The Granite City Lumberjacks came close to giving away a three-goal lead to the Breezy Point North Stars, but did just enough to escape with a 5-3 victory.
Granite City led by three goals at one point and ended with the victory. The largest advantage in the game came when the Lumberjacks\’ Jared Sprink scored on the power play at 17:28 in the second period to put Granite City up 5-2.
Luke Richardson was all over the ice for the Lumberjacks, as he tallied one goal and two assists in the win. Richardson scored on the power play 16:18 into the second period to make the score 4-2 Granite City. Sam Zweiner assisted on the tally.
Granite City excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in five chances. The Lumberjacks\’ offense rang up 34 shots on Breezy Point\’s net. Granite City was forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as it racked up 22 penalty minutes. Team\’s forwards weren\’t the only contributers offensively, and the team\’s defensemen showcased their scoring touch with two goals.
Granite City also got points from Travis Kothenbeutel, who also tallied one goal and two assists to lead the team in points. Granite City also got a goal from Corey Taylor as well. More assists for Granite City came via Michael Orke, who had two and Mitchell Gwost and Dallas Marvin, who contributed one each.
The North Stars\’ penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled nine minors and one major for 43 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 28.0 minutes per game Breezy Point had been spending in the box. Penalties took their toll on the North Stars, as their penalty kill unit let in three power play goals.
Breezy Point was helped by Tyler Larwood, who grabbed one goal. Larwood scored short handed 15:11 into the second period to make the score 3-2 Granite City. Ryan Mezera picked up the assist. Others who scored for Breezy Point included Crosby Steen and Nick Blanchette, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for Breezy Point were Ryan Herbert, who had two and Brooke Evans and Joe Costello, who each chipped in one.
The Lumberjacks\’ Jesse Garcia stopped 17 shots out of the 20 that he faced. Joe Licata made 29 saves for the North Stars on 34 shots.