Rochester, Minnesota — The Final Saturday of the Regular Season has arrived and the Grizzlies will take on the Wisconsin Woodsmen in a game that will mean momentum heading into round 1 of the Fraser Cup Playoffs. The Grizzlies will be taking on the Cyclones in Round 1 and the Woodsmen will take on the Division Champion, West Bend Power. But first, the Grizzlies and the Woodsmen have business in Rochester to take care of tonight.
The first period started off in front of a season-high crowd of over 1700 people at the Rec Center as the Grizzlies and the Woodsmen aimed for momentum going into round 1. The Woodsmen started of fthe scoring, Lazo(20), capitalizing on a rebound out front and beating Dubin to go up 1-0. The Grizzlies would then answer back in the form of Brody Olson(4), tying the game 4 minutes later. In one of the most unexpected happenings in a hockey game, an own goal would be counted against the Grizzlies, as Gavin Black would attempt to clear the puck and end up sniping Dubin over his shoulder, making it 2-1 Woodsmen going to the intermission.
Lazo(21) would score early in the 2nd for his second of the game, creating a 2 goal lead for the Woodsmen. and it would hold through the end of the period, and the majority of the 3rd as well. At the end of the 3rd the Grizzlies would make a push on the Powerplay; Ben Parent(9) would send a puck through a crowd out front and the screen helped it get through, and would end up cutting the lead in half making it 3-2 Woodsmen.
The Woodsmen would hold off the Grizzlies last ditch effort with the goalie pulled in the final minute, and end the season with a Win. The Grizzlies had 46 shots, same amount as last night in Wausau. The shots are there, the goals will come, and the Grizzlies are coming with a vengence against Wausau next weekend..
Fraser Cup Playoffs start next weekend with Round 1 as the Grizzlies will travel to Wausau on Friday for Game 1 at 7:10pm, Return home on Saturday for Game 2 at 7:05 at the Rec Center, and if necessary, a Road Trip back to Wausau will be made on Sunday for a 6:10 winner-take-all Game 3.
Buy tickets at tickets.rochestergrizz.com for next weeks playoff game. The first 300 people will receive a Free Playoff T-Shirt!