A tight, defensive first period didnt yield much offense for the Grit. Neither team was able to generate anything other than shots to goal until late in the period. Ice Wolve defenseman Max Matthews snapped a shot that was redirected by Stanley Hubbard and skittered past Erickson to give the visitors a 1-0 lead with 3:49 left in the period. The Grit’s lone power play opportunity was turned aside in the final two minutes of the period.

 

The Grit offense got to work early in the second period when Chris Graves banged a rebound past New Mexico goaltender Jackson Fuller to tie the game, 1-1, just 2:39 into the period. 

 

Despite only two combined power plays, the physicality turned up a notch when Alec Babineau and New Mexico defenseman Sean Smith exchanged punches a mere 30 seconds after Graves tied the game. The penalty boxes got more crowded right away when Lucas Mann and Johnny Johansson got into a scrap with 14:40 left in the frame. After the fisticuffs, Graves’ third goal of the season held the scoreline level until Ben Rakowski took advantage of a freak carom to give Colorado the lead. A wrist shot pinged off the end glass and hit Fuller in front of the net; Rakowski got his stick to the puck and jabbed it home to give the Grit a 2-1 lead with 12:57 left in the second period. Right before the intermission, Nick Noble received a cross-ice pass from Willy Johnson and rifled a shot past Fuller to open up the lead, 3-1, with 35 seconds left in the second period.

 

The third period settled into a scrappy, defensive twenty minutes as the Grit looked to finish off the win. Erickson was a perfect 11-for-11 on save attempts to curtail any comeback efforts from the visitors. Midway through the period, New Mexico forward Bryce Johnson rang the crossbar and the puck sailed out of play and keeping it a two-goal deficit. With 2:45 remaining in regulation, the Ice Wolves pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker. The Grit had multiple efforts at the empty net, but couldn’t hit the target. A late minor penalty to Alex German meant New Mexico had a two-man advantage for the final 45 seconds, but still couldn’t solve Erickson. After two more stops, the final buzzer sounded and the Grit picked up the victory.