ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Rochester Grizzlies opened the new year with a statement win Friday night, skating past the St. Louis Jr. Blues 4–3 at the Rochester Recreation Center to inch closer to second place in the Central Division and continue their season-long dominance in the head-to-head series.
Rochester set the tone early, controlling possession and peppering the St. Louis net with 15 shots in the opening frame. That pressure paid off with a pair of first-period goals, giving the Grizzlies a 2–0 lead after 20 minutes and forcing the Jr. Blues onto their heels from the start.
St. Louis responded in the second period, striking three times on just nine shots to briefly flip the script and head into the third period tied at 3. A similar story to Tuesday’s loss to Wausau for the Grizzlies, as they were outshot 9-3 throughout the frame.
The third period was a much different story.
The Grizzlies re-established their forecheck and offensive zone time, outshooting St. Louis 11–5 in the final 20 minutes. Konnor Goclan (8) found the back of the net for Rochester off a smart play from newly acquired forward Nic Secen (1), the eventual game-winner, as the Grizzlies reclaimed the lead and never gave it back.
Mason Decker led the way offensively with a two-point night (1G, 1A), while Ole Fevold and Cooper Johnson also scored. Secen, Andrew Bastian, Dominic Arndt and Felix Wadstromer each recorded assists, showcasing Rochester’s balanced attack.
Between the pipes, Nick Kurtiak earned the win for Rochester, stopping 14 of 17 shots to improve the Grizzlies’ steady presence in net. On the other side, St. Louis goaltender Aaron Sibert made 25 saves on 29 shots in the loss.
Special teams were even on the night, with both clubs going 1-for-4 on the power play, while each team finished with 10 penalty minutes. Rochester’s discipline and ability to close out the final minutes proved decisive, as the Grizzlies locked things down defensively late.
With the victory, Rochester improved to 17-11-1-0 on the season, winning five of their last six contests. The Grizzlies also remained perfect against St. Louis this year, moving to 3-0-0-0 in the season series and continuing a long-standing trend of success against the Jr. Blues.
Saturday’s rematch presented a different challenge.
The pace slowed and physicality ramped up as both teams settled into a tighter, more playoff-style game. Rochester once again dictated play early, outshooting St. Louis 16–5 in a scoreless first period, but goals were hard to come by as both goaltenders stood tall.
The deadlock was finally broken in the second period when Rochester capitalized on the 5-on-3 power play, only to see the Jr. Blues respond on a power play of their own and send the game into the third period tied 1–1.
An early and rare penalty shot in the third period gave the Jr. The Blues took the lead to start the final frame, but Marty Raymond’s squad saved their best for last.
Brett Ludvigsen (11) scored his second power-play goal off a set face-off play to tie things up, and the sticks were gripped even tighter down the stretch.
With under a minute to go in the contest, another set face-off play would seal the victory for Rochester, as Decker added his team-leading 26th goal of the season to complete the sweep in a high-emotion win.
Trenton Fore contributed two helpers from the blue line and Kurtiak was again sharp in net, turning aside 27 of 29 shots, including several key saves during a late St. Louis push.
Across the two games, Rochester outshot St. Louis 63–46, went 3-for-11 on the power play, and showcased balance throughout the lineup, with scoring and contributions coming from all areas of the ice. The weekend sweep pushed the Grizzlies to win six of their last seven, kept them perfect against the Jr. Blues this season at 4-0-0-0, and, most importantly, vaulted Rochester into second place in the Central Division.
As the calendar turns and the season intensifies, the Grizzlies’ ability to win in multiple ways, whether through offensive pressure or tight, disciplined play, has them trending upward and firmly in the mix as the Central Division race continues.