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.