Feb 22, 2025 | Game Recap
Colorado Grit 3, Shreveport Mudbugs 2 (OT) – February 22, 2025
Greeley, CO – The Colorado Grit proved their resilience in front of a roaring home crowd
Saturday night, battling back to take down the Southern Division’s top-ranked Shreveport
Mudbugs with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory. Just 24 hours after pushing the Mudbugs to a
shootout, the Grit responded with a gutsy performance, showing they could go the distance with
one of the league’s best.
GRIT DIGS IN AFTER EARLY DEFICIT
Coming off a hard-fought shootout loss the night before, Colorado entered Saturday’s rematch
looking to even the series. The opening period saw both teams trading blows in a physical
battle, but it was Shreveport who struck first.Mudbugs David Ehrhard buried a shot past
goaltender Peter Sterling to put the Mudbugs up 1-0.Despite the early setback, the Grit stayed
composed, generating offensive chances and setting the stage for an explosive second period.
SECOND PERIOD SURGE IGNITES THE CROWD
The Grit wasted no time flipping the script in the second, and it was the blue line that led the
charge. Just three minutes in, defenseman Luke Helgeson beat the Mudbugs’ goaltender to tie
the game at 1-1. The momentum swung and minutes later, Braden Junker capitalized to give
Colorado its first lead of the night.Tempers flared as two fights erupted in the period, sending
the crowd into a frenzy and reinforcing the Grit’s identity—this team wasn’t backing down. Even
with penalties piling up, Colorado’s penalty kill remained rock solid, keeping the lead intact
heading into the final frame.
HOLDING THE LINE & OVERTIME HEROICS
The Grit battled in the defensive zone in the third, killing penalties and nearly killing the entire
period.
But just when it seemed like the Grit would close it out in regulation, Shreveport tied it up with
just 33 seconds left, the Mudbugs struck, tying the game and forcing overtime for the second
consecutive night.Overtime was fast-paced, with Colorado generating several prime chances.
With under a minute left, it looked like another shootout was looming. But then, with just 30
seconds on the clock, Alexander German called game. The defenseman got one to go past the
Mudbugs’ netminder, sealing the victory and sending the Grit faithful into a frenzy.
STATEMENT WIN
Sterling’s stellar night between the pipes—turning away 39 out of the 41 shots put his way, but it
was a full-team effort that powered Colorado past the Mudbugs
Feb 21, 2025 | Game Recap
The Colorado Grit left it all on the ice in a hard-fought battle against the Shreveport Mudbugs in
the opening game of their two-game series, but in the end, it was heartbreak in the shootout as
Shreveport skated away with the 3-2 win.
The Grit set a fast pace tone right away with crisp breakouts coming out of the zone. The Grit
opened the scoring when the forward buried his ninth goal of the season. Both teams traded
chances throughout the period, but the Grit’s defensive structure held strong, keeping the
Mudbugs off the board through the first 20 minutes.
Shreveport found their equalizer early in the second period on the penalty kill. Forward Brent
Litchard netted his 17th of the season after capitalizing on a defensive miscue, tying the game at
one. The Grit responded with three power play opportunities but failed to convert, unable to
break through Shreveport’s penalty-kill unit. However, at 13:43, Sheldon Rioux answered the
call, burning a goal to give the Grit back up 2-1. The Grit outshot Shreveport 17-12 in the period,
but the margin remained razor-thin heading into the final frame.
Shreveport found the equalizer 5:13 into the third period, with Andrew Seminara slotting one
home to make it 2-2. The intensity only ramped up from there, as both teams looked to take the
lead. The Grit found themselves in trouble after taking two penalties late in the frame but
managed to weather the storm with clutch defensive efforts. Despite the back-and-forth action,
neither team could find the winner in regulation.
Overtime saw the Grit create some solid scoring opportunities, but they couldn’t solve the
Mudbugs’ netminder. With nothing settled in the extra frame, the game went to a shootout. In the
skills competition, Brent Litchard played the hero for Shreveport, scoring the lone shootout goal
and sealing the win for the Mudbugs.
After the heartbreaker, the Grit will get their chance tomorrow to bounce back against the
Mudbugs.
Feb 15, 2025 | Game Recap
The Colorado Grit came into Saturday night’s contest looking for similar results to the game between these two teams last night. A rough couple periods was too much for the Grit to overcome.
Ethan Hull struck first, finding the back of the net just 6:56 into the game, setting the tone. Andrew Earl extended the lead midway through the period, punishing a defensive lapse by the Grit. Nayan Pai, with his eighth of the season, pushed New Mexico’s advantage to 3-0 heading into the intermission.
Both teams had their chances on the power play, with the game getting extremely chippy late, the teams racked up 25 penalties total.
The Grit’s struggles continued in the second, as a costly turnover behind the net allowed Tim Hewko to extend the lead to 4-0 early in the frame. Just 56 seconds later, Stanley Hubbard piled on, making it 5-0. Andrew Earl netted his second of the night a mere 17 seconds later, leaving the Grit reeling at 6-0.
Some life for Colorado as Alexander German broke the shutout with a goal of his own at 4:39
German buried his second of the game with 4:33 left in regulation. The comeback attempt was too late however as the time ran out on the Grit.
The Grit showed some late fight, but the early hole was too deep. Looking forward, the Grit will face the Shreveport Mudbugs once again at home. The Grit will look to bounce back from a tough outing tonight.
Feb 14, 2025 | Game Recap
The Colorado Grit came out swinging and never took their foot off the gas, delivering a relentless 5-2 victory over the New Mexico Ice Wolves in a game packed with physicality, opportunistic scoring, and sheer determination.
The Grit wasted no time asserting themselves, as forward William Johnson struck just 1:04 into the game, capitalizing on a defensive lapse by the Ice Wolves. Both teams traded scoring chances throughout the period, with tough board battles and fast-paced play dictating the action. The period came to an end with the Grit ahead 1-0.
New Mexico found a lucky break early in the second when Tim Hewko netted an equalizer off an unfortunate deflection that caught the Grit defense off guard. But just when the Ice Wolves started to build momentum, the Grit answered back with authority. George Poirier buried a beauty less than three minutes later, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and restoring Colorado’s lead at 2-1 heading into the third.
The final frame saw the Grit open up the game. Within a 1:22 span, Lucas Mann and Lucca Ori struck back-to-back, opening up a 4-1 lead and leaving New Mexico scrambling. The Ice Wolvesburied one back thanks to Toivo Laaksonen, but any hope of a comeback was immediately crushed when Ori netted his second of the night, sealing a dominant 5-2 win for the Grit.
Colorado played to their identity—relentless forechecking, and burying the opportunities they created. Looking forward, the Grit will be back on home ice tomorrow in a rematch against the Ice Wolves.
Feb 10, 2025 | Player News
The Colorado Grit of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) are proud to announce that forward William Johnson has committed to play NCAA Division III for St Olaf College located in Northfield, MN.
Johnson a ‘04 left shot forward from Edina, MN is in his first season with the Grit and serves as an assistant captain on the team. Through 40 games this season Johnson has tallied 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points.
Grit head coach Kevin Holmstrom explains more about Johnson and his future.”We are very excited for Willy and his commitment. This is a great fit for him and a school he is very familiar with. Willy is a pro in all he does on and off the ice and has been a pleasure to work with. We count on him and his leadership everyday we step on the ice and he simply does a great job. He checks all the boxes as a great player and young man that will be a big asset to St Olaf.”
Johnson had this on his commitment “I am honored and super excited to commit to St. Olaf College. I would like to thank my family, teammates, friends and billets for supporting me throughout my journey. Im grateful to have the opportunity to play hockey as well as further my education next fall. I would like to thank all of the Colorado Grit organization for giving me a great place to play my final year of juniors. I look forward to making a run to the playoffs this year and seeing what we can do.”
