The Aberdeen Wings stayed out of the penalty box, kept the puck out the net, and now are on the verge of moving on to the final four of the Robertson Cup.

The Wings shutout Austin 4-0 to grab a 2-1 series lead in the their NAHL Central Division playoff series Friday night at the Odde Ice Center. It marked the second straight shutout of the Bruins as Aberdeen goalie Willum Braun has recorded 58 saves in the past two contests.

“Our guys were up to the task tonight. They played well defensively, we got good goal tending there,” said Wings coach Scott Langer. “Braunie stopped two breakaways, which at this time of the year is a difference maker. Our guys stepped up and our mature players led the group and it was good to see.”

A big factor in the contest was Aberdeen’s ability to play penalty-free hockey for the first time all season.

“I think that might be the first game all year, honestly. I don’t know if we ever had a game this year where we stayed out of the box,” Langer said. “We played the right way, the hard way. We didn’t take lazy penalties like we’re used to doing. That gave us a chance to have the energy towards the end.”

Not only that, but it prevented the Bruins from taking advantage of their potent power play. While Austin ended up with nearly as many shots as the Wings, the visitors were never able to play with a man advantage.

“Especially, against a team like this, it’s probably the most important thing, too, not having a lot of penalties. … They get everything off their power play, so we just have to keep them on the 5 on 5,” said Aberdeen’s Matthew Martin.

Martin scored the game’s first two goals and that proved to be more than enough for Braun, who stopped a pair of breakaways en route to another shutout.

“The b-ways I saw them coming,” Braun said. “Obviously, being back there you can see everything in front of you. I’m just trying to get the boys a 2-0 lead going into the period and see what I can do.”

Braun said the Bruins do present a challenge, but credited his defensemen with making his job easier.

“They’re a really good team. Offensively, they’re really tough with some big boys in front of the net,” Braun said. “Honestly, I got to give props to (my) boys. The last two games, I made a couple big saves here and there, but for the most part it’s been lockdown. The boys have been eating some pills. They’ve been cleaning up the net in front for me, so on my part it’s been pretty fun to play.”

Martin said having a goalie that’s playing the way that Braun is right now gives everyone on the squad confidence.

“It’s always nice to be able to trust your goalie, that’s for sure,” Martin said. “I think our forwards, our defense and our goalie are just playing super good right now, and we’ve just got to keep going that way.”

Austin, which was outshot 26-16 through the first two periods, eventually gained some traction and started getting some sustained offense. However, they never solved Braun and Caden Lee eventually scored a goal to put the Wings in firm control midway through the third period. Lee added an empty netter for the final margin of difference.

The game played out much differently from the third game in the last series when the Wings returned home from Bismarck tied at a game apiece and struggled in that contest.

“It was a way better start. We’ve been learning how to win throughout the season,” Langer said. “Right now our guys are doing a really good job of managing the game the right way. The start tonight was great.”

And of course so was Braun all game long.

“He’s put some rhythm together. I think he’s feeling it right now,” Langer said. “A goalie with rhythm is dangerous and right now I’ll take him.”

Game four is tonight with puck drop set for 7:15 at the Odde. A Wings victory ends the series. A Bruins win sends the series back to Austin for a game five on Monday.

“We expect them to come out with a lot of fire (Saturday) and try to bring this series back to Austin,” Langer said, “so we just want our guys to be ready.”

When asked what it will take to win game four, Martin responded, “The same thing we did today, having a lot of hits, blocking shots, and no penalties.”

Langer wants his players to realize what is at stake as they head into tonight’s contest.

“I think each guy has just got to look inside himself and say you can be part of something really, really special,” Langer said, “and there’s a lot of 20-year-old guys in that room that don’t want to end their career and they can put their name on it.”

To see a complete box score from Friday’s game, click on the following link:

https://www.aberdeenwings.com/game-center/?game_id=2881896&season_id=14810