ST. PETERS, MO — The Helena Bighorns fell to the Rochester Grizzlies 4-1 in the Fraser Cup Championship Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
The Bighorns came out of Pool B in 1st place, with a 4-0 win against the El Paso Rhinos.
The Grizzlies earned themselves second place in the A pool, with a 4-2 win against the Gillette Wild.
The Bighorns struck in the first period just 12 seconds into a power play, that goal came from Liam Bland and was assisted by Tylor Greene and Sam Feaster. The Bighorns led after the first 1-0.
The Grizzlies pulled ahead in the second, snagging two goals. The first from Adam Johnson. This was the first goal of the tournament that Bighorns’ goalie Eric Buchholz let in. He made 85 consecutive saves prior to Johnson’s goal. The second goal came off a wrister from Ben Oakland, which deflected off a Bighorns player for the lead. Grizzlies led at the end of the second, 2-1.
In the third we get two more goals from the Grizzlies. The first came from Layten Liffrig, and the second on an unfortunate empty netter right after the Bighorns pulled Buchholtz, this goal being the second of the night for Meers for a final score of 4-1 for the Grizzlies.
The game ended in tears and hugs at the Bighorns end of the rink as they closed out their impressive season. The Bighorns ended their season as regular season champions, Frontier Division champions, and now, semifinalists in the Fraser Cup Championship Tournament.
The Rochester Grizzlies will take on the Granite City Lumberjacks tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the championship.
