Three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as the Breezy Point North Stars defeated the Granite City Lumberjacks in a shootout 3-2 (4-1 SO).
The two teams needed seven turns to complete the shootout. Granite City got a shootout goal from Michael Orke. Breezy Point\’s other shootout goals were scored by Sean Viti, Brooke Evans, and Tyler Larwood.
The North Stars came back from a one-goal deficit to capture the victory. Breezy Point trailed 2-1 after a goal by the Lumberjacks\’ Spencer Nelson at 11:55 in the second period. The North Stars knotted things up at 2-2 on a goal by Ryan Mezera at 17:06 in the second period.
Yegor Paliy also scored for Breezy Point. More assists for Breezy Point came via Jack Anderholm, Ryan Herbert, and Jordan Carey, who contributed one each.
Granite City managed to stay out of the box better than usual, finishing with one minor for two minutes in penalty time. The Lumberjacks ended up below its season average of 20.0 penalty minutes per game. Granite City did not reach the goal total it has come to expect this season. The Lumberjacks put an average of 4.2 pucks into the net per game. Granite City\’s offense rang up 37 shots on Breezy Point\’s net.
The Lumberjacks were helped by David Kenney, who grabbed one goal. Kenney scored 7:27 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Granite City. Sam Zweiner picked up the assist. Other players who recorded assists for Granite City were Luke Richardson, Tanner Skaja, and Alek Groth, who each chipped in one.
Jaxson Gosnell recorded 35 saves for the North Stars. Breezy Point incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors. Granite City\’s Kendall Meyer stopped 18 shots out of the 20 that he faced. The Lumberjacks registered zero goals on two power play opportunities.