Feb 23, 2024 | Archived
The Grit played even for nearly all of regulation against the league leading Lone Star Brahmas before being undone by two rapid-fire goals in the third period and fell 4-2 on Friday night.
Colorado jumped out to an early advantage in the first period, thanks to rookie forward Christian Carter. Carter barreled down the left wing, deked past a Brahma forward, and buried a wrist shot past Lone Star netminder Deivs Rolovs to give the Grit a 1-0 lead just over four minutes into the period. The shot spelled the end of Rolovs’ night, as backup goaltender Jack Weineke entered the contest. Colorado’s lead lasted nearly to the first intermission; Brahma rookie Anthony Cappello found space at the edge of the crease and pumped a shot past Grit goaltender Jack Erickson to tie the game at 1-1 with 48 seconds remaining in the first period.
An even second period saw each team find the back of the net once. Lone Star took the lead on an Ivan Zadvernyuk wrist shot that beat Erickson low glove side, giving the Brahmas their first lead with 9:40 remaining in the second period. Colorado defenseman Jordan Gudridge took full advantage of a breakaway, potting his sixth goal of the season and tying the contest, 2-2, with 4:43 to play in the second period.
After a key penalty kill midway through the third period, the Brahmas offense awoke with tallies in rapid succession. Rookie Justin Kerr found space at the edge of Erickson’s crease and was able to squeak a rebound past his fellow rookie to give Lone Star a 3-2 lead with 7:15 to play in the third period. Barely ninety seconds later, Lone Star forward Jacob MacDonald roofed a snapshot off Erickson’s shoulder and into the top corner and gave the Brahmas a 4-2 lead with 5:55 remaining in regulation.
Colorado put a pair of late shots on net in the final minute, but was unable to crack Weineke down the stretch, who finished with 17 saves on 18 shots in the Brahma win.
Feb 6, 2024 | Archived
The Grit entered the game searching for their first win in the season series against El Paso,
going 0-6-0-0 in the team’s previous meetings in Greeley. Starting goaltender Pete Sterling
made his second start since being acquired from New Hampshire and looked sharp between
the pipes.
Colorado (8-25-3-2) held the Rhinos scoreless over the first period of play, thanks to another
stingy penalty kill from the Grit. With 13:26 left in the first period, winger Wilder Jacober was
whistled for a holding penalty. The penalty killing unit blocked three shots on the ensuing kill and
Sterling, who finished with 22 saves on 25 shots, made a pair of key saves to keep the game
tied at 0-0.
The final ninety seconds of the first period belonged to Colorado, generating the best
opportunity of the night. From the edge of the right-wing faceoff circle, Chris Graves lobbed a
wrist shot on goal at LoVullo; the shot caromed off LoVullo and bounced off the post. Wilder
Jacober had a chance to backhand the rebound home, but pushed it wide to bring the first
period to a close.
To start the second period, the story was the same as the Grit pushed El Paso back on their
heels. Less than a minute into the period, Landon West found space in the high slot and
whipped a wrist shot that LoVullo kicked away. With 17:27 to go, a strong cycle in the offensive
zone freed up Noah Grolnic to drive to the front of the net. Grolnic had two attempts to stuff the
puck past LoVullo, who finished with a 16-save shutout.
The Grit were left to woe their missed chances when Rhino forward Medrick Bolduc found
space in the low slot and punched a wrist shot underneath Sterling’s left pad to give El Paso a
1-0 lead with 13:59 left in the second period. Just over two minutes later, a breakout pass
sprung Cade DeWolf who barreled down the left wing and used the backhand to roof the puck
over the glove side and spot the Rhinos a 2-0 lead with 11:44 in the second period.
The fireworks in the second period didn’t end there. Only 35 seconds remained when Brayden
Fryfogle dropped the gloves and squared off with El Paso defenseman Alexandre Pellerin in the
neutral zone. The crowd of 1,931 cheered the effort and were similarly enthused when El Paso
took a 2-0 lead to the second intermission.
An even third period saw Colorado have to kill another penalty midway through the frame,
finishing 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Chances were few and far between for either side until
Christian Carter found Brayden Fryfogle in the high slot. With 4:30 remaining in the period,
Carter sidestepped a check on the left wing boards and fed Brayden Fryfogle. Fresh out of the
box, Fryfogle’s heavy wrist shot glanced off LoVullo’s glove and into the corner. AJ Reed took
advantage of a turnover in the neutral zone and added the final tally with 2:28 to play, sealing El
Paso’s 3-0 win.
Author: Brendan Price
