ROCHESTER, MN – After clinching a playoff spot with a win Friday, the Rochester Grizzlies still have something to play for.
Noah Roitman scored two goals to help the Grizzlies recover from a slow start as they beat the St. Louis Jr. Blues 5-1 Saturday evening. Rochester now sits at 27-6-2 good for 56 points and first place in the Central Division.
The visiting Jr. Blues started off the scoring Saturday as Michael Gakhutishvili collected a loose puck in the crease and knocked it past goalie Niko Goich just 1:15 into the first period. The score would remain 1-0, St. Louis, for about nine minutes before Cole Gibson redirected a Roitman point shot between the legs of St. Louis goalie Ethan Jourden to tie the game at 1-1 at the 10:10 mark of the first.
Much like Friday night, the second period would be the best one for Rochester. Luke Morrisette made it a 2-1 Rochester lead at 5:05 of the period as he collected a rebound and stuffed it past Jourden to give the Grizzlies the lead. Just about three minutes later, leading goal scorer Kyle Bauer would continue his strong season by finishing off a pretty pass from Adam Johnson for his 23rd of the season. Roitman’s first would come at 15:36 as he fired a blistering wrist shot past Jourden to make it 4-1.
It would take Roitman all of 36 seconds into the third period to collect his second of the game, making it 5-1 Rochester. Roitman would go on to finish the game with two goals and an assist. Goich picked up his second win of the season by stopping 25 of 26 shots. Rochester put up 61 shots on St. Louis.
The Grizzlies are home for two games next weekend against the Milwaukee Power. Both games are set for a 7:05 PM puck drop from the Rochester Recreation Center as the Grizzlies wrap up a six-game homestand.