Grizzlies Win OT Classic, Brahmas Rally Late on Day One

Helena 5 @ Rochester 6 (OT) - The Rochester Grizzlies win a thriller of a game over the Helena Bighorns in overtime to open up the Fraser Cup Pool Play. In a tight first period, Ryan Schultz opened up the scoring early on to give Rochester a 1-0 lead. Towards the middle of the period, Helena responded with two quick goals to take over the momentum and go up 2-1. Then, with less than five minutes left in the first, Cooper Johnson found the back of the net to tie the game at two heading into the first intermission. In the middle frame, the Grizzlies got off to a hot start again, scoring two quick goals to go up 4-2. However, the Bighorns came up with a huge response by scoring three goals in less than two minutes to regain the lead. Entering the third period, Helena carried all of the momentum, and they looked to hold on to their 5-4 lead and secure the win. In the third period, the pressure continued as the Bighorns dominated the shot count and played a sound defensive game. The Grizzlies were limited to only three shots all period, but when they got a chance, they made it count. As the clock wound down, Ole Fevold broke through to tie the game and send it to overtime. After a grueling extra frame, it looked like this game was heading to a shootout, but the Grizzlies had other plans. With only five seconds remaining in the game, Jesse Varner threw the puck on net, and it snuck past the Bighorns’ netminder to win it for Rochester. The team rushed to the ice to celebrate this amazing buzzer beater, as they picked up two points to rise to the top of the Pool A standings. 

Texas B 5 @ Granite City 2 - The Texas Brahmas pulled off an impressive come-from-behind win, fueled by a dominant third period. The opening 40 minutes were quiet, with just one goal coming off the stick of Eli Tiernan to give Granite City a 1-0 lead heading into the final frame. The Brahmas also found themselves trailing in shots, 21-12, but everything shifted in the third Eric Alexander jumpstarted the comeback, netting the equalizer and swinging momentum in Texas’ favor. From there, the offense took off. John Scharf and Tyler Conrad each found the back of the net to give the Brahmas a 3-1 advantage. Granite City responded to cut the deficit to 3-2 and make things interesting, but Texas had another answer. Ben Humphreys took over late, scoring back-to-back goals to put the game out of reach and secure a 5-2 Brahmas victory. Between the pipes, Gavin Erickson was steady and reliable, coming up with key saves throughout and reinforcing his role as the backbone of this Texas team.