Rochester, MN — The vibes were high in the Rec Center Saturday Night. The Grizzlies were coming off a dominate win Friday night in which 13 different players tallied a point in a 6-3 win over Wausau. Rochester was looking to double down on their success Saturday Night and end the weekend with a sweep and unfortunately Wausau came ready for revenge.
The Grizzlies would have a new goaltender in net tonight, Joey Bertram. Bertram joined the team this week from the Idaho Spud Kings of the NCDC West, and before that he was fresh out of Edina High School, where he won a State Championship Last year with the Hornets, going 24-4-1 en route to that coveted trophy at the Xcel.
The first period didn’t start how Bertram would have hoped, with Wausau scoring 2; Saxon(11), Knutsen(8), beating the Grizzlies goaltender and going into the locker room down 2. Early in the 2nd period, Isaac Flatley attempted to spark the bench by dropping the gloves with Brady Ernst after some post whistle activities, leading to both of their ejections. Cyclones Leading scorer, Jake Garrow(22) would get on the scoresheet, 7 minutes in, and the Cyclones would take a 3-0 lead into the final period.
Aiden ‘Doc’ Emerich(6) would finally get the Grizzlies on the scoresheet, just seconds after a Grizzlies Powerplay ended, making it 3-1, energizing the Grizzlies bench for a possible comeback. The final 5 minutes would see the Grizzlies attacking the Wausau end of the ice, shot after shot, but Bonjernoor was stopping everything thrown at him. Felix Wadstromer would get called for Cross Checking with 1:59 left on the clock, putting the nail in the coffin for the Grizzlies, ending the hope of a 2nd 3 goal comeback this season. Wausau would take the game 4-1 with and empty netter from Garrow(22).
The Grizzlies are back at it next week as they take their final trip of the year to Sauk Rapids, MN to take on rival Granite City. The game is next Sunday Night at Miller Buick GMC Arena, at 6:00pm.