MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Rochester Grizzlies have extended their win streak to five after completing a weekend sweep of the Milwaukee Power. Matt DeRosa finished with two goals and an assist and Mathias Backstrom and Sean Guerin combined to pick up the win as the Grizzlies took Saturday’s game 5-2.
Backstrom started his first game of the season after nursing a lower-body injury for the first few weeks of the season. The native of Malmo, Sweden would receive some offensive support just 19 seconds into the game as Garrett Smith scored his second in as many days, beating Power starter Joey Greilich. Peyton Hart and DeRosa picked up the assists, as this marked the second game these three were put together.
That line would keep up its strong work for the rest of the period. Hart and DeRosa teamed up to score a 2-on-0 shorthanded goal at the 10:06 mark of the second, with DeRosa finishing off the pass for his first of the season. DeRosa’s second goal would come at 17:28 of the first as he snapped a loose puck home, giving the Grizzlies a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Smith earned the primary assist as Ethan Noonan picked up the secondary helper.
Sean Guerin came into the game at the start of the second, as planned by Grizzlies Head Coach Chris Ratzloff. He would be tested early, as the Power applied pressure and it led to Logan Drolet knocking home a loose puck to give Milwaukee just a two goal deficit. However, the Grizzlies penalty kill would respond yet again. Lucas Newman picked up an unassisted shorthanded goal at 14:29 of the second. It was Newman’s fourth goal of the season, giving Rochester its three goal lead back.
Both teams traded goals in the third. Jesper Hofling scored his second of the season off a feed from Newman, giving Rochester a 5-1 lead at 11:47 of the third. Nathan Walker gave the Power some life as he cut the lead to three, but it would be as close as Milwaukee would get.
Backstrom stopped all nine shots he saw while Guerin stopped 21 of 23. The Grizzlies put up 49 shots on net compared to just 32 for Milwaukee. Rochester would go 0 for 3 on the power play while Milwaukee finished 0 for 5 and gave up the two shorthanded goals. This weekend marked the final time Rochester would travel to Milwaukee for the remainder of the regular season.
The Grizzlies (5-1-0-0, 10 points) are back home next Friday and Saturday with games against the Coulee Region Chill. Both contests are 7pm start times from the Rochester Rec Center. For ticket information, contact the front office at 507-722-0415.