When: Today, 7 p.m.

Where:Owatonna, Minn.

On the air: KLXX (1270 AM).

Records: The Bobcats are 4-4-1 and in a tie for secondplace in the Central Division. The Express is 3-5-0 and in fourth place in the Central.

Series: This is the first-ever meeting between Bismarck and Owatonna, an expansion team. This is the first of 12 games between the two teams.

Notes:Though it is located in the same town, has the same nickname and a similar logo, Owatonna is not the same franchise as Southern Minnesota. That team relocated and changed its name to the Motor City Machine. … The Express do have ties to the old Southern Minnesota team, most notably coach Pat Cullen. Cullen led that Express to the Robertson Cup tournament in both of the first two years of that franchise's existence. … Cullen has already been hard at work bolstering his roster. The Express has added several players who were cut loose by the USHL recently, including Gehritt Sargis, Jacob Sloat (Fargo) and Dmitry Lugin from Fargo, Jason Horstman (Tri-City) and Chris Darnell (Indiana).

- By Lou Babiarz