 33 shots.

Bismarck also got a goal from Joseph Kaszupski as well. Other players who recorded assists for Bismarck were Evan Giesler, Adam Knochenmus, and Cory Chapman, who contributed one a piece.

Fresno's offense rang up 36 shots on Bismarck's net.

In addition, Fresno received assists from Newton Fuller and Kyle Buffardi, who each chipped in one.

The Bobcats totaled 33 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major and went 1-for-4 on the power play. For Bismarck, Hockert was ejected from the game. Macauley Haight rejected 31 shots on goal for the Monsters. Fresno totaled 33 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major and went 0-for-4 on the power play. The Monsters ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Tyler Shipstad was ejected from the game.