Utah Grizzlies: A Scrappy Affair

After two long weeks, the Grizzlies are finally back home. It’s been too long.

With Kevin Boyle and Zac Larazza called up to the AHL, Ryan Faragher was backed up by Ryan McKay, Kenton Helgesen drew back into the lineup, and new acquisition Ralph Cuddemi also made his Grizzlies debut.

The last time the Grizzlies and Eagles met, Utah swept Colorado in the first round of the playoffs in a matchup that was as tightly contested and hate-filled as a series sweep could be. It is in no way an exaggeration to say that these teams do not like each other.

Cuddemi, who joined the team in exchange for Jordan Samuels-Thomas, wasted no time in making his mark. Just over three minutes into the first, a Colorado defenseman lost control of the puck at the Grizzlies’ blue line, and Austen Brassard pounced. Just about shaking off the Colorado player, he rang the puck off the bar. However, the rebound came straight to Cuddemi, who wired it into the back of the net for his first goal.

Unfortunately, Colorado tied it up at 6:45 as league-leading scorer Casey Pierro-Zabotel got one past Faragher.

About a minute later, Derek Rodwell boarded Eric Springer behind the Grizzlies’ net. Though Springer got up and skated off under his own power, he went straight to the dressing room, and didn’t return for the rest of the period. Fortunately, he returned to the Grizzlies bench half way through the second.

With a little over two minutes left in the period, Phil Pietroniro laid a hit on Cole Sanford, and the two squared off by the Grizzlies’ blue line, but were broken up before a full-fledged fight could break out. Both players were sent to the box for roughing, and the period would end 4-on-4. After twenty, the score was tied 1-1, and the shots were 14-8 for the Grizzlies.

At 5:54 of the second, Mathieu Aubin took a slashing penalty, and the Grizzlies’ penalty kill went to work. Helgesen, who got some time as a defenseman after Springer went down, drew a tripping call half way through the PK.

As the game progressed, it got steadily chippier. With 5:51 left in the second, Pietroniro and Jesse Mychan dropped the gloves for real, and went down swinging behind the Grizzlies’ net. They were both sent to their respective dressing rooms, and just over a minute later, Brassard got sent to the box for tripping. However, the Grizzlies killed the penalty off without trouble.

With a minute left in the first, the Erik Higby beat Nathan Lieuwen, giving the Grizzlies the 2-1 lead going into intermission. Helgesen’s strong play throughout was rewarded with the assist.

The third period did not open in an auspicious manner for the home team, as Faragher got out of position trying to make a save, and Luke Salazar banged the rebound into the empty net.

After that, Colorado’s already tenuous hold on discipline slipped. Michael Sdao was sent off for tripping at 3:24, followed by Matt Register for roughing against Jon Puskar at 4:53. The Grizzlies called a timeout, and got themselves sorted out for the ensuing 31 seconds of 5-on-3. Puskar got taken down yet again in front of the Eagles’ net, and another scrum ensued. Brassard and Sdao both got sent to the box as a result, getting double minors for roughing, Sdao was joined 18 seconds later by Pierro-Zabotel for cross-checking Tim Daly at the Grizzlies bench, and Jake Marto for roughing against Brandon McNally. McNally joined Brassard also for roughing against Marto.

Puskar took the best revenge possible for the abuse he suffered by scoring just seconds into the power play, tipping in Mike Banwell’s shot from the point. He almost got a second shortly thereafter, but the puck rolled away from him, and the rest of the Grizzlies’ power play expired without incident.

At 13:01, Sdao and Amestoy dropped the gloves, and wound up in the Eagles’ net, each getting five for fighting. With 5:22 left in the game, the Grizzlies coughed up the puck in their own end, and Cole Sanford tied the game up after being left all alone in the slot. Though Brassard got a pair of quality chances in the dying minutes, the game went to overtime.

Three-on-three hockey is amazing to watch. It’s wild, it’s five minutes of non-stop nail biting and end-to-end rushes, and this OT was no exception. The Grizzlies opened with Brassard, McNally and Pietroniro, and after three minutes and 39 seconds of anxiety, Brassard picked off the puck in the neutral zone, motored back into the offensive zone, and was allowed to get off a beautiful backhander all alone in front of the Eagles’ net.

Amestoy, Cuddemi, and Brassard were named the three stars of the game, and Faragher got the win, saving 28 of 31 shots, and improving to a perfect 4-0.

Bumps and Bruises

Games against Colorado often turn into wars of attrition, and a lot of guys were banged up in this game. Taylor Richart got run quite a few times, and Pietroniro hobbled off after blocking a shot in the second. Springer missed parts of both the first and second period after getting hit, and has since been put on the injured reserve. Puskar was the victim of quite a few hacks and slashes as the game progressed, and Daly was plastered to the boards in front of the Grizzlies bench. Tonight is likely to be no different.

Putting up Points

After tonight, two Grizzlies are at (or over) a point-per-game rate. Puskar leads the team with four goals and three assists in five games and rookie Shane Walsh has three goals and two assists. C.J. Eick has three goals and an assist, while Brassard, Aubin, and McNally all have a goal and three assists apiece.

Helgesen Shines

After having been scratched for two games, Helgesen was excellent. He was prominent on the first wave of several penalty kills, and was even on the ice in the final minute of a tied game. Thanks to Springer’s absence for a large part of the game, and Pietroniro’s five-minute penalty during that time, the Grizzlies were short two defensemen. Fortunately for them, Helgesen was drafted as a defenseman, and he stepped up in a big way, filling in on the back end several times during that stretch. He was rewarded for his efforts with an assist on Higby’s goal, and now has two points in three games.

These same teams play tonight at 7 PM MT. As Kevin Boyle is still in San Diego, there is a good chance that we will see Ryan McKay make his debut. Regardless of who plays, it’s bound to be a wild game.

Utah Grizzlies: Routed on the Road

The Utah Grizzlies did not get off to an auspicious start in their first away game of the season, battled back to a tie at the end of the second, and then had the wheels came well and truly off in the third.

After being badly beaten in the two opening games, the Steelheads came out strong in their home opener. Just 2:19 into the first, the Grizzlies’ defence left Caleb Herbert all alone in front of Kevin Boyle, and he made no mistake, scoring the first goal of the game on the first shot. Very shortly thereafter, they scored again as Phil Pietroniro lost his footing and Travis Ewanyk scored on the second shot.

Tim Daly put the Grizzlies within one, first drawing a penalty in the Grizzlies’ end, and then on the delayed penalty, carrying the puck up the ice himself to score his first goal of the season in style.

Unfortunately, the Grizzlies were a little lackadaisical coming back to their own zone, and Idaho scored. The Grizzlies responded well to the setback, and upped their play a notch. With 4:01 left in the first, Shane Walsh, Colin Martin and Brandon McNally crashed the Steelheads’ net, and McNally banged the puck home, making it 3-2 Idaho. The Grizzlies seemed to get their feet under them after that, and looked much better in the last few minutes of the period.

The Grizzlies came out in the second and continued to improve on their play, though nothing came of it until Jordan Samuels-Thomas scored on an absolute cannon of a shot, tying up the game at 11:49. The Steelheads looked a bit shaky for a stretch, and the Grizzlies upped the intensity. Larraza and Samuels-Thomas swarmed the net, and the Steelheads’ goalie looked a little harried, but smothered the puck.

At 19:34, Jon Puskar took a holding penalty behind his own net, but the penalty kill was very short lived. Idaho’s Rob Linsmayer took a high-sticking penalty with 12 seconds left in the period. After forty, the game was tied at three, and the shots were also tied at 20.

In the opening minutes of the third, it looked like the Grizzlies had a chance to make a game of it – deserved or not. However, that was not to be. Following a post face-off scramble, Kellan Lain put the puck right through Boyle for the Steelheads’ fourth goal at 5:14.

Unfortunately, that goal turned out to be the death knell of the comeback, as Utah ran into some penalty trouble, and the Steelheads scored their fifth goal on the power play. Boyle was clearly not happy with himself, slamming his stick on the crossbar in the aftermath.

The Grizzlies had another chance to close the gap when the Steelheads took two penalties, and Utah pulled Boyle for an extra attacker. Colin Martin scored his first pro goal, putting Utah drew within one again, and it looked like the rookie had waited for just the opportune moment to make an impact. The goal was eventually given to Samuels-Thomas, and less than a minute later, Linsmayer scored on a turn over. At that point, it was all well and truly over. Kyle Jean scored on the empty net with less than thirty seconds left, and David Glen put the final nail in the coffin with just four seconds to go. The final count was 8-4 for Idaho, and the shots 33-24, also in Idaho’s favour.

After battling so hard to tie the game up at the end of the second, it was disheartening to lose by such a wide margin, but the Grizzlies clearly weren’t on their game all night. They had issues in transition, and their defensive coverage – such a strength in the first two games of the year – was weak, most especially in the first period, but also throughout the game in general. As a result, their rookie net-minder was often left to fend for himself, and he struggled mightily.

Fortunately, Utah can go back to the drawing board and try again tomorrow, as the same two teams face off again in Idaho at 7:10 MST.

Utah Grizzlies: So it Begins

Some of you may remember that the Utah Grizzlies were my first real hockey love. A lot of you also probably know that it’s been a dream of mine to work in hockey in some regard. Well, that dream has partly come true.

This season, I’ve been fortunate enough to receive credentials from the Utah Grizzlies to cover the team, and last night was the first game of the season.

The Game

The first period was fairly uneventful, though the Grizzlies managed to put up 13 shots to the Steelheads’ 7. No goals were scored, and each team took a penalty, but not a whole lot of note occurred. That all changed in the second period. The Grizzlies took control of the game as first C.J. Eick and then Jon Puskar scored less than three minutes apart, and things got a little chippy. Utah came out very much on top, with two penalties to Idaho’s three, and ten shots to Idaho’s five in addition to the two goals.

Then the Steelheads made things interesting.

Idaho began the third with far more energy than they had shown in the two previous periods, pressuring the Grizzlies, and eventually scoring on the power play at 3:16. Thanks largely to the play of Kevin Boyle, Utah was able to weather the storm, until Eick put away his second of the night with an authoritative shot from the slot. Ducks prospect Kenton Helgeson picked up a secondary assist on the tally. With less than five minutes left to play, newcomer Jordan Samuels-Thomas, who was noticeable on nearly every shift, put the finishing touch on the game.

The game felt far closer than the 4-1 score suggested, and the Steelheads out-shot the Grizzlies in the third to the tune of 18-11.

The power play (1/6 on the evening) looked a bit lackadaisical at times early on, as the Grizzlies had a little bit of trouble gaining or holding the zone, but it tightened up considerably as the game progressed. The penalty kill (1/5), on the other hand, looked very good throughout. Really, the defensive play overall was especially noticeable.

In addition to the goal-scorers Eick (named second star of the game), Puskar, and the aforementioned Samuels-Thomas, a number of other players stood out.

Brandon McNally, formerly of the Brampton Beast/St. John’s IceCaps (ECHL and AHL affiliates of the Montreal Canadiens) was noteworthy, primarily for his defensive skills, as the Grizzlies took quite a number of penalties, and he was a staple on the penalty kill.

Shane Walsh had four shots and an assist, Erik Higby five shots and an assist, and defenceman Mike Banwell had six shots and two assists.

The star of the game, however, was undoubtedly goaltender Kevin Boyle. In his first pro game, he was as cool as the proverbial cucumber. Despite going long stretches in the early going without seeing a shot, he never looked surprised or unprepared when they did come his way. In the third, he held down the fort until Eick added a little cushion to the lead. To see him, you would never have guessed that it was his first pro game.

“He makes some big saves, that’s for sure” said head coach Tim Branham after the game, “but he makes every save look easy. He’s one of those goaltenders that moves really well, controls his rebounds really well. The next time he plays, watch him, how many pucks that come off of him and go into the netting. He does a great job with it. He’s calm and cool, no matter what he’s doing.”

He added that as Boyle came off the ice after being named first star, he jokingly asked him if his heart rate had gone above 90 yet. If the outward signs were anything to go by, the answer could well have been no. “He’s pretty special,” Branham added, and given the evidence so far, it’s hard to disagree.

The Goalies

At the beginning of the season, for better or worse, there are always storylines surrounding a team. For the Habs, for instance, it is the P.K. Subban/Shea Weber trade. For the Grizzlies, it is clearly goaltending. Utah has had excellent starting goalies for quite a number of years now. If it wasn’t Aaron Dell (now backup for the San Jose Sharks) or Igor Bobkov, it was Ryan Faragher. This year, however, the goaltending depth is extraordinary. As Coach Branham said, he could pick any of their numbers out of a hat, and the team would be in good shape. So just who, exactly, are these stalwarts in net?

Faragher (26), returns for a third season, much to the delight of the Grizzlies faithful. In 41 games last year, he posted a .917 save percentage (Sv%), with 2.33 goals-against average (GAA), ending the season with a 24-13-4 record. He was sorely missed whenever he was called up to the AHL. Coach Branham once called him “the backbone of our team,” and his return alone would have put the Grizzlies in a good spot.

Ryan McKay (24) comes to the Grizzlies from Miami University Ohio, where his NCAA accomplishments include CCHA Regular Season Champion (2012-2013) and NCHC Champion (2014-15). In the Grizzlies’ second preseason game, he stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced.

Last, but not least, is Boyle himself. Signed by Anaheim in March to a one-year contract, Boyle (also 24) spent half of his college career with UMass-Amherst, and the other half with UMass-Lowell. His 2015-16 season with UMass-Lowell was nothing short of spectacular. Going 24-10-5, his GAA was a dazzling 1.83, and his Sv% a very impressive .934. He was named NCAA (Hockey East) Goalie of the Year for his performance, and won (or was nominated for) quite a few other honours.

He played preseason games with Anaheim, San Diego and Utah, and attributed his surprising lack of nerves in his first pro game to these appearances, as well as to the fact that the team in front of him allowed him to ease into the swing of things by only allowing 12 shots in the first two periods. His mindset, he said, is “always just to win.” And that’s what he did.

Idaho and Utah will face off again tonight at the Maverik Center, and you can bet that fans and players alike will be at ease, no matter who gets the start.