ROCHESTER, Minn. – The red-hot power play for the Rochester Grizzlies continued into Friday’s game as they defeated the Milwaukee Power 3-1 on home ice.
Rochester did not appear to have any rust in their game, playing its first game in three weeks due to COVID-19. The Grizzlies fired 17 shots on net in the first and two of them got past Power goalie Scott Bird. Peyton Hart made a nice power move past a defenseman and slid the puck between Bird’s legs, making it 1-0. Dylan Schneider and Tommy Gordon assisted on Hart’s third goal of the season. Just a 1:01 later, Matt DeRosa connected on the power play to give Rochester a 2-0 lead. Hart picked up his second point of the night with the primary assist while defenseman Tyler Huffer also assisted on the goal.
The Power started to find their game in the second period and began to push back on the Grizzlies. Bird kept the door shut in the second period, while Shane Soderwall saw 12 shots in the second period and stopped them all. Milwaukee actually outshot Rochester 12-10 in the second period.
The man-advantage connected again for Rochester in the third period. Rookie Thomas Kayner scored his first career North American 3 Hockey League goal as his shot from in the slot rang off all three posts and in, giving the home team a 3-0 lead. Garrett Smith and Hunter Wilmes added the assists on the goal. The power play tally saw Rochester finish the game 2/4 with the man-advantage.
Milwaukee made it an interesting game with 1:38 left in the third as Tyler Nelson finally beat Soderwall off a rebound. The Power were given a late power play with one minute to go, but couldn’t find the back of the net two more times as Rochester drained the clock. The Grizzlies finished 5/5 on the penalty kill.
The two teams are finishing up a home-and-home series Saturday evening from Milwaukee. Puck drop is 7:30 and the game can be found on Hockey TV. Rochester is back home next weekend for two games against new division opponent, the Oregon Tradesmen. Puck drop for Friday and Saturday’s games is 7:05 PM. Be sure to secure your tickets online by clicking on single-game tickets tab on our website.