Grizzlies vs Mariners: Adrift at Sea

Although Jake Marchment once again sat this one out after being banged up over the course of the Allen road trip, the Grizzlies got some big help back in the form of Cole Ully, who returned to the lineup for the first time since December. With Ully’s return to the roster, the Grizzlies had to let Joseph Mizzi go. Joe Cannata got the start in the first ever meeting between the Mariners and Utah, while Joey Raats and Teigan Zahn both dressed as forwards.

First Period

Ah Caleb Herbert and Cole Ully are back on a line together, and all is right with the world.
And Ully doesn’t waste any time, drawing a power play on his first shift.
AND THEN SCORING ON THE POWER PLAY.
Utah doing a pretty good job clogging up the neutral zone and making life complicated for the Mariners.
…That third line shift was definitely Raats, Zahn, and Mitch Maxwell. Oh my.
It’s so impressive that Ully hasn’t been in the lineup since December, yet doesn’t seem to have lost any speed or chemistry.
Back to the advantage with half a period to go.
Oof crossbar for Maine on the power play.
Josh Dickinson and Eric Freschi didn’t miss by much on that short-handed chance.
Maine getting some chances here as the period passes the fifteen minute mark.
Heads up play by a Utah defender (Ausmus, I think?) to play the puck into a sea of Mariners players by their bench. Too many men for Maine, and Utah heads to their third power play.

Second Period

Ully’s return seems to have given Herbert an extra zing to his step.
Zahn appears to be playing the PK as a defenseman here.
Biiiig block by Dickinson there on the PK.
Well. It only took one period to develop some dislike.
That was a pretty soft check to start that big of a ruckus. Utah’s entire defense core is in the box. (Ok that’s an exaggeration, but Raats, Josh Anderson, and Zahn are all in the box at the same time.)
Well. This is a big kill.
Dickinson pins the puck in the offensive zone for at least ten seconds of the PK here.
That was a very good kill.
That was a beautiful cycling shift from the Ully-Herbert-Freschi line.
Will Smith is dressed, but if he’s played tonight, he certainly has not played much, if at all.
Things have definitely gotten scrambly in the last couple of minutes…not a good sign…
Well. Dickinson is not amused.
The Grizzlies bench is starting to look very empty…
Oh man. There’s the Ully we’ve all missed–making beautiful moves with no space at all.
Maxwell draws a power play at the very last second.
Too many penalties, too much playing defense in that one.

Third Period

Opening minute power plays never ever end well.
Cole Ully finds space to skate where there simply isn’t any sometimes. Such fun to watch.
Well. That was not good. Nolan De Jong coughs up the puck at the blue line, and it’s 2-1 Maine short-handed.
Ok, now would be a really, really good time to get another power play goal…
Remember when the Grizzlies weren’t crazily short of forwards? Those were fun days.
WElp.
Good shift in response to that goal though.
The Grizzlies seem to have tried so hard to stay out of the box that they lost all the passion that got them in trouble in the second, and now just look completely flat.
I suppose playing with a short roster for such a long time would help contribute to that a fair bit.
4-1 Maine. That wasn’t great.

The Grizzlies played a good first period, took too many penalties and didn’t capitalize on enough power play opportunities in the second, then did a good job of staying out the box in the third, only to allow too many goals instead.

It was a frustrating affair, possibly attributable, at least in some part, to the fatigue of the few remaining big guns playing far more minutes than usual, for weeks and weeks on end, and going short-handed on defense to try to bolster up the even more short-handed forward corps.

At the end of the day though, there’s not a lot you can do about the banged up roster except wait for guys to get healthy, and in the meantime hope that the patched together lineup is able to keep it together–which they definitely did after the first waive of injuries, but have struggled to do since Henke also joined the ranks of the injured. Losing Marchment and Downing after that certainly didn’t help either, since both of those guys can eat up minutes.

On the surprising bright side, despite having lost six straight, the Grizzlies remain tied for second place in the Mountain Division, and the first place Idaho Steelheads remain within very easy reach. Plus, Cole Ully is back, and as he showed, he’s still got it all.

His goal earned him third star of the game, and somehow in all of that, neither Turner Ottenbreit nor Gage Ausmus were on for a single goal against. Ottenbreit and Ryan Walters led the team with four shots.

So once again, Utah needs to regroup and get hopefully get healthier (and also hopefully not lose anyone else to injury) before they play Maine again this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Rob Church.

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Utah Grizzlies @ Allen Americans: The Oscar for best goal goes to…

With Jake Marchment joining the ranks of the wounded (in all seriousness, you could create the majority of a really great forward core out of the injured forwards), the Grizzlies once again found themselves pretty short of forwards in general, and centermen in particular in the final game of the road trip. Joey Raats once again dressed as a forward, and was joined for parts of the later stages of the game by Teigan Zahn, while Joe Cannata got the start.

First Period

This has been a surprisingly uneventful first period.
YIIIIIKEEEEEES. That was so close to disaster.
That poke check was disgustingly good from C.J. Motte.
Josh Thrower and Michael Economos drop the gloves!!
Speaking of disgustingly good…that’s what that Allen goal was. Screened too.
….Where was any of the defense…
Not gonna lie, but “allegedly onside” is one of my favorite phrases.
Boooooooo.
That was no fun. At least shots have evened up considerably.

Second Period

I would really, really just like to get through this game without losing anyone else to injury…
Well Mr. Smith, if you were waiting for the opportune moment to score your first pro goal, that was it. Beautiful pass from Turner Ottenbreit too.

Turner Ottenbreit with the perfect feed to Will Smith to get @UtahGrizzlies on the board early in the second period, now trailing @AllenAmericans by two pic.twitter.com/NA8YAWwxgX

— ECHL (@ECHL) February 24, 2019

Well, that was definitely the right idea.
Caleb Herbert and Josh Atkinson get matching minors for skulduggery.
OH MY HOCKEY GODS. SAVE THAT FOR THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK. The Oscar for best goal goes to Ryan Walters. What a move. Spin-o-rama to elude the defenseman fools Motte too, and it’s 3-2!!!!
MAXWELL DROPS THE GLOVES.
Zahn with a terrific chance on the doorstep, and then Herbert with a great shot.
Cannata answering the call on the other end too.
Please do not break Michael.
WALTERS IS ON FIRE.

Third Period

Shots are now 40-28 for the Grizzlies.
Please go play in the other end…
Thanks Joey.
Well. Everyone was pretty much where they should be, but Cannata was completely screened. Boo again.
Josh Dickinson is getting worked over with no calls.
Motte is pretty pissed at his own guy as Atkinson shoves Dickinson into Motte.
….oh geez, not Turner…Please be ok….
How was that slash on Ottenbreit not called, and yet that one Ausmus is.
Well, there’s blood, so can’t really argue with that high-sticking call…
Oh thank goodness. Ottenbreit is, at the very least, ok to stay in this game. Hopefully he’s actually ok, and not just hockey ok…
Zahn is DEFINITELY playing forward.
HOWWWWWW DID MOTTE MAKE THAT SAVE??????????????
ECONOMOS TIES IT UP.
To OT we go. Which will be Herbert-less, as he gets pitched for unsportsmanlike conduct.

OT

Thank you Joe.
Dickinson probably should have drawn a penalty there.
Cannata is down (panic), and we’re off to the power play.
(Cannata appears to be alright, everyone can stop panicking. What do you mean I was the only one?)
At the end of OT, Emerson Clark got 20 minutes of penalties (slashing and fighting/continuing altercation) and Curt Gogol got ten for fighting/continuing altercation as well. So things got a bit heated there!

Shootout

Allen: Pochiro (goal)
Utah: Herbert (no goal)

Allen: Salituro (no goal)
Utah: Dickinson (goal)

Allen: Miller (goal)
Utah: Walters (no goal)

Allen wins 5-4 in the shoot out, shots 55-41 for Utah.

Walters’ two goals and ten (yes you read that right, ten) shots earned him third star of the game, while Cannata saved 37/41. Ottenbreit had yet another great game, picking up two assists, as did De Jong. As noted at the time, Will Smith got his first pro goal, and Economos was one assist away from a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Goals

First Period: None
Second Period: Smith (Ottenbreit), Walters (Raats, Ottenbreit), Walters (Herbert, De Jong) (PP)
Third Period: Economos (De Jong)

Utah: 1/3 (28 minutes)
Allen: 0/3 (60 minutes)

Photo courtesy of Action Sports Photography and staff.

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Utah Grizzlies @ Allen Americans: Missed Opportunities

After last night’s whacky affair, the Grizzlies looked to erase their loss. The roster remained the same, although Kevin Carr got the start.

First Period

Grizzlies once again take an early penalty. Shots are far improved from last night already though!
Someone in the crease with a really great active stick to bat that puck out of harm’s way.
Why haven’t I seen Marchment since the penalty, meanwhile Walters and Herbert are double shifting…
OTTENBREIT.
That shot made Kevin’s water bottle go flying, but he makes the save!
Oh there’s Jake.
There was a good couple of seconds there where nobody on either team had any idea where that puck was, lol.
DICKINSON FALLS DOWN, SPINS AROUND, AND BEATS MOTTE.
All the power plays belong to us.
Much better first period. Utah out-shoots Allen 13-6.

Second Period

Some nice shots to start the second with that 58 seconds of power play time, but Motte is sharp.
Are we gonna have to call Marchy the Gunslinger now?
Carr gets shoved away but still makes the save.
All sorts of chances there from Walters, Zahn, and Smith.
Irritatingly good kill from Allen there.
Economos flying short-handed. As he does.
Some four-on-four hockey coming up.
Now Motte loses his water bottle.
Allen with some momentum as the period draws to an end.
Ew. Why.
Allen plays their replays at the most inconvenient moments.
Richart leads the Grizzlies with five shots after two periods.
2-1 after 40.

Third Period

Carr with some very nice saves to start the third as Allen controls play.
1:11 of five-on-three for Utah coming up. Scoring on this would be big…
Best chances came from Ryan Walters.
That started as a really good defensive effort from Anderson and the others, and ended up as a painful goal.
Well. Talk about every opportunity to get a goal. Utah here, and nothing doing.
And another long five-on three (1:07 this time).
Once again, nothing doing. That’s definitely frustrating that they were given two such big chances and came up empty.
…
So of course Allen scores.
That’s Utah’s tenth power play of the night. This is definitely a change from last weekend.
Except that KC actually scored on their power play opportunities.
Well. That was an incredibly frustrating game for the exact opposite reasons from last weekend.
Empty net goal for Allen.
There’s a big crowd after the buzzer, and Allen gets penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and roughing at the end of the game.
4-2 Americans.

Ottenbreit now has four goals in his last seven games, and Josh Dickinson continues to tick along at a very nice pace.

Grizzlies look for revenge in the final game of the series tomorrow at 3PM.

Goals

First: Ottenbreit (Walters, Freschi), Dickinson (De Jong, Maxwell) (PP)
Second: None
Third: None

Utah: 1/10 (8 minutes)
Allen: 0/4 (32 minutes)

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Utah Grizzlies @ Allen Americans: A Weird One

Allen may be the worst team in the division, but that’s not to say they aren’t a pretty dangerous team–as they showed last night in what was perhaps one of the oddest games of the season so far.

First Period

Well, that was quick. Joseph Mizzi to the box.
And Mizzi out of the box. Good kill.
Well. That wasn’t ideal. Jake Marchment is usually quite good defensively. That was not one of his finer moments.
…What was THAT?? What was pretty much anyone on defense even doing!!??
Allen’s shots are apparently 16-1. Not sure I believe this…on the other hand, it can’t be off by much.
Now Mike Economos to the box.
Again…where was the defense…
OK, so the shots are definitely bad. Very bad. But they’re not quite 19-2 bad.
Ok…so, the good news is that they haven’t given up a power play goal…the bad news is..uh, shots are 19-3 for Allen, who leads 3-0.

Second Period

What we need this period: shots (of both the liquid and on-net variety).
YOOOOO CALEB HERBERT 11 SECONDS IN.
AHHHHHH TURNER OTTENBREIT 30 SECONDS IN.
So uh. Yeah. That just happened!
Four minute power play for the boys!
TIE. GAME.
You might say the second period was a….Fresch(i) start…
Sorry, not sorry.
Both goalies making big saves as the period heads into the final five.
WHAT A DIVING POKE SAVE FROM JOSH ANDERSON.
Unfortunately, Ottenbreit takes a penalty behind the play.
Oh god. Marchment won the face-off so well that it deflected off Nolan De Jong’s stick and into the net!??? The goal is credited to Riley Bourbonnais, who lost the face-off to Marchment.
That might be the single weirdest goal I have ever had the misfortune of seeing.
OH. Oh no. 5-3 Allen. Good lord.
Seriously, what even is this game????

Third Period

Ok, all I ask is that the own goal NOT be the game winner, because right now, it is.
Freschi to the box, Marchment does not win that face-off.
Sigh.
So, the way this game is going, this means that Utah is now gonna score three in a row, right?
Thank you Eric for making sure that the own goal isn’t the game winner. Freschi gets his second of the game on the power play! He’s having some kind of night!
So, the way this game is going, this means that Utah is now gonna score three in a row, right?
Joe Cannata with a big save on the breakaway there.
Josh Dickinson makes it 6-5!!!
There are a LOT of guys with multi-point games tonight!
Well. If nothing else, this was an entertaining game. Frustrating, but definitely entertaining.
At least 6-5 is far more respectable than 6-3.
Bahahahahah you can’t do that. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies had seven skaters on the ice.
Uhg. Empty netter for Allen.
Grizzlies lose 7-5.

Goals

First: None
Second: Herbert (Freschi, Walters), Ottenbreit (Walters, Zahn), Freschi (Richart, Dickinson) (PP)
Third: Freschi (Marchment, Herbert) (PP), Dickinson (Marchment, Economos)

Cannata made 33/39 saves, while Freschi’s assist and two goals earned him third star behind Riley Bourbonnais (2G, 1A) and Adam Miller (1G, 2A).

This was, perhaps, the weirdest game this season!

Fortunately, the Grizzlies get two more cracks at the Americans tonight and Sunday.

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Utah Grizzlies vs Kansas City: Frustration Continued

Caleb Herbert and Nolan De Jong both returned to the lineup on Monday afternoon, De Jong taking over Josh Anderson’s spot, while the Grizzlies were finally able to dress 16 skaters. Kevin Carr got the start as Utah looked to take two of three on the weekend series.

First Period

Early power play for Utah, who’s been playing pretty well in the early going.
Ryan Walters just misses the open corner of the net.
The Grizzlies looking much more like the Grizzlies we’ve come to expect. Good hustle, some offensive flair, good defense, etc.
Somehow, Walters gets two for roughing, but there’s nothing for goalie interference????? Oh. He put the guy into Carr in the first place. Well then.
1-0 Mavs on the advantage. I’ve heard this before somewhere…
That was a really pretty little move from De Jong to get the shot off without having to re-set.
Well. De Jong came to play. Clutches chest.
Economos boarded, Utah to the power play.
This power play is not great.
Aaaand KC makes it 2-0 on a scramble in front of the net.
Raats gets hit, and Ausmus isn’t amused.
Oh no, Moose. Why.
Carr with a huge save on the PK.
The Grizzlies are playing with pace, but not to great effect overall this period. Good kill though.

Second Period

KC power play over. Mumbles something indistinct about the Moose being loose.
Grizzlies with a couple of good shifts here, but Mason McDonald is still proving to be something of a problem.
Alright, really need to get something going on this power play…
Back in the lineup, back on the board. Boy having Caleb Herbert back is nice!
The Grizzlies always play better after they score a goal. Doesn’t matter if it’s in the first period or the third, they skate faster, and pass better, save better, etc.
Wowwwww Caleb Herbert is so much fun to watch. that was so nearly glorious.
Oh geez. Mavs get in two-on-none, and there’s not a whole lot Carr can do about that one.
And the Grizzlies were starting to play so much better too.
sigh
On the other hand, at least we’re not getting shut out.
Eick hauls down Zahn of all people, and we’re back to a big power play.
And no sooner is KC back at full strength then they go right back to the box for a practically identical move.
DE JONG WITH THE BLAST, AND WE’RE BACK WITHIN ONE!!!
That’s more like it.
3-2 after 40, shots 23-23!

Third Period

Much better start here. No official shots, but a better attack, and a very good job tying up sticks in the neutral/defensive zones.
Have I mentioned recently how much I appreciate Kevin Carr? Cause now might be a really good time to reiterate that.
De Jong is having a really good first game back, and I’m not just saying that cause he was my pick to click.
Dickinson and Raats both get tripping calls on the same play somehow.
Carr makes the save, and the Mavs player is holding his head in absolute disbelief.
Well, that’s infuriating.
The fans are not entertained.
Zahn gets thrown out of the game for being unhappy with the reffing, which after being normal all game, has gotten cartoony again.
On the other hand, that probably should have been a slash on a Utah player…
Honestly, I was ok with losing 3-2, cause it was an honest loss in what was mostly a pretty even game. This? This is infuriating again.
Walters draws a tripping call.
Sides caps off the hat trick.
Walters to the box.
Well this was an incredibly frustrating end to the series. Which is unfortunate, cause playing KC could have been fun.
Utah falls 5-2.

Both De Jong and Herbert made a big impact in their return to the lineup, De Jong being named third star for his goal and assist. Dickinson once again had a two assist night, and the power play went 2/7.

The Grizzlies will be off to Allen this week, where they’ll play games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, hopefully putting this weekend well and truly behind them.

Goals

First: None
Second: Herbert (Dickinson, De Jong) (PP), De Jong (Dickinson) (PP)
Third: None

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