We talked to Alex Bitsakis after he earned his first ever shutout over the Bruins, 3-0. “It was nice to get my first shutout early on in the year. It was my first junior shutout so that was good. I’m trying to help the team win, but that’s just a bonus,” Bitsakis stated. Coach Roth states that the Bobcats are pleased with either goaltender. “Alex has done a really good job for us in between the pipes. He’s very sound, he has junior experience. I feel that we’ve played pretty good hockey in front of him and when we’ve had a breakdown, he’s been able to bail us out. Right now we’re really confident in our goaltending, and you obviously need really good goaltending at this level to win hockey games week in and week out. Moving forward, with whatever goaltender we put in, we’re pretty pleased with their effort so far.” We talked to Oskars Batna, who is a native of Riga, Latvia, and got the game winner that quieted the “Deen Dome.” Batna has a big body that is 6’4″ and capable of hitting people. “I always go hard. My style of hockey is aggressive. I take hits. I use my big body.” A week ago Saturday, that big body helped the Bobcats grab a 2-0 lead in the battle for the Titan Machinery Dakota Cup. Coach Roth said about Batna “Up until this point, he’s brought good energy, he’s a big body, he really works hard, he competes and he’s just all over the puck. He throws his weight around at 6’4″ and he’s an intimidating force out there. We felt that on Saturday, he had his best game to date, and he got rewarded with getting a goal and the game-winner for us.”
