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.