Mayo grad Cothern backstops Grizzlies to series sweep

With three goalies on the Rochester Grizzlies roster, playing time can be tough to come by.

But Rochester Mayo graduate Tate Cothern has made the most of his time in his first season with the defending North American 3 Hockey League champions.

Cothern made his third start of the season Saturday night, stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced to lead the Grizzlies to a tight 3-2 win against Milwaukee, and a sweep of the two-game weekend series.

Kaleb Bents recorded a 17-save shutout in Friday's opener, which the Grizzlies won 2-0.

Rochester is now 12-2-0 and in first place in the NA3HL Central Division. Milwaukee dropped to 7-7-2.

The Grizzlies are on a seven-game winning streak and went a perfect 7-0-0 in October. They had to battle to earn their latest victory, though.

Milwaukee goalie Adam Prokop was sharp on his end, just as Cothern was on his. Prokop stopped 25 shots Saturday and kept the Grizzlies off the board for the first 36 minutes of the game.

The Power struck first, as Patrick Toomey scored 2:47 into the second period to give his team a 1-0 lead. That's how it stayed until Zach Laurila finally beat Prokop, with 4:00 to play in the second, tying the score 1-1. Just less than two minutes later, Northfield native Spencer Klotz scored his team-leading ninth goal and 18th point of the season to give Rochester a 2-1 lead after two.

Grizzlies forward Ben Tschida scored the game winner midway through the second period, his third goal of the season and second goal of the weekend. It was needed, too, as Milwaukee's Max Mudge scored with 35 seconds remaining in the third period to cut Rochester's lead to one.

Rochester hosts division rival Wausau for two games at the Rec Center on Friday, Nov. 4, and Saturday, Nov. 5. The opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. both nights.

BOX SCORE: Rochester Grizzlies 3, Milwaukee Power 2