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Bismarck Bobcats
Bismarck Bobcats logo
City: Bismarck, North Dakota
League: NAHL
Division: Central
Founded: 1997
Home Arena: V.F.W. Sports Center
Colors: Black, White, Vegas Gold

              

Owner(s): Thom Brigl
Head Coach: Layne Sedevie
Media: Paul Teeple
KLXX (radio flagship)
Bismarck Tribune
KXMB-TV CBS 12
Franchise history
1997-2003: Bismarck Bobcats (AWHL)
2003-Present: Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)
Championships
Division Championships: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Borne Cups: 2003, 2004
Playoff Championships: 2010

The Bismarck Bobcats are a Junior A ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Central Division, and play out of Bismarck, North Dakota, in the V.F.W. Sports Center. Originally a part of the America West Hockey League, the Bobcats joined the NAHL in a merger of the two leagues in 2003. In 2005, the Bobcats hosted the Robertson Cup tournament.

The Bobcats are the 2010 Robertson Cup Champions, winning the national championship with a 3-0 victory over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on May 9, 2010. They are also the three-time defending NAHL Central Division champions.

In addition to the Robertson Cup, the Bobcats also won back-to-back Borne Cup titles as champions of the AWHL in 2002 and 2003. Their 2003 title was the last Borne Cup to be awarded prior to the NAHL-AWHL merger.

The Bismarck Bobcats came to Bismarck in 1997 and played their first season at the Bismarck Civic Center. They moved to the V.F.W. Sports Center the following year and have called it home ever since. The V.F.W. Sports Center was remodeled in the summer of 2008. The seating capacity 1,289 and with standing room is 1,450.

The Bobcats have had five head coaches in their tenure in Bismarck. Layne Sedevie is the current head coach, having been promoted from assistant coach following Byron Pool's decision to accept an associate head coach position with the Fargo Force of the USHL. Sedevie, a Bismarck native, was a goaltender at Bemidji State University and played professionally in the CHL before serving as assistant coach under Pool for the 2009-10 season. In his first season behind the bench he led the Bobcats to their third straight Central Division Playoff championship.

Pool, who served as head coach 2007-2010 was named the NAHL "Coach of the Year" in 2009. In addition to leading the team to its first-ever Robertson Cup title in 2010, he led the Bobcats to the most successful regular season in history in the 2008-2009 season. The Bobcats won 43 games and earned 88 points in the standings, which both set franchise records. The Bobcats won consecutive Central Division Playoff titles under Pool in 2009 and 2010.

Other former Bobcat coaches include; John Becanic (currently head coach of the Wenatchee Wild of the NAHL), Chad Johnson (currently head coach of the Lincoln Stars of the USHL) and Dane Litke (currently the Head Coach with the Janesville Jets of the NAHL).

The 2011-2012 season is the franchise's 14th season in Bismarck. They are the second-oldest franchise in the NAHL behind the Springfield Jr. Blues.

20th Anniversary Season[]

Bismarck Bobcats 20th anniversary logo

Bismarck Bobcats 20th Anniversary logo

The Bobcats will mark their 20th anniversary season in 2016-17. On July 5, 2016 the team released a special logo to mark the occasion and honor the team's past. The logo is topped off with nine stars (3 black and 6 gold) noting the teams 3 (black) league titles (2003, 2004, 2010) and 6 (gold) playoff division titles (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016). This logo design is similar to what international soccer teams do to mark championships on their team crest.

Rivalries[]

The Bobcats have three primary rivals: the Aberdeen Wings, the Alexandria Blizzard and the Minot Minotauros.

The longest-standing of the three rivalries is that which the Bobcats share with the Blizzard. The rivalry with Alexandria has built up since the Blizzard's entry in the league, and really hit its stride when the Bobcats eliminated the Blizzard from the playoffs in 2009 (when Alexandria was the reigning division playoff champion)[1], 2010[2] and 2011 (when the Blizzard won the regular season division title)[3]. The rivalry hit a crescendo during the 2011 playoffs when a line brawl touched off amid a Bobcats' 5-1 upset victory at the Runestone Community Center on April 2.

The Bobcats-Wings rivalry is in its second year, and is centered around the Titan Machinery Dakota Cup. The Bobcats, despite being the defending national champions in 2010-11, suffered multiple setbacks against the expansion Wings in front of capacity crowds at both teams' rinks before finally wrestling the new traveling trophy away from their South Dakota neighbors by a point total of 15-11[4].

The Bobcats and Tauros are in the first year of their intrastate rivalry, but the proximity (roughly 100 miles along US-83) of the two teams that share North Dakota has already produced multiple fights and plenty of bad blood[5].

Regular Season Records[]

Season GP W L OL SL PTS GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
American Frontier Hockey League
1997-98 60 27 27 6 - 60 260 269 - 4th
America West Hockey League
1998-99 60 31 25 4 - 66 211 212 - 5th
1999-00 58 30 22 6 - 66 240 214 1549 3rd
2000-01 60 32 24 4 - 68 248 228 1771 5th
2001-02 56 30 20 6 - 66 221 166 1156 5th Lost Semifinals
2002-03 56 37 13 6 - 80 231 159 1274 2nd North Won Championship
North American Hockey League
Season GP W L OL SL PTS GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
2003-04 56 30 22 4 - 64 184 184 1,066 3rd, West Lost Championship Game
2004-05 56 25 22 9 - 59 165 172 1,337 5th, West Did not qualify
2005-06 58 31 23 4 - 66 204 184 1,041 3rd, Central Lost First Round Series
2006-07 62 26 30 6 - 58 193 221 1,299 5th, Central Did not qualify
2007-08 58 20 32 6 - 46 148 215 1,217 6th, Central Did not qualify
2008-09 58 43 13 2 - 88 202 121 1,123 1st, Central Lost in Round Robin
2009-10 58 39 11 8 - 86 195 130 1,073 1st, Central Won Championship
2010-11 58 31 22 5 - 67 179 156 1,100 4th in Central Lost third round
2011-12 60 45 13 2 - 92 237 160 931 1st, Central lost in Round Robin
2012-13 60 35 16 9 - 79 183 140 889 2nd, Central lost in Round Robin
2013-14 60 31 24 5 - 67 176 157 797 3rd, Central lost in Divisional Final
2014-15 60 30 26 4 - 64 185 185 1,029 3rd, Central lost First Round Series
2015-16 60 37 19 4 - 78 185 133 927 1st, Central Lost in Robertson Cup Semifinals
2016-17 60 28 30 1 1 58 187 209 1,301 5th, Central Did not qualify
2017-18 60 24 30 4 2 54 165 184 1,186 5th, Central Did not qualify
2018-19 60 34 21 3 2 73 182 163 925 3rd, Central Lost Div. Semifinals
2019-20 52 32 12 5 3 72 178 130 582 2nd, Central Playoffs cancelled
2020-21 56 29 21 3 3 64 173 151 759 2nd, Central Lost Div. Final
2021-22 60 29 27 1 3 62 210 206 - 4th Central Lost Div. Semifinals
2022-23 60 29 25 4 2 64 197 182 - 5th Central Did not qualify

Playoffs[]

  • 2006
First Round, Fargo-Moorhead Jets defeated Bismarck Bobcats 3-games-to-1
  • 2009
First Round, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Alexandria Blizzard 3-games-to-1
Second Round, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Owatonna Express 3-games-to-2
Robertson Cup Round Robin, Bismarck Bobcats (1-3) - Eliminated (L, 2-4 vs. Phantoms; L, 2-5 vs. Bandits; W, 3-2 vs. Outlaws; L, 2-3 vs. Wild)
  • 2010
First Round, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Albert Lea Thunder 3-games-to-0
Second Round, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Alexandria Blizzard 3-games-to-0
Robertson Cup Round Robin, Bismarck Bobcats (2-2) - Qualified for Finals (W, 5-2 vs. Bandits; W, 6-1 vs. North Stars; L, 1-2 vs. Wild; L, 3-4 vs. Ice Dogs)
Robertson Cup Championship game, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Fairbanks Ice Dogs 3-0
Robertson Cup Champions
  • 2011
Divisional Semifinals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Alexandria Blizzard 3-games-to-2
Divisional Finals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Coulee Region Chill 3-games-to-2
Playoff Qualifier, Michigan Warriors defeated Bismarck Bobcats 2-games-to-0
  • 2012
Divisional Semifinals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Aberdeen Wings 3-games-to-1
Divisional Finals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Austin Bruins 3-games-to-1
Robertson Cup Round Robin, Bismarck Bobcats (1-2) - Eliminated (L, 1-5 vs. Fighting Falcons; W, 3-2 vs. Bandits; L, 2-6 vs. Bulls)
  • 2013
Divisional Semifinals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Brookings Blizzard 3-games-to-0
Divisional Finals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Austin Bruins 3-games-to-1
Robertson Cup Round Robin, Bismarck Bobcats (2-1) - Eliminated (W, 3-2 vs. Wild; L, 1-2 vs. Bulls; W, 4-3 vs. Ironmen)
  • 2014
Divisional Semifinals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Aberdeen Wings 3-games-to-0
Divisional Finals, Austin Bruins defeated Bismarck Bobcats 3-games-to-2
  • 2015
Divisional Semifinals, Minot Minotauros defeated Bismarck Bobcats 3-games-to-0
  • 2016
Divisional Semifinals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Brookings Blizzard 3-games-to-1
Division Finals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Austin Bruins 3-games-to-2
Robertson Cup Semifinals, Wichita Falls Wildcats defeated Bismarck Bobcats 2-games-to-0
  • 2017 Do not qualify
  • 2018 Do not qualify
  • 2019
Division Semifinals, Minot Minotauros defeated Bismarck Bobcats 3-games-to-none
  • 2020 Playoffs cancelled
  • 2021
Division Semifinals, Bismarck Bobcats defeated Minnesota Wilderness 3-games-to-0
Division Finals, Aberdeen Wings defeated Bismarck Bobcats 3-games-to-0
  • 2022
Division Semifinals St. Cloud Norsemen defeated Bismarck Bobcats 3-games-to-2
  • 2023 Did not qualify

References[]

  1. "2009 Bismarck Bobcats Playoff Results". Retrieved on May 2, 2009. 
  2. "2010 Bismarck Bobcats Playoff Results". Retrieved on May 9, 2010. 
  3. "2011 Bismarck Bobcats Playoff Results". Retrieved on April 29, 2011. 
  4. Paul Teeple. "Bobcats win Dakota Cup, clinch playoff berth", BismarckBobcats.com, March 11, 2011. 
  5. Paul Teeple. "Zawacki's hat trick, special teams pace Bobcats' 8-3 blowout at Minot", BismarckBobcats.com, December 2, 2011. 

External links[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Bismarck Bobcats. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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