Month: April 2019

Utah Grizzlies vs Idaho Steelheads: Heartbreaking

After the Grizzlies’ second 3-2 OT loss on Wednesday, the lineup saw some retooling. Jake Marchment sat this one out in the first of a two game suspension, while Jack Walker, Cole Ully, and Grayson Downing all drew back in in the place of the aforementioned Marchment, Gage Ausmus, and Michael Economos. Kevin Carr once again manned the net as Utah looked to even up the series.

First Period

  • Both teams get early power plays.
  • As nice as it would have been to have that goal, that was the right call to waive it off, I think.
  • NOW THAT’S WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. Tim McGauley on the power play!
  • MUCH better possession from the Grizzlies than in pretty much all of the other playoff games up until this point. Idaho is still outshooting them, but not by much anymore.
  • Ully with a little of the old razzle dazzle there. Also, really good on Walker to stay onside.
  • The Ully, Joey Ratelle, Josh Dickinson line had a RIDICULOUS set of looks on that shift.
  • Grizzlies showing off both their skill and their grit. Everyone is setting up some seriously pretty looks, and throwing some big hits.
  • GREAT first period from the Grizzlies.

Second Period

  • Ew 36 seconds in and Idaho ties it up.
  • DOES NOT STAY TIED LONG. McGauley tips in a blast from Richart for his second of the game!
  • HAT TRICK FOR MCGAULEY AND IT’S NOT EVEN BEEN FIVE MINUTES!!!! The puck took a wild bounce off the boards, off Sholl’s back, and into the net!!! CARR GOT THE SECOND ASSIST.
  • And just about a minute later Downing gets in on the action o the power play!
  • Ah bah. Samuelsson makes it 4-2.
  • Ooh, Ratelle didn’t miss by a whole lot.
  • That’s the second goal that’s been waived off this game, this one for Idaho.
  • After that offensive outpouring from the Grizzlies, things have both settled down and gotten a little more scrappy.
  • Kale Kessy puts Ty Lewis into the boards and is officially public enemy number one in Utah. He gets five and a game. (He was later suspended for it.)
  • Downing to the box with 25 seconds to go…
  • Bah Idaho makes it 4-3.
  • WELL THEN. There’s NEVER a dull moment. Carroll roughs Petryk up on the face-off, and before that can get sorted out, Verpaelst and Kanzig drop the gloves. Carroll gets two for roughing, Petryk 2 for diving, and the combatants get five for fighting.
  • What a period.

Third Period

  • Ully with a pair of beauteous looks.
  • Lewis is back for the third, so that’s good.
  • 5’10” Ratelle drops the gloves with 6’3″ Mitch Moroz.
  • Boy, having McGauley back sure is fun. Having a line that includes McGauley AND Dickinson is even more fun.
  • Carr flashes the leather once more with 10:24 to go.
  • Well, if those speedy little circles Lewis is skating are any indication, his knees seem to be no worse for wear.
  • Barron gets high-sticked, and Richart makes a great defensive play. As he does.
  • Uhhg and Samuelson with that top corner snip to tie the game with less than five to go. That’s practically the identical goal he scored on Wednesday.
  • This game’s going to OT, isn’t it.
  • Some crazy combination of the post, Carr, and some quick moving defensemen kept that puck out of the net. I have no idea how.
  • BIG power play coming up with less than two minutes to go.
  • Aaaaand that’s OT once again. Shots 36-33 for Idaho.

OT

  • Downing had a gorgeous look, followed by a good one from Richart.
  • An uncomfortable amount of Idaho possession here in the last couple of minutes.
  • Walker shows off those wheels, but Sholl stops him.
  • The crowd’s been good all night, and it looks like most stuck around for OT.
  • Aaaaand that’s another soul crushing OT loss.

“It was great at the time for sure,” McGauley said of the hat trick which earned him second star, “We went up 3-1 I think it was, my third goal I was feeling good, the team was feeling good, we got a lot of momentum going our way, so at the time I felt really good, but obviously at the end of the day wasn’t the result we wanted. I would have liked to maybe get another one in over time, would have been nice, but we couldn’t pull it out tonight. The series is not over yet though.”

“If you want the honest to god truth, we played great, the referees allowed them to get back in the game, and then we didn’t play our game,” Tim Branham said, “We stopped doing the little things of winning battles, and keeping a good F3, and keep our foot on the gas and playing offensively. It is what it is, we’ve got to make sure we regroup and come out and play our game tomorrow.”

McGauley’s comments were similar. “Well, we started off really good in the game. Our first periods have been good, I feel like, the last two times I’ve been here, so we’ve gotta maintain that energy we had. Our second and third we just haven’t been keeping up to par with our first periods, and it’s been costing us lately.”

So what’s the message going into tomorrow?

“You gotta believe,” said Branham. “Have faith in every single guy that’s next to you, believe that we’re gonna get this done one game at a time. They beat us in overtime all three games, just like you said, it could easily be the other way. We’ve gotta look at the positives right now and just put our best foot forward.”

“We’re playing for our lives now so that urgency is gonna be there,” McGauley added, “If it’s not there obviously our season is done, so I’m sure that tomorrow you’re gonna see a different team, we’re gonna be 110% right from the get-go, we’re playing for our lives tomorrow, so we’re gonna need everyone.”

The Grizzlies will either go big or go home on Saturday night.

 

Goals

  • First Period: McGauley (Davis, Dickinson) (PP)
  • Second Period: McGauley (Richart, Herbert), McGauley (Verpaelst, Carr), Downing (Carroll, Ully) (PP)
  • Third Period: None
  • OT: None

UTA: 2/6 (20 PIM)
IDH: 0/2 (37 PIM)

 

Photo courtesy of Rob Church.

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Utah Grizzlies vs Idaho Steelheads: Yet Another Close One

Ahead of game three, the Colorado Eagles assigned Tim McGauley to the Grizzlies while Cole Ully and Grayson Downing both remained out of the lineup. Kevin Carr got the start as Utah looked to take a series lead in front of a home crowd.

 

First Period

  • Good start, at least possession wise in the first minute!
  • McGauley gets his first shot of the game on a very nifty little dangle.
  • Josh Dickinson remains hot, corralling the puck in the defensive zone on the penalty kill, and then flying in to score his third of the series short-handed!
  • Really sweet shot from an absolutely flying Michael Economos, but he rings iron.
  • Turner Ottenbreit is a one man wrecking machine out there tonight. Not only is he making some big plays in his own zone, he’s throwing some monster hits.
  • Big save from Carr to deflect the puck up and over the back of the net.
  • Beautifully nonchalant glove save from Carr short-handed.
  • Nothing particularly glitzy from Travis Barron, just rock solid hockey.
  • Dickinson nearly got number two, but Tomas Sholl snagged it.
  • Dickinson with another nifty move, but Ty Lewis just misses the net. Aaaaand Dickinson is down. Not good.
  • Seems ok though.
  • Idaho ties it up with five seconds to go in the period.
  • Gage Ausmus takes a hit after the buzzer sounds, and the Grizzlies aren’t too pleased.
  • 1-1 after 20, shots 13-12 for Utah.

Second Period

  • Tempers appear to be fraying just a touch five minutes in…
  • Big block and then clear by Taylor Richart on the PK.
  • Both teams are looking far better on the PK than they are on the PP.
  • The net comes off its moorings in a wild scramble, and Carr’s not afraid to defend his own blue paint! A crowd quickly gathers.
  • Shouldn’t even be surprised that it’s Kale Kessy whenever a crowd gathers.
  • Lot of zone time for Idaho, though not a whole lot of counted shots resulting.
  • However, when Idaho IS getting shots, Carr has been rock solid.
  • On the other hand, please go establish some possession in the Steelheads’ zone.
  • Gorgeous, gorgeous passing play between Dickinson, McGauley and Herbert. Alas, Sholl is a good goalie.
  • Yet another great save from Carr. Do we sound like a broken record yet?
  • Idaho definitely getting the better end of this period.
  • OH MAN. Joey Ratelle JUST missed burying the puck right as Kyle Schempp and Austin Carrol got out of the box.
  • Barron to the box for rouging with 2:02 to go. The boos from the crowd are definitely the loudest they’ve been sine the Grizz goal.
  • Kevin Carr is the reason this game is tied.
  • 1-1 after 40, shots 19-30 for Idaho.

Third Period

  • Pretty energetic start to the third. Both teams are throwing their weight around with enthusiasm.
  • Another strong save from Carr.
  • MCGAULEY GOAL!!!! Welcome back Timmy! (And Dickinson has another multi-point game.)
  • Much better period thus far for the Grizz.
  • Uhg. Spoke to soon. Puck bounces off the post and in to tie it up at 5:50.
  • And just like that, the momentum has swung right back to Idaho.
  • Ratelle’s gonna fight someone before this night is over.
  • Or you know, Teigan Zahn is gonna fight someone. He and Keegan Kanzig drop the gloves, but it’s over pretty quickly.
  • Dickinson with another beautiful move.
  • Pretttty sure that should have been tripping as a Grizz player flew in to get a shot.
  • Shots have evened up considerably, 29-34 with ten to go.
  • Hero shift from Richy. Blocks a shot in the defensive zone which leads to an offensive zone rush, then flies back to make a couple more big shot blocks in the defensive zone.
  • We’re seeing some nice hockey now from both sides.
  • That thunderous Utah shot from Davis at the point did not miss by much, ringing iron before it went wide.
  • Utah doing a good job at keeping the shots away from Carr in the past five or so minutes, but Idaho is still getting a lot of chances to get possession in the offensive zone.
  • Ratelle and Carroll get a really good pair of looks that leads to absolute mayhem. Ratelle goes in swinging.
  • Richart continues to be his usual rock solid, 100% dependable self, with a little extra playoff spark.
  • The crowd always appreciative of the Captain laying the boom.
  • Not entirely sure what sparked off that newest series of ref you suck chants. Pretty sure that was a clean hit on Herbert.
  • Travis Barron draws a crowd with 15 seconds to go after an offside call.
  • Power play Utah with 8 seconds to go. Shots are 40-35 Idaho.

OT

  • Sooooo…Marchment got roughed over, Herbert jumped to his defense…and HERBERT got a penalty…ok then. Needless to say, that wasn’t exactly a popular call here.
  • Didn’t matter in the end, because they killed it off.
  • Pretty quiet OT, though Utah’s outshot Idaho 3-1 in it.
  • It’s been pretty even, but Idaho is starting to show bits and pieces of that offensive zone time they had before.
  • Lewis and an Idaho player barrel into Utah’s net, but they and Carr all appear to be more or less fine.
  • Ahh bugger. The slowest of slow trickling pucks slides over the line, and Idaho wins game three.

Kyle Schempp’s game winner earned him the first star, while Josh Dickinson got second star with his team-leading goal and assist, and Tim McGauley took third star in his return. Carr also had an excellent game.

“He’s been good.” Tim Branham said about his leading scorer these playoffs, “Obviously his skill set is high for this level, he’s a determined player and plays in every situation for us. He’s done extremely well these playoffs.”

“[McGauley] was a good player for us for many months there, and deserved a call up, that’s for sure,” He continued. “He was buzzing coming down here and playing again, so for as long as we have him we’ll use him.”

“We knew it would be a tight series,” he said, of the team in general, “We were able to get on top of them in Game 1, last two games went to over time, anything can happen. We have to pay attention to smaller details, gotta be willing to pay the price. Idaho works hard for their goals and we’ve got to work harder to stop them from scoring.”

“You’ve got to want it more than them,” he said when asked what needs to change for games four and five. “You know it’s gonna be a crap bounce that goes in, or a hard working play, you’ve gotta work hard for those. I thought we deserved this game to be honest, it is what it is, we’re down 2-1 in the series, only thing we control is Friday. We’ve got to make sure we come out with the same start that we had, clean up a few things in our own end, I’m not liking the goals that are going in. I’m not talking about Kevin Carr, I’m talking about our team. Dumb plays are leading to goals against, and we’ve got to make sure that we clean those things up.”

“Kevin gives us a chance to win every night. He’s done extremely well, made some big saves for us, kept us in it at times. That’s what you need out of your goaltender this time of year.”

“I thought we came out hard, I thought we took it to them. We hit two posts, had some odd man rush situations, and those are the bounces that we didn’t get. We’ve got to work harder for them next time and make sure we bear down in those opportunities, and hopefully our luck will change.”

The Grizzlies get a chance to change their luck tonight.

Goals

  • First Period: Dickinson (SH)
  • Second Period: McGauley (Dickinson)
  • Third Period: None
  • OT: None

UTA: 0/5 (15 PIM)
IDH: 0/4 (17 PIM)

Photo courtesy of Action Sports Photography

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Utah Grizzlies @ Idaho Steelheads: Chaos is a Ladder

Coming out of a terrific first game of the playoffs, the Grizzlies look to hold off what is no doubt going to be a cranky and determined Idaho team. The roster remained the same, as did the starting lineup and the goaltender–after all, why mess with success?

First Period

  • Couple of quick saves for Kevin Carr in the first two minutes. And by a couple, we mean six.
  • Teigan Zahn looks to be playing forward so far, and there appears to be no Grayson Downing, though he’s listed in the lineup.
  • Grizzlies get their first shot short-handed. Because of course they do!
  • Idaho strikes first on the power play with just four seconds left.
  • Shots are 10-1 for Idaho, which isn’t ideal, but certainly has been something of a normal thing lately.
  • MICHAEL ECONOMOS TIES IT UP!
  • App says Josh Dickinson, but everyone is pretty sure it was Economos…
  • Herbert to the box.
  • Herbert’s penalty killed.
  • Oh lord, Austin Carroll is down, and really slow to get up. Think he’s fine though.
  • Travis Barron and Robbie Payne drop the gloves with five seconds to go.
  • After 20 we’re once again tied 1-1, shots 13-6 for Idaho.

Second Period

  • Ty Lewis draws a power play!
  • …Definitely not accustomed to seeing Jake Marchment absolutely dwarfed by an opponent…But that would be Keegan Kanzig for you!
  • Carr with a big save on a short-handed breakaway.
  • And that right there is why Caleb Herbert was on the All-ECHL First Team. 2-1 Utah on the power play!

  • Elgin Pearce gets another chance short-handed. That’s not at all concerning or anything.
  • There was SO much traffic, but somehow Carr saw the shot!
  • Pearce and Gage Ausmus to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct, even though the two of them were among the least involved of anyone in that crowd! 😂
  • Pearce AGAIN short-handed. But Carr’s been there to meet him every time.
  • Haha Henrik Samuelsson was looking at the play, and missed the door being open for a second or two there!
  • The best chance on the Utah power play went to Idaho, the best chance on the Idaho power play went to Utah.
  • OH MY STARS. kEVIN. What. A. Save.
  • Oh god, let Carr be ok let Carr be ok…
  • panic
  • Ok. He seems to be alright…We can stop freaking out now…
  • Pearce gets a five minute charging major, Ottenbreit and Kanzig get two minutes each for unsportsmanlike conduct.
  • 2-1 Utah after 40, shots 26-23 for Idaho.

Third Period

  • 3:31 of power play time to begin.
  • Nothing doing on the man-advantage. Carr made some good saves right off the face-off.
  • Oh great. Zahn is skating off holding his face. Not good.
  • That was a very pretty toe-drag from Carroll. Unfortunately, Brady Norrish got a piece of it.
  • Zahn’s back. Not sure if he even missed a shift!
  • Really physical game. Guys are taking a beating entirely separate from all the shots they’re diving in front of.
  • Carr with another BIG save.
  • This is definitely far more the kind of game expected from these two teams. Close, and ferocious.
  • Uhg. Samuelsson ties it up with 9:30 ish to go.
  • Tomas Sholl with a big save on Barron.
  • Josh Anderson and Carroll with a flurry of chances around the net.
  • Speaking of Anderson, he appears to be playing forward now while Zahn’s back on defense.
  • After a wild second period, the third was far quieter.
  • Wouldn’t be playoff hockey if there wasn’t OT, I guess!
  • Shots 40-34 for Idaho, tied 2-2.

OT

  • Nice takeaway from Anderson in the offensive zone there.
  • Good zone time in general in the first minute.
  • Make that the first three minutes. Which probably means that Idaho will win. Because the hockey gods are fickle.
  • Three minutes later and shots are now 3-3.
  • That was quite the wild bounce off the glass!
  • Kessy wins it 7:56 into OT. (Seriously, why is it always Kessy??)
  • The Grizz return home with the series tied 1-1.

Whether it was Dickinson or Economos who scored the first goal, both had strong games, Dickinson adding at yet more points to his collection as well as six shots. Lewis was also continually in the thick of things also putting up six shots. Carr also had a strong game, making 42/45 saves. As fun as the 7-1 thrashing was,  this is far more the kind of game this rivalry series promised, what with the tight score, the general dislike, and everything that comes with a meeting between these two bitter foes.

Game 3 takes place on Wednesday night when playoff hockey arrives at the Maverik Center.

 

Goals

  • First Period: Dickinson (Richart)
  • Second Period: Herbert (Davis, Dickinson)
  • Third Period: None

UTA: 1/6 (19 PIM)
IDH: 1/6 (24 PIM)

 

 

Photo courtesy of Rob Church.

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Utah Grizzlies @ Idaho Steelheads: Magnificent 7

The second season is here, the reset button has been hit, and the roster has seen some changes. Travis Barron returned from the AHL, Mitch Maxwell was placed on injured reserve, and Turner Ottenbreit and Grayson Downing are back in the lineup. The Grizzlies are electing to ice seven defensemen, and a truly lethal group of nine forwards. With Joe Cannata on the Avalanche roster, Alex Leclerc is backing up Kevin Carr for Game 1 of the 2019 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The stage is set.

First Period

  • Travis Barron, Jake Marchment, and Austin Carroll on one line? Goodness. That is pretty ridiculous. It’s even more ridiculous when you consider that it’s followed up by Caleb Herbert, Grayson Downing, and Jack Walker, and completed with Josh Dickinson, Ty Lewis, and Mike Economos. And that’s while missing Cole Ully AND Joey Ratelle. The Grizzlies are STACKED up front!!
  • The amount of defensive zone time to open the period is definitely not good.
  • Idaho ices the puck twice, and momentum shifts a bit.
  • MARCHY OPENS THE SCORING. Jake’s goal came on a tip in of Kevin Davis’ shot, Carroll gets the other assist.
  • Ew. Idaho ties it up.
  • Steven McParland decides to sock Turner Ottenbreit for no reason after the whistle, and that leads to some rough stuff in front of the Utah net.
  • Ahh playoff hockey. Zero penalties called unless someone dies.
  • Things pretty even as the period passes the 15 minute mark.
  • Dickinson with a really nice move to cut to the slot and put the Grizzlies up 2-1 through traffic!
  • Downing and Herbert dig the puck out from the wall behind the Idaho net, and Walker buries the Grizzlies’ third goal of the period!
  • 11-11 are the shots after 20, but Utah leads 3-1!

Second Period

  • The 28s with a puck battle to start the period, because having Marchment and Will Merchant on the ice at the same time isn’t at all confusing.
  • Oooh Walker did not miss the net by much.
  • Downing gets taken down, and that’s the first power play of the game! Quite a crowd gathers on that play.
  • HERBERT SCORES ON THE POWER PLAY. Tomas Sholl wasn’t able to cover up the puck, and it bounced around the front of the net right to Herbert’s stick!
  • Multiple point nights for Lewis and Dickinson already.
  • Oof Idaho very nearly scored there! Really heads up play there from Downing and a save from Carr.
  • Power play Idaho…
  • …and killed with no problem.
  • Dickinson gets hit, and Josh Anderson and Nolan Gluchowski drop the gloves over it.
  • Oh wow, that was a nice one for Dickinson’s second of the game. He kind of just slung it past Sholl, who is having an uncharacteristically rough night.
  • Good defensive coverage there from the guys.
  • Haven’t really needed to mention him much, but Carr’s had a good night.
  • Lewis just needs a goal to go with the oodles of assists he’s got tonight!
  • Another scuffle at the end of the second!
  • Grizzlies lead 5-1 after 40, shots 23-20 for Idaho.

Third Period

  • Ok boys, get Josh Dickinson that hat trick.
  • Lewis trying to take the puck away from Keegan Kanzig was hilarious, as Kanzig is HUGE, and Lewis is, well, not.
  • Idaho with a fair bit of offensive zone time to start the third, but only one shot to show for it so far.
  • Merchant and Marchment continue to have shifts against each other.
  • Please go play in the offensive zone. You’re making me nervous.
  • Nice move from Carr there to make the save, then bat the puck away behind the net. He’s really good at that.
  • CARROLL GETS IN ON THE FUN!
  • AND BARRON FOLLOWS RIGHT AFTER!!

 

  • Some pushing and shoving after the net gets dislodged behind Carr, and while that’s going on, Ryan Faragher is in for Sholl on the other end.
  • Gabriel Verpaelst refuses to go, pulling the move that has been pulled on Utah a couple of times this season. It leads to a lengthy scrum though.
  • Anderson gets two for roughing, Barron gets two for roughing and a misconduct, Kanzig gets a double minor for roughing and a misconduct, Kale Kessy gets five for fighting and a game misconduct for being the aggressor, and Elgin Pearce gets two for roughing and a misconduct. The final result is that Utah gets a five-on-three for two minutes, and then three minutes of five-on-four!
  • Lewis with a nice chance to get his first, and then Downing.
  • Grizzlies win 7-1!!!!

Dickinson (2G, 1A including the GWG and the team leading five shots), Lewis (3 A, four shots), and Richart (2A) were named the three stars of the game, though Carroll (1G, 1A, four shots) and Herbert (1G, 1A) could also easily have been named stars. Every single forward picked up at least one point, and though he was a bit overshadowed by the offensive outpouring, Carr was a strong 35/36.

The Grizzlies will look to continue their strong start in Game 2, also in Idaho on Saturday.

Goals

  • First Period: Marchment (Davis, Carroll), Dickinson (Lewis, Richart), Walker (Herbert)
  • Second Period: Herbert (Dickinson, Lewis), Dickinson (Lewis, Economos)
  • Third Period: Carroll (Downing), Barron (Richart)

UTA: 1/3 (21 PIM)
IDH: 0/1 (48 PIM)

 

 

Photo courtesy of Rob Church.

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Utah Grizzlies vs Idaho Steelheads: Best for Last

Well, it’s here. Game 72 of the regular season, and what a season it’s been. Injuries, win streaks, losing streaks, the most prolific goalscorer in nine years, fighters, point-per-game waiver pickups, speed demons, more injuries (have we mentioned the injuries?) all leading to a spot in the playoffs against these same Idaho Steelheads.

The lineup remained the same with Taylor Richart and Captain Teigan Zahn both playing in game 72/72, while Kevin Carr once again manned the net, facing down Ryan Faragher and the Steelheads.

First Period

  • First three shots go to Idaho.
  • Power play Utah! Good start!
  • ….Short handed goal Idaho two-on-one, beats Carr clean. Less good start.
  • They keep getting into the zone, and then either turning over the puck, bobbling passes, or otherwise not getting anything going.
  • 8-1 shots for Idaho after eight minutes. That’s not ideal, to say the least!
  • Good speed and hustle though.
  • Carr with some nice saves as well.
  • Gabriel Verpaelst and Mitch Moroz drop the gloves! Verpaelst got in way more punches, but Moroz gets the take-down. Both cool their heels for five.
  • Much better second half of the period.
  • Turnovers not so much though.
  • We were at a hockey game, then a rugby scrum broke out! That was a really lengthy puck battle along the boards.
  • Ondrej Vala and Austin Carroll tangle at center ice. They both get slashing minors, though it looked more like roughing than slashing. They’re both shown the door as there’s only 1:19 to go.
  • Utah draws a power play!
  • After 20 Utah trails 1-0, out-shot 15-4. However, they’ve got a power play coming up to start the second.

Second Period

  • Faragher with an unfortunately familiar glove save on that shot.
  • POWER PLAY GOAL.
  • Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but Ty Lewis makes it 1-1 from Kevin Davis and Caleb Herbert as the puck trickles through Faragher 43 seconds into the period!
  • That’s the…uh…fourth slashing call this game.
  • Idaho scores. Of course it’s Kale Kessy.
  • Power play for Utah, HUGE save from Carr on a short-handed breakaway!
  • WALKER WITH THE POWER PLAY GOAL! Really sweet pass from Michael Economos too.

  • Josh Dickinson with a nice shot to beat Faragher five-on-five!.
  • The Grizzlies have taken the bit between their teeth this period.
  • Spoke too soon. Idaho ties it riiiiight back up. Puck took a bounce off the Utah defenders in front of Carr and went in.
  • Ooof. Definitely spoke too soon. Idaho takes the lead seven seconds into the power play.
  • Caleb Herbert is sent sprawling, and we’ve got another power play opportunity for Utah…
  • Furious defensive play from Kevin Davis there. Kept a the Idaho player from getting a shot.
  • ROCKET RICHART.
  • And another slashing penalty this game! That’s number five!
  • Utah takes over the shot lead with five to go.
  • Four shots for Utah in the first, 21 for them in the second!
  • 25-24 for Utah are the shots after 40, and we’re tied 4-4!!

Third Period

  • TAYLOR WASTES NO TIME! That’s goal number eight for Mr. Richart, scored just 18 seconds in!
  • VERBEAUTY! What a snipe on a tight angle shot from the bottom of the face-off circle! And just like that, it’s 6-4!
  • Slashing penalty number six.
  • Idaho now with some determined offensive zone time.
  • Pretty back and forth now.
  • Walker lays the boom!
  • Idaho takes a penalty, and then Utah takes a penalty with 4:19 to go.
  • GORGEOUS short-handed look from Economos. With those wheels, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was Walker, if he wasn’t sitting in the box!
  • Walker takes the puck up ice out of the box, and after a lengthy battle around the net, Mitch Maxwell makes it 7-4!
  • And that’s all she wrote!!

Richart scored goals number seven and eight, earning first star of the game for the game winner, while Lewis took second star with his continued scoring bonanza (1G, 3A on Sunday, 5G, 8A in seven games), and Walker was named third star with a goal and two assists. Carroll picked up three assists, Herbert picked up two, Economos led the team in shots with six, and Carr stopped 33/37 for his 20th win of the season.

It was definitely a team win from goal-tending on out, and it was pretty much everything you could hope for from a final game. “Obviously we want to get wins,” Tim Branham said afterwards, “But more importantly we want to be playing the right way going into playoffs, so for all the reasons that we talked about yesterday, adding new players and whatnot, really proud of the way this group battled these last two games, just gaining confidence and understanding the way you have to play in order to have success in the playoffs.”

There may have been a few little hiccups in the first half of the game, but some of them were just down to the Steelheads being a very good team. “You’ve got to give Idaho credit, they lost a heartbreaker last night and they wanted to probably come out and have something to prove so they had a little jump in their step. We had to weather the storm, and then it was our turn to play our game. Special teams battle tonight, our power play did a great job, and at the end of the day we found a way to win.”

Importantly, the Grizzlies got goals from players all through the lineup, both on offense and defense. “It’s huge,” said Branham, “You can’t just have contributions from one line or one player, it’s gotta be throughout your lineup if you want to have success, so back end, as well scoring goals, it’s a big help.”

“It’s always good to play 72 games,” said Richart, “It means obviously you’re not in and out of the lineup, you’re not having major injuries, a few bumps and bruises, but I think the whole year I just wanted to focus on playing good, solid two-way hockey, good defensively, good offensively. We had a lot of power up front, so I kind of focused a little bit more on the defensive side, and the offense would come, just getting pucks in like tonight, and they happened to go in.”

“We did have a hot start,” Richart continued, “Which obviously really helped us when that slump kind of kicked in, but it was nice, obviously injuries are part of the game, so we kind of had to battle a little bit there, just kind of shows what we have in that locker room right now, just battling night in and night out. Getting ready for playoffs we knew we had to settle everything down these past couple of weekends, kind of getting in the playoff mode, it’s been playoff hockey the past three weeks, and teams are playing playoff hockey as well, so we just had to keep it together.”

Richart and Zahn both finished the season without missing a single game, despite playing big minutes, and throwing themselves in front of everything, whether it be pucks, or punches–something that Branham praised highly. “[Richart] and Teigan Zahn, both playing every game, they both just eat pucks. We talked about those guys a little bit yesterday, what they mean to this team, as a coach you know what they’re gonna bring every single game, and that’s easy to coach. The leadership that those guys bring is tremendous, it’s invaluable, can’t put a price tag on it, and we’ve got sixteen more wins.”

“Every game you gotta bring it. It’s win or go home now.” Richart concluded. “It’s a new season now, so every day you’ve gotta be ready to go, can’t take any games for granted.”

The Grizzlies will begin the first round of the playoffs against the Steelheads in Idaho on Friday night.

 

Goals

  • First Period: None
  • Second Period: Lewis (Davis, Herbert) (PP), Walker (Economos, Lewis) (PP), Dickinson (Carroll, Anderson), Richart (Walker, Carroll) (PP)
  • Third Period: Richart (Carroll, Herbert), Verpaelst (Lewis, Ausmus), Maxwell (Walker, Lewis)

UTA: 3/6 (17 PIM)
IHD: 2/5 (19 PIM)

 

 

Photo courtesy of Action Sports Photography.

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