Ryan Faragher said battling with Ryan Massa to be the Bismarck Bobcats’ No. 1 goalie has elevated the play of both netminders.

But Faragher’s going to have to find something else to keep him sharp, now.

On Thursday the Bobcats revealed that Massa will be shipped to the USHL’s Fargo Force, completing the trade they made Wednesday for Gavin Hartzog and Tom McCarthy.

Faragher showed Thursday why the Bobcats were comfortable making that deal, stopping 21 of 22 shots as Bismarck defeated Alexandria 2-1 for its sixth straight win.

“If we don’t have two outstanding goaltenders, we don’t even think about making the trade,” Bobcats coach Byron Pool said.

Massa had allowed just six goals in his last four starts. Faragher has given up seven in his last seven, lowering his  season goals against average to 1.91.

“Lately both of us have been really competing against each other, trying to outdo one another in practice and off the ice,” Faragher said. “It’s helped both of us. It’s good to have competition.

“But I played like this last year,” he added. “I was the one guy, and I had to push myself. I’m looking forward to it.”

Pool said the trade, which was made on short notice when the Force needed a goalie, is a win-win.

“I don’t think we would have gotten that kind of deal in our league,” Pool said. “Plus it’s an outstanding chance for Ryan Massa to play at a higher level, and now Ryan Faragher gets to play the kind of minutes he wants to play.”

Although neither team generated many quality chances on Thursday, Faragher made sure the early lead the Bobcats gave him held up.

Alexandria was whistled for four minor penalties in the first period to none for Bismarck, and the Bobcats made good use of all that power-play time.

Sean McKenzie got Bismarck on the board at the 8:26 mark, redirecting Sam Rendle’s shot from the right point.

The score remained 1-0 until deep in the first. Alexandria nearly killed off back-to-back penalties, but with two seconds remaining with man advantage, Bismarck struck. Ryan Jacobson fought hard in the slot to tap a pass back to Nick Jensen at the left point. Jensen blew a slapshot past Alexandria goalie Robert Tadazak, making it 2-0.

Alexandria finally got its first power play early in period, and the Blizzard cashed in. Tommy Westmark scored on a nice deflection on Michael Pieper’s shot from the blue line.

Faragher took over from there. Although the Bobcats did a nice job of funneling Alexandria’s chances to the outside, Faragher had to make several tough stops.

Midway through the second period the Bobcats turned it over behind their own net, but Faragher stopped Kyle Clay’s stuff attempt. Then with about 8:30 to play, Faragher denied Grant Dye.

But Faragher’s best work may have come in the last 10 seconds of the game. With an extra attacker on for Tadazak, Alexandria worked the puck to the right point. Chris Franks let fly with a hard shot, but even with plenty of traffic in front, Faragher made the glove save.

“There were quite a few bodies up front,” Faragher said. “I was peering through some legs, and I found it.”

Faragher made another save just before time expired to seal the victory.

“It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it was pretty gutsy,” Pool said. “I’ve got to tip my hat, because (Alexandria coach Doc DelCastillo) has those guys playing so hard. They probably deserved better tonight.

“We kept a lot of stuff to the outside and didn’t give up a lot of grade A chances. When we did, Ryan Faragher was really good.”

n NEW FACES: Pool said he was generally happy with the play of the three former USHLers making their Bobcats’ debut — Hartzog, McCarthy and Dan Weissenhofer — especially Weissenhofer.

I thought Dan showed a lot of poise. I thought he was our best defenseman tonight. He was rock-solid back there and made simple plays.”

n GOALIE WANTED: The Bobcats will bring in Aaron Corey from the CSHL’s Dubuque Thunderbirds for a chance to be Faragher’s backup, but Pool said the Bobcats are keeping their options open.

“We’ll give him a tryout and see how he does, but we’re definitely looking for a No. 2 goalie right now,” Pool said.

First period: 1. B, Sean McKenzie 5 (Sam Rendle, Casey Kleisinger), 8:26 (pp). 2. B, Nick Jensen 6 (Ryan Jacobson), 18:45 (pp). Penalties: A, Kyle Clay (slashing), 7:34. A, Tyler Swanson (slashing), 9:43. A, Alex Altenbernd (holding), 14:47. A, Chris Franks (tripping), 16:47.

Second period: 3. A, Tommy Westmark 5 (Alex Altenbernd, Michael Pieper), 1:33 (pp). Penalties: B, Jensen (hooking), :32. A, Altenbernd (interference), 2:41. B, Devin Schmitt (interference), 10:34.

Third period: No scoring. Penalties: B, Brett Bower (cross-checking), 1:30. A, Dylan Wizner (roughing), 112:28. B, Bryce Schmitt (hooking), 11:28. A, Kyle Clay (hooking), 18:45. A, Clay, 10-minute misconduct (abuse of officials), 18:45. B, Tom McCarthy (interference), 18:56.

Goalie saves: A — Robert Tadazak 20. B — Ryan Faragher 21.

Penalties: A 7 minors, 1 10-minute misconduct. B 5 minors.