Third period struggles and a lights out performance from Odessa Jackalopes goaltender William Svard Karphed fueled a 1-5 Grit loss Friday night at the Greeley Ice Haus.
The Colorado Grit entered the game sitting at 14-16 (5-2 in conference) currently at seventh place in the conference while the opposing Odessa Jackalopes came into the contest sitting at 16-16. Both teams coming off of two game losing streaks, looked to bounce back during their push to the playoffs.
From the drop of the puck both teams looked to establish a physical brand of hockey. Hard forecheck and dump and chase offense on both ends of the ice led to a scoreless game through most of the first period. However, a penalty from Odessa forward James Richman opened up the Grit offense. Forward Ben Rakowski redirected a shot from Grit defenseman Evan Smutney to open up the scoring with 5:52 left in the period. Less than a minute later, Richman made amends, burying a short side goal to even the game at one goal a piece. Despite another Grit powerplay late in the period, the Jackalopes were able to hold off the Grit, ending the period tied 1-1.
After the physical start, the game opened up, creating many more offensive chances. Grit goaltender Peter Sterling came up huge early in the second, denying a breakaway attempt from the Jackalopes. After another Grit powerplay came up for short, Rakowski appeared to tip in his second goal of the game, before referees quickly came in to wave off the goal for a high stick.
Matching penalties from the Grit and Jackalopes led to two minutes of four on four hockey where Jackalopes forward Caden Ghiossi buried the rebound to give them a 2-1 lead. Despite out shooting Odessa 23-15, the Grit found themselves down a goal after two periods.
In a night that saw the Grit dominate offensive time of possession, Svard Karphed stood tall for the Jackalopes, denying 28 of the Grits 29 shots throughout the game. Costly turnovers plagued the Grit throughout the third period. With 8:18 left in the third period, Odessa forward Jeremy Jacobs ripped home a goal from the high slot. Just over a minute later the Jackalopes struck again as forward Jordan Larkee buried his 10th of the season extending the lead to three. Jacobs would add one more for Odessa, netting his second of the game and seventh of the year ending the game with the score 1-5 in favor of the Jackalopes.
Looking forward, both teams have a short turnaround as they will be rematching tomorrow at 4:05 p.m. at the Greeley Ice Haus.