Goaltender Jack Erickson had a career night and made sure that Luc Bydal’s goal held up before a late flurry from the Grit offense that culminated in a 4-0 victory for Colorado to salvage a series split in El Paso.
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For the second night of the series, Grit goaltender Jack Erickson turned in a masterful opening frame to give the Colorado offense an opportunity to get started on the road. The Grit’s third line put together a flurry of chances from Ethan McEneany and George Poirier with roughly 11:00 minutes to play in the frame. Both efforts were turned away by El Paso goaltender Michael Manzi. The latter stages of the period were defined by Erickson, as he made 17 of his 42 stops in the opening twenty minutes and take the contest to the first intermission tied at 0-0.
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Special teams loomed large during the second period. The Grit nabbed an early power play to begin the second period and pushed three shots on goal at Manzi, but were unable to convert. Colorado got back-to-back successful penalty kills in the early stages of the period to keep the scoreline knotted, 0-0. McEneany made his presence felt again when he scrapped with El Paso forward Jacob Solano, earning stick taps from the bench as headed to the box with 8:55 remaining in the period. The scrum settled the game down and created space as the Grit snatched the lead when Luc Bydal punched his fourth goal of the year past Manzi to give Colorado the edge, 1-0, with 3:17 to play in the second period.
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The Grit again turned to their penalty kill in the early stages of the third period to protect their 1-0 lead. After killing off an Alec Babineau high-sticking minor, Colorado had a power play with 12:32 to go, but were unable to convert to add to their lead. The physical tenor continued when Landon West and a Rhino skater got into a post-whistle shoving match and were hit with offsetting minors at the halfway mark of the period. More extra curricular activities between Lucca Ori and El Paso winger Cade DeWolf sent the two speedsters to their respective penalty boxes with 4:30 to play in regulation. The Grit offense exploded with rapid fire to give Erickson the lead he needed down the stretch. Cade Kozak and Sheldon Rioux each found the back of the net, separated by only 33 seconds, to extend the Colorado advantage, 3-0, with 2:27 remaining in the contest. Ben Rakowski picked up a multi-point night when his power play tally in the final minute made it 4-0 before the final buzzer sounded.
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GRIT NOTESΒ
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– Goaltender Jack Erickson notched his first shutout of the season and second of his career in the win. The White Bear Lake, MN made 42 saves, surpassing hjs previous career high of 41. The shutout puts a stamp on a dominant four-game stretch where the goaltender is 2-1-1 with a 2.20 GAA and a staggering .942 save percentage.
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– The four-goal margin of victory continues to be the way of the season series between Colorado and El Paso. For the third time in six games, the victor walked away with a four-goal margin of victory. Whereas the season series in 2023-24 was marked by close contests, only two of the first six meetings have been decided by one goal.
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– George Poirier extended his point streak to five games with a pair of assists – the first player in franchise history with a point streak of that length. With eight points (2-6-8) in the stretch, the Arvada, CO product is on pace to hit the 45-point plateau and score 15 goals, both of which would set franchise records.
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– Ben Rakowski’s first goal of the season makes him the 16th different skater to notch a goal in a Grit sweater and the 20th to score a point. The second-year forward becomes the second Grit player to score their first career goal (Vlassis) and seventh Grit player to get hit their first North American Hockey League in the 2024-25 season.
