Grizzlies Tie and Win Against GVSU; MCHC Rival Flint on the Horizon

Week 10

Week 9 Recap (#7 Grand Valley State University)

The Golden Grizzlies were back in action this past weekend as they took on the #7 ranked Grand Valley State Lakers for a two-game set.  The top 10 matchup previewed some of the best teams at the ACHA DIII level, and it was also a House Hockey Pod game of the weekend.  The Grizzlies have struggled with Grand Valley in the past few tries and were looking to avenge last season’s losses to the Lakers.

On Friday, the Grizzlies traveled to Griff’s Georgetown to take on the Lakers in the first game of the weekend set.  The Grizzlies, not known for traveling on day one of the weekend, opened the game in a battle with Grand Valley who had won the last eight contests with the Golden Grizzlies.  After the first period, the game was tied 1-1 in a back-and-forth contest.  The game would open in the second as the Grizzlies would score three second-period goals while giving up two in the middle frame.  The line of Davis, McMullen, and McCatty would power the Grizzlies to those results.  In the third, the Lakers would score early, and the game would remain tied at four throughout the remainder of the game. Both teams would trade power play opportunities in the overtime session but to no result as the game would remain tied 4-4 as the final score.  In goal, Tate Potteiger made 28 of 32 saves.

In game two of the weekend, the Grizzlies would take on the Lakers but this time at Buffalo Wild Wings Arena.  The Lakers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but the Grizzlies would take over from there on in.  The Grizzlies would score three goals in the first, three goals in the second, and one in the third to take the game by a final score of 7-2.  Scoring the game for the Golden Grizzlies were Grant Dickinson (X2), Shane Arbour, Jack Abbo, Ryan Kotchi, Brendan Danou and Jake McCatty.  Defending the net was Caleb Godlewski who made 31 of 33 saves in the contest.

After 9 weeks of play (record of 12-2-0-1), the team highlights are below:

Leading in Goals: Brendan Danou (17)

Leading in Assists: Brendan Danou (21)

Leading in Points: Brendan Danou (38)

Team Powerplay: 17 of 53 (32.08%)

Team Penalty Kill %: 53 of 62 (85.45%)

Leader in Wins: Tate Potteiger (7)

Leader in GAA (at least 100 minutes played): Evan Hays (1.35)

Leader in Save % (at least 100 minutes played): Evan Hays (94.4%)

Week 10 Preview (#44 U of M – Flint)

The #3 ranked Golden Grizzlies continue their 2024-2025 season this coming weekend with the final weekend of the first semester with a pair of games against MCHC-East Rival U of M – Flint.  The Flint Wolverines have made strides in the past few seasons and have the most competitive team they’ve had in recent memory as they are headed to the ACHA D1 level next season.

Last weekend for the Wolverines, U of M – Flint played cross-conference opponent Michigan State University to a 6-3 loss and a 3-2 OT loss.  In other action this season, Flint has won against like opponent Ferris State and has tight contests with many opponents on the Grizzlies schedule.  Coach Stirling and his staff are a consistent 11-0-0-0 against U of M – Flint all-time.  Flint currently sits 5th in the MCHC-East standings.  In last season’s games, the Grizzlies got the best of the Wolverines by scores of 7-1 and 5-1.

Flint is led by forwards #21 Blaine Gour (White River Junction, VT), #15 Zach Potter (Grosse Pointe, MI), and #8 Austin Hinkson (Manistique, MI).  Gour leads Flint with 27 points in the 21 games so far this season.  Newcomer #13 Gavin Rose is also off to a great start as he has 8 points in four games.  In net for the Wolverines has been the tandem of Maximus Penachio and Alexander Noble who have split time throughout the season.  The two have combined for the following stat lines:

  • #29 Maximus Penachio GP: 12, Record of 5-4-0-1, GAA: 2.92, Save %: 89.10
  • #1 Alexander Noble GP: 12, Record of 3-5-0-0, GAA: 3.08, Save %: 90.30

Both goalies are new to the team this season.

Other News and Notes:

The third ranking period of the season was announced this week via social media and the ACHA website.  The Golden Grizzlies moved up one spot in the National Rankings and claimed the 3rd spot in Ranking #3.  Rankings #4 will be everything played through 12/16/2024 and will include the GVSU and U of M – Flint games.  The rankings will continue throughout the season on a bi-weekly basis until the final ranking period in February.  The top 16 teams with some automatic bids for league winners will make the tournament which is hosted in St. Louis this season.  This is the highest the team has been ranked in the third ranking period since the 2016-2017 season.

The Golden Grizzlies family would like to take a moment to remember long-time Calvin Head Coach Mike Petrusma who passed away this past month.  Mike was a foundational piece in the development of the MCHC conference and served in the Calvin Hockey organization for over 25 years while seeing over 750 games for the Knights.  More information about coach Petrusma can be found at the following article below: Longtime Calvin Hockey Coach Mike Petrusma Passes Away

Out-of-town Schedule for Week 10 Relevant Games (Rankings from Ranking #3)

#4 LTU vs #9 Michigan (MCHC – East Games)

#39 CMU vs #41 Adrian (MCHC – East Games)

#7 GVSU vs #47 Ferris State

#12 UMass vs #17 CMCC

#24 Wentworth Institute of Technology vs #67 Springfield

MCHC – East Standings (As of 12/9/2024)

1 LTU (4-0-0-0) 8
T2 Oakland (2-0-0-0) 4
T2 Michigan (2-0-0-0) 4
4 CMU (2-4-0-0) 4
5 U of M – Flint (0-2-0-0) 0
6 Adrian (0-4-0-0) 0

 

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