ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Rochester Grizzlies closed out their regular season Saturday night the same way they hope to continue into the postseason with a complete performance and a little bit of history.
Behind a four-point night from Andrew Bastian, the Grizzlies defeated the St. Louis Jr. Blues 4–2 at the Rochester Recreation Center. The victory pushes Rochester to 29-17-1-0 on the season and gives the team wins in 10 of its last 12 contests heading into the Fraser Cup Playoffs, where they will meet the Wausau Cyclones in the opening round.
While the win secured momentum for the postseason, the night ultimately belonged to Andrew Bastian. The Grizzlies forward recorded one goal and three assists, breaking the Rochester Grizzlies single-season assist record while leading the offense in the final game before playoffs.
St. Louis opened the scoring early in the first period when Lonnie Land capitalized on a Jr. Blues opportunity to beat Rochester goaltender Nick Kurtiak, giving the visitors a 1–0 lead. The goal came in a fairly even opening frame where both teams spent time battling through the neutral zone without sustained offensive pressure.
Rochester responded later in the period thanks to defenseman Julian Mollerstrandh, who continued his strong offensive stretch. Mollerstrandh jumped into the play and finished a feed from Bastian to tie the game at 1–1, energizing the home crowd and setting the tone for what would become a strong offensive night for the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies began to tilt the ice in their favor in the second period, eventually taking their first lead of the night. Forward Dominic Arndt buried a scoring chance midway through the frame after another setup from Bastian, putting Rochester ahead 2–1.
Just minutes later, Bastian added a goal of his own. After already factoring into two Rochester tallies, the forward found the back of the net to extend the lead to 3–1, after his second assist of the night put himself in the Rochester history books.
St. Louis refused to go away quietly, however. Late in the second period, defenseman Teagan Lee fired a shot past Kurtiak to cut the Rochester lead to 3–2, bringing the Jr. Blues back within striking distance heading into the third.
Any momentum St. Louis hoped to carry into the final period was met by strong defense and stronger goaltending by the Grizzlies.
Late in the third, Rochester regained its two-goal cushion when Brett Ludvigsen finished off a crisp passing play from Julian Mollerstrandh and Cooper Johnson, making it 4–2. The goal was Ludvigsen’s 14th of the season and capped another productive night for Rochester’s top offensive contributors.
From there, the Grizzlies locked things down defensively. Rochester limited St. Louis to just four shots in the third period, while controlling possession and keeping most of the action away from their net.
Kurtiak was steady between the pipes throughout the evening, finishing with 17 saves on 19 shots to secure the victory. At the other end, St. Louis goaltender Travis Visvadra turned aside 22 of 26 Rochester shots.
Mollerstrandh finished the night with one goal and two assists, while Ludvigsen added a goal and an assist. Arndt contributed a goal of his own as the Grizzlies offense continued to show the balanced scoring that has fueled their late-season surge.
Rochester also converted one of four power play opportunities, while the penalty kill allowed one goal on three St. Louis chances, moving the power play to nearly 50% in it’s last ten contests (14/32).
With the regular season now complete, the focus shifts fully to the postseason. The Grizzlies will face the Wausau Cyclones in the opening round of the Fraser Cup Playoffs, a best-of-three series that begins next weekend.
After finishing the regular season on a high and a record-breaking performance from Bastian, Rochester enters the playoffs with confidence, and with its offense clicking at the right time.