Month: December 2018

Utah Grizzlies vs Idaho Steelheads Recap: The Henke Show

Still short-handed on the blue line, the Grizzlies met the Steelheads in Idaho in a battle for Mountain Division supremacy. Tim Branham went with the hot hand, giving Kevin Carr the start. Tim McGauley also returned to the lineup, and Ryan Misiak remained Utah’s fifth defenseman.

Both teams began well, but Idaho got the first three shots followed by the first goal just before the three-minute mark. A minute later Jake Marchment dropped the gloves with Kale Kessy after the latter hit Caleb Herbert, both getting five for fighting and two for removing their helmets.

Utah remained shot-less, but drew a power play 6:01. Taylor Richart got the only shot of the advantage, and Idaho returned to full strength.

J.T. Henke kept his streak alive tying the game 1-1 at 8:57 on a completely uncontested centering shot from Tim McGauley. Richart got the secondary assist. Kyle Schempp got a boarding penalty at 9:17, and Utah tied up the shot clock 4-4.

Henke struck again at 15:10 slinging the puck easily past Ryan Faragher from Gage Ausmus and Joey Raats.

After 20, the shots were 8-5 in the Grizzlies’ favor, and they led thanks to the two Henke goals.

Misiak took a tripping call at 4:10, but Utah killed it off comfortably and Misiak had a good look on the breakaway coming out of the box. Henke had a bid for the hat trick, but couldn’t beat Faragher, and Carr had to make some big saves as Idaho pressured in the back-half of the period.

Teigan Zahn took an interference call, but Marchment and Jack Walker made things interesting for the Steelheads. The Steelheads got some of their own back, but Carr battled and kept Utah ahead.

Richart extended the lead at 18:19, scoring his third of the season from Mike Economos and Jack Walker. The assist was Economos’ first point for Utah. Brad McClure took a high-sticking call in the dying seconds, and after 40, shots were 17-14 for Utah.

The Grizzlies once again weren’t able to capitalize on the advantage, but Zahn made it 4-1 from Ausmus and Herbert at 2:36. The goals kept coming in and Julien Nantel made it 5-1 at 5:21 from Richart and McGauley.

Utah kept sharp, despite the big lead, continuing to outshoot the Steelheads through the third period, ultimately ending the game outshooting Idaho 29-20 with the commanding win.

Richart (1G, 2A), Henke (2G, including GWG) and Ausmus (2A) were the three stars, though Carr undoubtedly deserved mention for his performance.

 

Without Joe Cannata, Utah once again started Kevin Carr, with Chris Komma as the EBUG.

The first period of Saturday’s game did not begin very well. Utah looked a little flat in the early going once again, but this time they allowed three goals including a power play number in the first ten minutes.

Teigan Zahn and Kale Kessy dropped the gloves at 10:34, and at 14:50, J.T. Henke once again opened the scoring. By the end of the period, shots were 12-10 for Idaho, but the second half of the first was definitely an improvement on the opening.

The second period got off to decent start, then absolute chaos broke out. Economos got boarded, and Zahn, Walters, and Walker all took exception. When the dust settled, Walker got two for roughing, Geoff Crisfield got a ten minute misconduct, Clint Lewis got a roughing penalty, and Tony Calderone got a five minute boarding major.

Fortunately, Economos seemed to be alright, returning to the ice and taking a hooking call at 6:23.

Economos got out of the box, and in less than 20 seconds, first Walters scored from Ully and Misiak, then Henke tied the game from Nantel and Richart.

Kessy took a roughing call, but Idaho scored short-handed, and then after some extreme penalty nonsense, Brad McClure scored on the power play. As Adrian Denny would have said, I don’t know about that…

After two, shots were 29-18 for Utah, but Idaho led 5-3.

Though Utah continued to hold the shot advantage, an offensive zone turn over led to a 6-3 goal in the first five minutes. Things continued to go decidedly Idaho’s way, as they collected one more goal, despite Utah outshooting the Steelheads 36-21. Mitch Moroz and Mike Economos got into a tussle with 1:11 to go, and the game came to a merciful end.

Obviously it wasn’t the second game anyone would have wanted, but J.T. Henke continues to be outstanding–especially considering he was picked up off waivers. He’s now up to eleven points in ten games with the Grizzlies. It was also good to see the power play showing signs of life, going 2/5.

Utah returns home for Christmas still on top of the Mountain Division, and will face the Allen Americans to end the year.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Tim Broussard.

 

 

Utah Grizzlies vs Rapid City: Strong in the Force

With Nolan De Jong joining Kevin Davis, Josh Anderson, Austin Carroll, Matt Berry, Travis Barron, and Josh Dickinson in the AHL after Saturday’s game, and with Tim McGauley and Turner Ottenbreit both sidelined, the Grizzlies were seriously short-handed on Star Wars night. Kevin Carr got the start and Ryan Misiak played defense as the team dressed only 14 skaters. Considering how the other two games had gone, it looked a trifle worrisome.

Utah came out on a mission, flying around the ice, and jumping to a rapid lead when Julian Nantel scored his first at 1:19 from J.T. Henke. The Grizzlies got a 5-1 advantage in shots, then Kevin Carr had to be sharp as the Rush got three straight back. Rapid City got the game’s first power plays, both against Henke but got his own back, making it 2-0 with only 24 seconds to go in the first. The Rush got an unsportsmanlike conduct right after the goal, and Misiak got a tripping call with eight seconds left. After 20, shots were 12-8 for Utah.

The second began with almost two minutes of four-on-four, and the Grizzlies got a power play after that. The Rush poured it on through the middle stages of the second, but between Carr and the active sticks of the players in front of him, they held them off. Utah got into some penalty trouble in the back half of the period, losing Taylor Richart, Gage Ausmus, and Henke to the penalty box in rapid succession.

The penalty killers came up huge, however, and no sooner had Henke and Ausmus left the box then the former scored his fourth of the year. There was quite a scuffle after the goal, and Utah got another power play as Cole Ully, Josh Elmes, and Shaquille Merasty all got roughing calls. Tempers continued to flair as the game progressed, and Jake Marchment faced off against Dylan Quaile in the first of three fights. In the dying seconds of the period, Alec Baer got in all by himself, but Carr stopped him cold to end the period.

The third began with a new goalie for Rapid City, and a power play for the Grizzlies. They didn’t capitalize, but they were absolutely flying. They also racked up a 13-0 shot count through the first half. Henke made a bid for the hat trick on a mid-period power play, and the Grizzlies hit the 40 shot mark with just under eight to go. Then at 14:02 Mike Economos dropped the gloves with Matt Harrington in a furious bout to the great approval of all 7,926 fans in attendance. Not to be out done, R.T. Rice dropped the gloves with Merasty just 38 seconds later. Ausmus joined the combatants in the box for slashing almost immediately afterwards, and no sooner had he left the box, then he and Cedric Montminy were sent to cool their heels after matching roughing calls. Nantel ended the game in the box, but the Grizzlies got the 3-0 victory, out-shooting Rapid City 41-23 overall, and 20-5 in the final period.

Misiak turned out to be a surprisingly good substitution on the blue line, his speed standing him in good stead, and he looked quite comfortable quarterbacking the power play. Economos endeared himself to the home crowd in his first game on Friday, and won them over completely on Saturday. Henke (2G, 1A, 6 shots), Carr (23/23 saves), and Nantel (1G (the game winner), 8 shots) were the three stars of the game, and Carr got a standing ovation at the jersey auction following the game.

“The boys buckled down, and it was a gutsy effort. That’s a good team, that’s a hard working team over there, they’re missing a few players too, but we were able to get to their goaltender finally.” Tim Branham said. “He’s been a rock back there for them, but you can’t say enough about our effort. Carrsy, two short-handed breakaways, a short-handed three-on-one, he was really, really good tonight. Sticking up for teammates, big blocked shot by Zahn at the end, he didn’t even have to do it, there’s six seconds left, just leading by example there. Great effort by everybody, and it was one of our better games of the year.”

With three goals in the last two games, Henke seems to be really hitting his stride after being claimed off waivers from Greenville. “I think it’s just getting comfortable,” he said of his recent performance. “Coming from where I was to here is a little different, getting used to the altitude, and all that kind of stuff, playing with guys, and burying chances when I should.”

“It’s always tough to get guys called up and lose them, especially big scorers, but it’s a part of the game, I think we all had a gut check, I think we played hard today, everyone did a job, the fighters fought, the PK guys did great, Carrsy stood on his head, and good for him getting his first shut out, it all gelled well today.”

It looked like the team finally had regained their equilibrium after losing and replacing so many players in such a short period of time, but the challenge isn’t over yet. Nevertheless, Branham is confident in his group. “We’ve got a week off, we’ve got to put it together next week. I don’t know what our roster’s gonna look like next week, but whatever it is, we know that we can get the job done, and we’ve gotta bring that effort and that passion, and that simplicity every single game.”

The Grizzlies will play two games in Idaho next week, before finishing off the year at home against the Allen Americans.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Tim Broussard and staff.

Utah Grizzlies vs. Rapid City: Terrible Turnovers

Game one of the first home stand of December saw some new faces in the lineup for the Grizzlies Julien Nantel joined the team, Jack Walker made his home debut, Tim McGauley sat, possibly as a result of the play that saw him leave the game on the 22nd, and Joe Cannata got the start.

The new Cole Ully, Caleb Herbert, Julien Nantel line rang iron and looked dangerous in their first shift, but Ryan Misiak’s cross-crease pass landed square on the stick of Andrew Radjenovic, and though Cannata got the first shot, Radjenovic put the puck over him and into the net.

Utah got a power play at 3:20 and got a number of great looks, but the Rush returned to full strength with no change in score.

The Rush took over the shot lead about half-way through the first period, and made it 2-0 with exactly eight minutes to go after a sprawling Turner Ottenbreit was completely unable to break up the pass.

Ryan Walters took a hooking call exactly 46 seconds later and Richart took a puck up high. The bad news was that Rapid City immediately made it 3-0, but the good news was that Richart returned to the ice pretty quickly. With about 5:30 to go, Zahn elbowed a Rush player and dropped the gloves with Shaquille Merasty. Both got five, and Zahn got an additional two which Utah killed off.

The end of the period, the Rush led 3-0, out-shooting Utah 13-6. Although the Grizzlies’ defense certainly was lacking in the period, Joe Cannata was also uncharacteristically bad, seeming to have difficulty finding the puck on multiple occasions.

The second period saw the Grizzlies come out with some speed and physicality, and they did a better job of bottling things up in the neutral zone.

The speed of Jack Walker drew a hooking call at 2:39, but turnovers continued to plague the team, and Rapid City returned to full strength with no change in score.

Ottenbreit dropped the gloves with Josh Elmes at 7:42 and the two headed to the box, Ottenbreit receiving some enthusiastic cheers for his efforts.

In the following minutes the Grizzlies got some of their best looks of the game. Unfortunately, however, they weren’t able to beat Rush players to the puck on the rebounds or beat Adam Carlson.

After the Utah pressure, De Jong took a delay of game penalty at 13:42 but the penalty killers played very aggressively and kept the man advantage from looking dangerous. Once De Jong got out of the box, the Grizzlies kept pressuring, and it paid off at 16:48. Cole Ully wired the puck past Carlson for his tenth of the year from Ryan Walters and Joey Raats.

Fortunately, the Grizzlies looked more cohesive through the second, out-shooting the Rush 13-6 in the period.

The Grizzlies came out buzzing in the third, Walters, Ully, and Herbert coming just inches away from beating Carlson in the opening moments.

The early hustle drew an interference call at 1:09, and by the time the Rush returned to full strength, the Grizzlies had jumped out to a 7-0 shot lead in six minutes.

Utah continued to pressure, but Ully took a high-sticking call at 10:38 in the offensive zone. It didn’t really matter though, as the penalty killers kept the Rush fighting for the puck in their own zone.

Despite continuing to play better, a late power play, and pulling Cannata for the extra attacker, the Grizzlies were unable to beat Carlson again, falling 3-1.

In the end, it was the egregious turnovers in the first period that doomed Utah, together with their inability to get more than one past Carlson. However, it was good to see them pull together in the second and third and look more like the team we’re accustomed to seeing, even though they didn’t score.

The team looks to rebound tonight and Saturday in the next two games of the home stand.

 

Photo courtesy of Tim Broussard and staff.

Utah Grizzlies vs Idaho Game Recap(s): Revenge Was Sweet

With Matt Berry, Austin Carroll, Kevin Davis, Josh Anderson, and Travis Barron all up with various AHL teams, Joey Raats and R.T. Rice drew back in. Ryan Misiak also returned from injury, and Kevin Carr got the start against Idaho.

Misiak made his mark early, putting Utah up 1-0 just 20 seconds in from Taylor Richart. Idaho tied it up at 7:49, as the Grizzlies defense faltered a moment. Kyle Schempp took a hooking call at 9:39, but the power play wasn’t able to come up with anything before Idaho returned to full strength.

Carr made a big save as an Idaho player got past the defensemen, and Josh Dickinson took a slashing call at 12:52. Utah killed that off, and Carr made some big saves to follow that up.

Overall, the period was pretty back-and-forth, neither team looking particularly dazzling. Idaho held the slight edge in shots, 16-13 after 20 in the 1-1 game.

By the five minute mark of the second, shots were tied 18-18 in what continued to be a pretty even game.

The officials let them play through some clutching and grabbing, and by the half-way point in the second, the shots were 20-20 with no change in score.

Elgin Pearce picked up the puck on a turnover, putting the puck past Carr at 13:15, but Walters struck exactly a minute later to tie it up on a tight angle. Cole Ully and Jack Walker got the assists.

Caleb Herbert drew some ire at the buzzer, leading a bit of a crowd, and after 40, shots were 24-23 for Idaho in the 2-2 game.

Mitch Moroz tripped up Taylor Richart in front of Carr, and Utah went to the power play. The man advantage looked pretty lackluster, and the Steelheads returned to full strength.

Kyle Schempp made it 3-2 at 7:01, but though a couple of players got some good looks (most notably a pair from Gage Ausmus) the Grizzlies were unable to get another goal on Scholl. With just over a minute to go, Carr went to the bench, but Steven McParland scored into the empty net.

Misiak didn’t look at all rusty coming back in his first game since November 9th. Ausmus had what was perhaps his most obviously good game of the year, and Richart was his steady self.

In Saturday’s game, the skaters remained the same, while Joe Cannata got the start.

The game got off to another good start, though it took longer for for Utah to get the goal. Cole Ully banged in Josh Dickinson’s rebound at 2:42, while Caleb Herbert picked up his 17th assist on the goal.

Two minutes later, R.T. Rice got a roughing call, but before he could be sent off, Kale Kessy challenged him and they dropped the gloves. What would have been an Idaho power play instead sent them off for fighting and Kessy got an instigation penalty which kept the game at even strength.

Though the Grizzlies looked pretty good, Idaho broke in and Herbert picked up a hooking call. Exactly half-way through the period, and just seven seconds into the advantage, Idaho beat Cannata to tie the game.

Both teams got chances, as the period continued and once again, the officials let them play through things on both sides.

With 1:05 to go, Ryan Walters hauled down an Idaho player at center ice and was sent to the box for holding. The Grizzlies prevented the Steelheads from threatening, and after 20, the game was tied 1-1, shots 14-11 for Idaho.

Utah killed off the remaining 55 seconds of Walters’ penalty to begin the second, allowing no shots on the advantage. Idaho did get the first four shots of the period thereafter, however, as the Steelheads attacked early.

Rice cross-checked an Idaho player at 3:28 after a whistle, and went to the box, but Idaho was unable to get anything going, and he returned to the ice with no damage done. Utah got a power play of their own at 7:56 when Clint Lewis cross-checked Ryan Misiak, then got 1:12 of 5-on-3 when Elgin Pearce tripped up Taylor Richart.

The Grizzlies set up well initially, but were unable to turn the advantage into anything substantial on the board.

It didn’t matter though, as Herbert made it 2-1 on a nice centering pass from Dickinson, Ausmus getting the secondary assist on Herbert’s 18th.

Absolute mayhem broke out behind the Utah net at 13:06, and it took them some time to sort everything out. Rice got two for roughing, while Mitch Moroz got four for roughing, and a ten minute misconduct. Once again the power play came up empty, though this one looked a little more organized, and led to some good Utah momentum through the end of the second.

In the final moments of the second, Tim McGauley was hit up high and though he headed off under his own steam, he went down the tunnel and didn’t return in the third.

Herbert opened the period with a picture perfect, back-hand, five-hole goal just 42 seconds into the third. Spurred on by the lead, the Grizzlies put up five shots to Idaho’s none in the first five minutes of the period. Joey Raats took a holding call at 5:18, but the penalty killers were very active and killed it off well.

At 9:20, J.T. Henke flew in on a two-on-one with Jack Walker for his first in a Utah uniform. Marchment made it 5-1 from Teigan Zahn at 12:14 to complete the unexpected rout, and Rice and Moroz ended their nights early. Rice got five for fighting, while Moroz got two ten minute game misconducts for instigating in the final five, being the aggressor, and two for instigating in addition to his five.

Walters took a slashing call with less than two to go, but it made no difference to the score.

Herbert (2 goals, 1 assist, 6 shots) and Dickinson (2 assists) got first and second stars of the night and Cannata made 30/31 saves. Turner Ottenbreit also put up six shots, while Ausmus was +4 on the night and R.T. Rice got 16 penalty minutes.

Herbert (36 points) and Ully (31 points) now lead the league in points, Herbert also holding the lead in goals scored while Ully leads in assists. Additionally, Utah closed out the weekend series on a high note, taking over sole possession of the top spot in the Mountain Division, and tying the Toledo Walleye for first in the Western Conference. Moreover, they improved to 14-4-3-1 and ended Idaho’s winning streak.

The Grizzlies are off until Wednesday when they will take on Rapid City at home.

Photo courtesy of Tim Broussard and staff.

 

 

 

 

Utah Grizzlies Game Recap: Lackluster

Coming off a 6-5 shoot out loss with Joe Cannata in net, and a 5-4 SO win with Kevin Carr in net, the Grizzlies looked to close out the Rapid City road trip with a winning record. With Kevin Davis and Josh Anderson both called up to the Eagles Utah played short-handed with just five defensemen, but J.T. Henke drew in, so the Grizzlies also dressed ten forwards for the first time in quite a while.

The game got off to a pretty good start, Utah picking up six shots to the Rush’s three in the first ten minutes or so. At 9:59, Michael Turner took a tripping call, and Utah headed off to the power play. Josh Dickinson got the only official shot on the advantage, and Cannata made a big save on Turner who came flying down the ice fresh out of the box.

Despite the shot advantage, it was the Rush who struck first, Riley Weslowski making it rain stuffed animals, as it was teddy bear toss night, as well as Guns ‘n Hoses night in Rapid City.

Cannata looked a little shaky at times through the first, but the Grizzlies continued to out-shoot the Rush, even after Turner Ottenbreit headed to the box at 14:18, then again at 17:27. Twenty seconds later, Teigan Zahn laid a big hit, Weslowski took exception, and the two dropped the gloves. With Zahn sent to the locker room and Ottenbreit in the box, the Grizzlies played with three defensemen for all but the last thirty seconds or so of the frame.

After the first, Rapid City led 1-0, out-shooting the Grizzlies 11-10.

Turner took a hooking call on Nolan De Jong at 1:05, sending Utah to an early, and ultimately futile power play. After Zahn, Weselowski, and Turner all left the box, De Jong took a slashing call, and Saquille Merasty scored on the ensuing power play.

Rapid City iced the puck twice in a row at about the seven minute mark, and Utah pressured, cycling well though picking up no shots.

Just around the half-way point, first Jake Marchment and then Matt Berry got nice looks, but Adam Carlson remained strong. The foot-speed of Cole Ully drew a slashing call at 11:34. It was, probably, their best up until that point, but once again they came up empty.

Utah drew a power play, though probably one they would have preferred to go without, as Ottenbreit went down very hard behind the Utah net and had to be helped off the ice at 15:19.

The Grizzlies looked pretty good following the power play, cycling the puck and getting a couple of looks, eventually leading to a hooking call against Weselowski. Unfortunately, Ully took a high-sticking call with forty seconds to go.

After a period that didn’t go particularly well, Utah continued to trail 2-0, shots 20-18 for the Rush.

Matt Berry came flying out of the gate off the opening face-off, and Ottenbreit returned to the ice a few shifts in. Ottenbreit took another penalty, tripping this time, at 4:25. Utah killed it off.

By the time there was only seven minutes left, Utah had tied up the shots 25-25, but still remained unable to put one past Carlson.

Ully drew another power play with just about five to go. They rang iron on the advantage but came up empty once again. The Grizzlies pulled Cannata for the extra attacker right as the power play came to an end, and the Rush scored into the empty net.

Garrett Klotz tried to goad Ottenbreit into a fight for reasons unknown with just under two minutes left, and shortly thereafter, chaos descended. Weirdly, since they were up 3-0, the Rush got a little nasty at the end of what had been largely a reasonable game. A scrum ensued with less than 20 seconds left, that resulted in Quintin Lisoway getting a roughing call, while Austin Carroll was sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct.

At the final buzzer, the Rush had done an unfortunately perfect job of shutting down the most potent offense in the league for the 3-0 victory, handing the Grizzlies their first regulation loss against a Mountain Division opponent all year.

While it obviously wasn’t Utah’s best night, it certainly wasn’t their worst either. They team returns home with three of six possible points and a 13-3-3-1 record before they head back on the road to play Idaho next weekend.

Photo courtesy of Tim Broussard, Jess Fleming and staff