Jan 4, 2025 | Game Recap
Nolan Smith netted his first NAHL goal and Alec Babineau bagged a second consecutive game-winning goal en route to a 5-3 Colorado victory to complete a series sweep over El Paso on Saturday afternoon in Greeley.
For the second consecutive afternoon, El Paso found the scoreboard first. A coverage breakdown gave Rhino forward AJ Reed a pocket of space in the high slot. Reed took advantage and pumped a wrist shot over Colorado netminder Pete Sterling and into the back of the net to give El Paso the lead, 1-0, with 10:08 remaining in the first period. The Grit would equalize late in the frame, thanks to familiar faces finding the scoresheet again. Luc Bydal created a turnover in the left wing corner and walked the puck to front of the net and swung a cross-ice pass for Poirier, who banged the puck past Rhino goaltender Logan Hughes to tie the score, 1-1, with 3:40 left in the first period.
The Grit would pick up their first lead in fortuitous fashion at the halfway mark of the second period. A shot from the left point was knocked down and redirected by Luke Helgeson in front of the Rhino net. The puck skittered towards the goal line and appeared to cross into the net which some Grit skaters celebrated. The referee emphatically signaled for play to continue and in the confusion, Willy Johnson batted the puck back in. After a review, the goal stood to give the Grit a 2-1 lead with 10:09 remaining in the second period. The lead lasted less than a minute when Reed banged a rebound past Sterling for his second goal of the contest to tie the game, 2-2, with 9:25 left in the middle frame. The Grit struck back minutes later thanks to the rookie finding the net for the first time. A set play off the faceoff sprung Smith into space on the near wing and his wrist shot found the top corner of the net behind Hughes to push Colorado ahead, 3-2, with 6:26 to play in the period.
The Grit carried the lead into the final frame, but were undone by an early tally from the Rhinos to tie the game. Sterling was unable to fully cover a rebound and Rhino rookie Ben Winklemann became the beneficiary and pushed the rebound underneath Sterling’s pad and into the back of the net to pull El Paso even, 3-3, just over three minutes into the third period. The two teams tightened up in the neutral zone and battled to a draw over the next ten plus minutes. With 5:39 left in regulation, Babineau found the breakthrough for the Grit. Sheldon Rioux wrapped the puck around the net and found Luc Cernohous edging in from the point. Cernohous’ slap shot was blocked and caromed right to Babineau who then lifted a backhander past Hughes to elevate the Grit in front, 4-3. El Paso aimed for a tying goal and pulled Hughes for the extra attacker with ninety seconds remaining. Luc Bydal fired the puck the length of the ice and into the empty net to cap off a five-point weekend and seal the 5-3 victory with 1:03 remaining in the contest.
Jan 3, 2025 | Game Recap
Goaltender Pete Sterling made a season-high 44 saves and Alec Babineau tucked away the shootout winner in the eighth round to get Colorado the extra point in a wild 4-3 win over the El Paso Rhinos on Friday night in Greeley.
It was the visitors who got the scoring started midway through the first period. On their first power play of the game, the Rhinos found the front foot when winger Ty Gordon slipped a snapshot from the right wing circle under Sterling and into the net to give El Paso a 1-0 lead with 10:51 to play in the period. The top line for Colorado continued humming as they pushed the score even late in the frame. George Poirier connected with Luc Bydal on a rink-wide pass and Bydal slammed the puck past Rhino goaltender Matthew DellaRusso to tie the game, 1-1, with 3:14 remaining in the first period.
The two teams traded goals and leads for a second time in the second period. Right out of the media timeout, Bydal and Poirier connected again with Poirier providing the finishing touch. Bydal dangled past two Rhinos in the left wing corner and fired a pass to the low slot and Poirier darted a wrist shot into the back of the net to push the Grit in front, 2-1, with 9:48 left in the second period. It was El Paso’s turn to tie the game late in the period, thanks to rookie Jacob Solano. Solano wired a one-timer from the right wing and pinged it off the post and past Sterling for his tenth goal of the season to tie the game, 2-2, with 2:11 remaining in the second period.
The Rhinos snared the lead back in the early stages of the third frame on a Grit turnover in the defensive zone. On the takeaway, El Paso winger Rasmus Nouisianen waited out Sterling in the low slot and roofed a wrist shot over the stick of the Grit netminder to push the Rhinos ahead for the second time, 3-2, with 17:10 left in regulation. Another late equalizer brought Colorado back even, thanks to the top line for a third time. Winger Sheldon Rioux raced down the near wing and swung a pass to the near wing for Bydal who fired a shot on goal. The rebound sprung right to Poirier who banged the puck past DellaRusso to tie the game, 3-3, with 3:57 left in regulation.
Overtime came and went without either team generating a goal-scoring opportunity and the teams headed to the shootout for the second time this season. Both DellaRusso and Sterling were at their top of the game, stopping each of the first seven shooters. Sterling came up with a pivotal eighth save on Rhino forward Beckett Hinschsliff and turned the game over to Babineau. The center glided down the center of the ice and roofed a wrist shot over the glove of Hughes and into the net, setting off a raucous celebration off the Grit bench that surrounded both Babineau and Sterling at center ice.
Jan 2, 2025 | Player News
Drew Watz – Colorado Grit Tender
The Colorado Grit of the North American Hockey League are excited to announce the tender signing of forward Drew Watz. Watz is a 2007 forward from Freeland, MI currently playing for Biggby Coffee 18U AAA team. Drew is averaging a point per game on the season with 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points to date.
Watz on his current signing “Im excited to have tendered with the Grit. Im looking forward to the opportunity of being apart of the organization and community!”
“Drew is a offensive minded forward with a high work ethic” stated Grit Asst GM Jesse Predhomme. “He has had a great season so far with Biggby while continuing to develop his game. We are excited to have Drew tendered with the Grit for the upcoming season.”
“We look forward to having Drew join us for the coming season” stated Grit Head Coach Kevin Holmstrom. “He comes from a very good Biggby program and great staff that certainly sets the table for his success. We look forward to following his second half of the season and getting him to Greeley this summer.”
Welcome to the Grit Drew!
Dec 30, 2024 | Game Recap
Early offense and a 37-save effort from Colorado goaltender Jack Erickson were spoiled by four unanswered Oklahoma goals as the Warriors defeated the Colorado Grit, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon in Greeley to salvage a series split.
Winger Luc Bydal stayed hot and opened the scoring for the Grit when he marched down the left wing into the low slot and fired a wrist shot past Oklahoma goaltender Kyle Jones to give Colorado a 1-0 lead with 15:28 remaining in the first period. For the second night running, George Poirier promptly added to the tally within a minute. A Sheldon Rioux wrist shot banged off Jones’ left pad and the team’s leading goal scorer redirected the rebound into the cage to double the lead, 2-0, with less than five and a half minutes played in the first period. Oklahoma got on the board with their first even strength goal of the weekend series. Sebastian Speck boomed a slap shot from the left wing past Erickson to halve the deficit at the 8:11 mark of the first period. A successful penalty kill for Colorado in the final five minutes of the first period following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Ethan McEnenany ensured the lead stayed at 2-1 for the Grit headed into the first intermission.
A flurry of penalties opened the second period. Less than two minutes into the frame, Warrior forward Louie Kamienski and Bydal got tangled up behind the play and would only be separated by the officials at the whistle. The pair got sent to the box with offsetting minors and Bydal was soon joined by Evan Smutney, who picked up a tripping minor and sent Oklahoma to the power play with 16:13 left in the period. The Grit penalty kill found success at their second time of asking, but the Warriors converted on their third power play opportunity to tie the game. Speck again blasted a slapshot, this time from the right point. Erickson slowed it down with his glove, but watched the puck scurry past him and the red light flashed as the Warriors tied the game, 2-2, with 7:04 left in the second period. Late in the period, Speck crashed the net looking for a rebound and Cole Peters came to the defense of Erickson by shoving Speck away from the crease. The pair were sent to the box with 3:31 left in the second period, but neither team was able to take advantage of the four-on-four space and the teams exited tied, 2-2, after two periods.
An offensive onslaught from Oklahoma marked the final twenty minutes. Erickson stepped up for the Grit, making 16 saves on 17 shots in the final period to give the Grit a chance to take the lead. Instead, a turnover in the defensive zone made its way to the stick of Travis Bryson. The leading goal scorer for the Warriors made no mistake and blistered a slap shot off the crossbar and into the net to give Oklahoma their first lead of the night, 3-2, with 12:45 remaining in regulation. A furious rally from Colorado in the final three minutes was aided by the extra attacker when Erickson was sent to the bench to try and find an equalizing goal. The Grit tried to carry the puck out of their own zone, but were undone by a missed pass and Joey DeRosa ripped the puck into an open net to make the score, 4-2, in favor of the visitors with 1:26 left to play. DeRosa’s celebration was right in the face of Grit captain Alex German, who didn’t take kindly to the exultation and was quickly surrounded by DeRosa and three other Warriors before the officials broke the sparring parties apart. German and winger Dominik Kiss were sent to the penalty box and the Grit were on the power play for the rest of regulation, but were unable to convert while the remaining time rolled off the clock.
Dec 30, 2024 | Game Recap
A first period offensive barrage and a two-goal performance from Willy Johnson powered Colorado to a 6-2 victory over the visiting Oklahoma Warriors on Friday night.
The visitors got the scoring started when Warrior forward Sebastian Speck finished off a two-on one and banged the puck past Colorado goaltender Jack Erickson to give Oklahoma the early 1-0 lead on the power play just 4:16 into the first period. The Grit offense quickly countered with a tying goal of their own. It took just five seconds for the grip to convert on their first power play of the night when defenseman Alex German snapped a wrist shot past Oklahoma goaltender Billy Stuski to tie the game, 1-1, with 14:33 remaining in the first period. The home side grabbed two more goals in a hurry midway through the frame. Center Alec Babineau took advantage of a turnover in the Warrior zone and roofed a shot past Stuski to give the Grit a 2-1 lead at the 9:12 mark of the first period. Center George Poirier got his name on the score sheet less than 50 seconds later when he guided a shot from the point past Stuski to double the advantage, 3-1. Another redirection effort got the Grit a fourth tally and chased Stuski from the game. A wrist shot from the right point off Luke Helgeson’s stick was tipped home by Luc Bydal, who extended his point streak to three games, and opened up Colorado’s lead, 4-1 with 5:33 remaining in the first period.
Midway through the second., Oklahoma received a lifeline back into the contest on the power play again. Moments after the Grit were unable to convert on a two-on-one opportunity, forward Joey DeRosa found a pocket of space in the high slot and placed a wrist shot over the glove of Erickson and into the back of the net. The second power play goal of the night for the visitors closed the score to 4-2 with 9:14 remaining in the second period. For the second time in as many periods, the Grit were able to find a response. Rookie defenseman Cole Peters sent a shot on net that pinballed to the stick of Willie Johnson, who promptly punched the puck into the back of the net to restore the three goal cushion, 5-2, with 440 remaining in the second period.
A rugged, defensive theme highlighted the final 20 minutes as Colorado looked to lock down their third consecutive home win. The Warriors’ best opportunity in the third period came on the power play when Lucca Ori was sent to the box for slashing with 13:19 remaining in regulation. Three of the Warriors seven shots in the final frame were directed at Erickson, who parried them all with ease en route to the 25-save win. Johnson finished off the victory with his eighth goal of the season minutes later – snapping a one-timer from the right wing faceoff circle past Jones to make it 6-2 with 8:07 left in the period to close out the scoring.
