Matthew Cowger scored the go-ahead goal in the first period, and Granite City held off the challenges of Breezy Point in a tough 3-1 win.
Cowger provided Granite City with the game-winning tally when he scored 16:30 into the first period. William Sprink picked up the assist.
Granite City\’s Robbie Goor was a brick wall in net, as he came up with 39 saves and let only one puck past him. Goor certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 1.75 entering the contest.
Granite City was paced by Braden Altena, who registered one goal and one assist. Altena scored on the power play 17:34 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Granite City. Granite City had gotten the advantage when Breezy Point\’s Austin Langworthy was sent off for tripping. Will Mix provided the assist.
Granite City kept Breezy Point\’s goalie busy throughout the game, and Magnus Lindhe made 36 saves on 39 shots.
Andrej Jamnicky also scored for Granite City. More assists for Granite City came via Tyler Mros and Mathew Sprink, who each chipped in one.
Breezy Point forced Granite City goalie Goor to work between the pipes, taking 40 shots.
Breezy Point was led by Tyler Larwood, who scored the team\’s only goal. Larwood scored 1:36 into the third period to make the score 2-1 Granite City. Christian Lenzmeier picked up the assist.
Granite City totaled seven minutes in penalty time with one minor and one major and went 1-for-2 on the power play. Breezy Point incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors.