Granite City had a two-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 6-2 win over Minnesota.
Casey Esselman had a great game for Granite City, netting two goals. Esselman scored at 13:33 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Granite City and again while 3:27 into the third to make the score 5-1 Granite City.
Granite City forced Minnesota\’s goaltenders to work without much rest, taking 37 shots and forcing 31 saves. Quinn Huff made 27 stops and Dakota McDonald made four. The defensemen of Granite City were also effective in Minnesota\’s zone, and came away with three goals.
Granite City also got points from Michael Piehler, who also racked up one goal and two assists to lead the team in points and Lucas Carroll, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Granite City also had goals scored by Mack Stevens and Adam Marty, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Granite City were Justin Carlson, who had one and Tommy Giller, Will Mix, and Alex Durand, who contributed two each.
Minnesota was led by Ryan Conybear, who registered one goal. Conybear scored 12:12 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Granite City. Jace Cseter also scored for Minnesota. More assists for Minnesota came via Tyler Leverty, who had one.
Granite City\’s Robbie Goor stopped 22 shots out of the 24 that he faced. Granite City incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors. Minnesota incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors.