ALEXANDRIA, Minn. – The Rochester Grizzlies saw their winning streak come to an end Friday, falling to the Alexandria Blizzard 5-4 on the road. This is the first loss for Rochester since the season opener Sep. 15 against Granite City.
Going into the night, Rochester (10-2-0-0) had the second longest winning streak in the league just behind the Helena Bighorns, who had a 12 game win streak heading into Friday.
Matt DeRosa opened the scoring for the Grizzlies just 12 seconds into the game. Alexandria would respond shortly after, as Riley Scanlon would tie the game 31 seconds after DeRosa’s goal.
The Blizzard would rattle off two more goals in the first period, all coming less than four minutes into the game. Oskar Stahl, recently loaned to Rochester from Austin (NAHL), would make it a one goal game at the 9:32 mark of the first.
The second period was much different than the first, with all of the goals coming late. The Blizzard would get two with Brett Meister and Brandon Connett increasing the lead for Alexandria. The fifth goal would see the end of Liam Kelly’s night, giving up five goals on 27 shots. Max Clouser would come in off the bench. DeRosa would score his second with 1:08 left in the period, giving the Grizzlies some life heading into the third.
DeRosa completed his hat trick with a power play goal at the 4:11 mark of the third, but that’s all the Grizzlies would get. Rochester could not tie the game with the extra attacker, as the Blizzard would hold on.
These two teams will meet up again Saturday in Rochester. Puck drop from the Rec Center is 7:05 pm.