Grizzlies’ Coach Ratzloff talks Fraser Cup Tournament performance

(ABC 6 News) — This isn’t Chris Ratzloff’s first rodeo in the Fraser Cup Tournament, but he definitely doesn’t want to go back to Med City anytime soon.

The Rochester Grizzlies are in a must-win situation in St. Peters, Missouri as they play the Gillette Wild later on Friday at 4 PM. A win for Rochester would advance them to the Fraser Cup semifinals based on their pool play in the first two games of the tournament.

Looking back on Wednesday’s loss to the Northeast Generals, Coach Ratzloff knows what proved to be problematic.

"Unfortunately we turned the puck over," Ratzloff began. "They capitalized on our mistakes three times in the first and their goaltender was – he came up big, had a great game against us. We didn’t finish when we did have our chances and you know, it’s one of those things that, hopefully, we learn from it."

Coach Ratzloff then looked towards the Gillette Wild, the roadblock between Rochester and a continuing season.

"From what I saw in the Helena series, you know, they compete hard," Coach Ratzloff noted. "They — you know, it’s going to be a good pace. What we need to do is just eliminate their opportunities, make sure we take care of the puck. Just don’t give them the chances that we gave northeast and I think we should be alright."

Rookie forward Kyle Bauer also acknowledged Gillette’s strong suits, noting the team’s speed.

"Yeah, definitely, I mean they’re a fast team," Bauer said. "They’ve kept up with Helena who just beat Grand City, who we know — we know they’re a good team. So, we know they’re going to be fast, they’re going to be physical, so, we got to be ready. This has been the goal to be here to win the whole thing. And it feels good to be here, you know, I’m proud of the team for our success in the regular season. But, now we’re playing catch-up, we got to win tomorrow. So, it’s good to be here, but we didn’t come here just to be here."

The Grizzlies’ Fraser Cup games can be seen on HockeyTV.com.