Jr. Blues Pick Up a Point in OT Loss to Rochester Grizzlies
Saturday, October 5 – Rochester 5 @ St. Louis 1 – The Rochester Grizzlies secured a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Jr. Blues on Saturday night at Affton Ice Rink. After a scoreless first period, St. Louis opened the scoring early in the second with a goal from Kyle Settles. However, Rochester quickly answered back as Konnor Goclan netted his first NA3HL goal, assisted by Noah Joyce, just minutes later. The Grizzlies kept the momentum going, with Jaidy Van Mourik also scoring his first NA3HL goal off a setup from Andrew Lahaie, giving Rochester a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. In the third, the Grizzlies’ Andrew Lahaie extended the lead, scoring on a play set up by Van Mourik and Sammy Johnson. Rochester then capitalized on their power-play opportunities, with Noah Gillette firing home a goal off an assist from Josh Wolf, and Van Mourik notching his second of the night, assisted by Baylor Stebbins. The Grizzlies’ arose victorious over the Jr. Blues 5-1, while also achieving a weekend sweep after also winning Friday’s game.
Friday, October 4 – Rochester 6 @ St. Louis 5 (OT) – The Rochester Grizzlies pulled off a thrilling overtime victory against the St. Louis Jr. Blues. The Grizzlies struck first with Issac Flately’s goal early in the first period, followed by another goal from Noah Joyce to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead. The Jr. Blues responded in the second period, with a power play goal from Jaxson Karandjeff and a second goal from Kyle Settles to tie the game. The tie didn’t last long due to the Grizzlies’ Andrew Bastain’s short-handed goal late in the second period. The third period saw a plethora of goals from both sides. The Grizzlies got the lead early in the third scoring 2 more goals one of which being Joyce’s second goal of the night. The Jr. Blues fought back at the end of the period scoring two power goals and an additional goal making the score read 5-5 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Ben Parent scored the winning goal for the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies’ goaltender Riley Swanson made 18 saves, while Brooks Barofsky of the Jr. Blues stopped 40 shots in the loss.