The Austin Bruins are one win away from getting back to the NAHL Central finals.

Austin goalie Nick Lehr stopped 27 shots and the Bruins beat the Minotauros (25-35-1 overall) 2-1 in game three of their NAHL Central Division semifinals series in Minot Friday.

The win gives Austin (42-20-1 overall) a 2-1 lead and the Bruins can clinch the series with a win at Minot Saturday at 7:30 p.m. If Austin can’t win on Saturday, it will have a chance to win the series in Riverside Arena Monday at 7:05 p.m.

The Minotauros pulled their goalie with 1:30 left in the game, but Austin kept them from getting to the net in the last stretch.

Minot closed the gap to 2-1 when Jon Lizzote scored during a 5-on-3 with 57 seconds left in the second period.

The Bruins came out on the offensive early on as Casey Jerry and Niko Hildenbrand each scored first period goals.

If Austin can close out the series against Minot, it will have another NAHL Central finals matchup with Bismarck. The Bobcats advanced to the finals when they finished off a sweep of Aberdeen with a 5-0 win in Bismarck Friday.

Bismarck has ended Austin’s season in the last two years in the playoffs.

SCORING SUMMARY

Austin 2 0 0 — 2

Minot 0 1 0 —  1

First period

(A) Casey Jerry (Brian Bachnak, Kody Reuter) 12:01

(A) Niko Hildenbrand (Luke Dietsch) 16:29

Second period

(M) Jon Lizotte (power play) (Scott Dornbrock) 19:03

Third period

No scoring

Shots: Austin — 38; Minot — 28

Power plays: Austin — 0-for-5; Minot — 0-for-6