In a game where neither team could get a cushion, the Alexandria Blizzard escaped with a 4-2 victory over the Granite City Lumberjacks.
Each team kept the other at bay throughout the game, and Trent Olson secured the win for Alexandria with a goal in the third period.
With the win, the Blizzard avoided elimination to make the series score 1-1 in the best of three series.
Alexandria was led by Olson, who finished with one goal. Olson scored 13:55 into the third period to make the score 3-2 Alexandria. Tom Schmidt provided the assist.
Granite City was unable to stop the Blizzard from sending pucks towards the net, and Alexandria eventually piled up 34 shots on goal. The Blizzard\’s defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals.
Others who scored for Alexandria included Joe Carney, Austin Kilian, and AJ Gullickson, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for Alexandria were David Becker, who had three and Tyler Sworsky, Bo Gronseth, and Aaron Ryback, who each chipped in one.
The Lumberjacks\’ offense rang up 51 shots on Alexandria\’s net.
Granite City was helped by Will Mix, who racked up one goal. Mix scored 1:47 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Michael Orke assisted on the tally. Luke Richardson also scored for Granite City. In addition, Granite City received assists from Spencer Nelson, Jared Sprink, and Dallas Marvin, who contributed one each.
Evan Bisek recorded 49 saves for the Blizzard. Alexandria incurred 12 minutes in penalty time with six minors. The Lumberjacks\’ Jesse Garcia stopped 30 shots out of the 34 that he faced. Granite City totaled 25 minutes in penalty time with five minors and one major and went 1-for-4 on the power play.