Rochester, Minnesota — The Rochester Grizzlies opened up the preseason tonight at the Rochester Rec Center, putting on a dominant home-ice performance rolling past the Minnesota Wilderness 6-1 behind a relentless offensive attack and a balanced scoring effort.
Rochester struck first when Jesse Varner buried a goal at 11:24 of the opening frame. Minnesota responded shortly after with a power-play tally from Antony Eertmoed, sending the teams to intermission tied 1-1.
The Grizzlies completely took over in the second. Rochester peppered the Wilderness with 25 shots in the period and buried three goals to seize control. Tevin Stukel opened the surge with a power-play goal 3:59 into the second, followed by goals from Cooper Johnson and Tanner Lozano. Stukel’s goal early in the period would end up being the eventual game-winner.
The Grizzlies didn’t let up in the third. Easton Talbot added another insurance goal with less than five minutes to go, and Baylor Stebbins struck with just 24 seconds left to seal the game at 6-1. In total, Rochester outshot Minnesota 57-26, overwhelming the Wilderness netminders all night.
Konnor Goclan was the engine of the attack, racking up 4 assists, while Lozano had 3 points, and Stukel, Stebbins, Varner and Johnson each posted 2 point nights. Goaltender, and ROchester Native, Kyle Lappi, played the first 30 Minutes, and Dante Sousa, a product of Worcester, Massachusetts, wrapped up the work in net over the final 30. Together, backed by a stingy defensive effort, they shut down Minnesota after the first period.
With the convincing victory, the Grizzlies showcased both their depth and special-teams efficiency, setting a strong tone, even in the preseason. The Grizzlies will travel to Cloquet tomorrow for the second of a Home & Home series with the Wilderness. The game will start at 4:00pm and can be watched on NAHLTV.com . The Grizzlies Open up the Regular season next week in a Home & Home series with the Wisconsin Woodsmen, of Tomah, Wisconsin. The Grizzlies will visit Tomah on Friday for the Season Opener, and Return Home Saturday for the Home opening game of the season at 7pm at the Rec Center!
Tickets for next Saturday can be purchased at Tickets.rochestergrizz.com