ROCHESTER, MN – It wasn’t the way they drew it up, but the Rochester Grizzlies are back in the win column. Owen Van Tassel scored with 1:04 left in the third, breaking a 1-1 tie while Austin Meers also scored as the Grizzlies came away with a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Power. Rochester earned three of four points on the weekend after the shootout loss to Milwaukee Friday night.
Neither team was racking up many shots in the first period. It wasn’t until the second shot on goal for the Power when Bryce Garber, sprung on a breakaway, beat Tate Cothern to the glove side. Rochester would outshoot Milwaukee just 5-2 after one.
Rochester’s penalty troubles would continue in the second period, needing to kill off three Milwaukee power plays. Meers would finally find the back of the net at 18:56 of the second period, knocking home a loose puck past Power goalie Spencer Northway. That marked Meers’ seventh goal of the season and first since Oct. 22 against St. Louis.
Neither team could find the back of the net for much of the third period. Rochester again had to kill off more penalties to keep the game tied 1-1. Van Tassel would play the role of hero, finishing off a nice pass from Spencer Klotz and firing the shot past Northway from the left face-off circle. Much like Meers’ goal, this one came at 18:56 of the period.
Rochester would go a perfect eight-for-eight on the penalty kill and Cothern stopped 14 of 15 shots to improve to 5-0 on the season. The Grizzlies now stand at 15-4-1 on the season, in first place in the Central Division with 31 points. The Grizzlies are on the road next weekend for two games against Wausau and are back home on December 2nd and 3rd hosting the Peoria Mustangs.