Alexandria Blizzard Hockey

The three Alexandria Blizzard forwards – reunited into a single unit this past weekend – have skated together since they were kids. As a result, they seem to have that special something – call it chemistry if you will – that comes together to produce results.

After scoring once Friday, the trio combined for three spectacular goals Saturday night against St. Louis at the Runestone Community Center.

Echo Press photos by Arlan Anderson. Blizzard goalie Ryan Leets slid his stick around the puck as he worked a save, while teammate Joe Hartmann (25) kept a St. Louis player off the play.

“It was great,” Knoepke said. “We have been friends for a long time so it’s cool that we’re all playing together and we found some common ground. Knowing the other guys so well just makes the game so much easier. Me and Garrett have played together since the fourth grade and we played with Brandon in bantams and in the Elite League. It really helps when you know the other person’s style of play.”

As high school seniors, Knoepke and Grimstead combined for 132 points, leading Rochester Century to a third-place finish at the state tournament.

Given the vagaries of junior hockey, it is somewhat of a miracle that all three ended up together in Alexandria. Knoepke was slated to play in the United States Hockey League but off-season shoulder surgery altered his plans. After signing with the Blizzard, Knoepke recruited Bahnemann.

Grimstead began the season in Green Bay before being traded to North Iowa and then Alaska. Refusing to report, Grimstead held out for a trade to Alexandria. Patience paid off as he out-waited the Avalanche for nearly a month before Alaska relented.

Now the trio is showing signs it could be the offensive force the Blizzard have been so desperately searching for all season.

Grimstead’s one-on-one ability and sniper-like shooting brought the crowd to its feet on numerous occasions Saturday. He scored two stunning goals and had a third one disallowed.

“He is the fastest kid I know,” Knoepke said. “I have never seen a kid go from zero to full speed as fast as he can. And he has a great shot.”

The Alexandria powerplay has improved dramatically since Grimstead’s arrival, connecting at 20 percent over four games.

Can the Rochester combo emerge as the line that carries the team back into the Central Division playoff race?

“It would be nice,” Knoepke admitted. “But this is a very talented team. We have a lot of guys who could do it. Five-on-five we’re beating everyone but we just have to stop taking the hooking and holding penalties. That’s what’s killing us.”

BLIZZARD BITS – The Blizzard now face Bismarck four games in a row November 16, 17, and 23 in Alexandria and November 24 in North Dakota. The Bobcats just completed a 2-4-0 swing through Alaska and are seven points up on Alexandria with four more games played... Defensemen Taylor Vichorek (Moose Lake) and Joe Hartman (St. Cloud) will return to the lineup Friday night after serving one-game suspensions for their alleged role in a Friday night brawl with St. Louis... Veteran forward Jerry Freismuth (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) finally broke out of his season-long funk Friday with two goals and an assist. He was the Blizzard’s leading scorer last year.