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 @ Rapid City Rush: Deja Vu

Though they lost Josh Dickinson to Colorado, the return of Grayson Downing and Joey Raats to the lineup meant that, for the first time in a very, very long time, the Grizzlies played with a full complement of skaters, while Joe Cannata got the start once more against a very different looking Rush team.

First Period

Utah draws a power play 1:18 into the game.
Mike Economos has three of the Grizzlies’ first seven shots!
Just past the five minute mark, and Utah’s out-shooting RC 9-3.
Well, if you’re gonna beat Adam Carlson, you might as well throw everything and the kitchen sink at him! 12-4 are shots for Utah nine minutes in…
Gage Ausmus with a couple of nice shots this period.
The game’s already getting pretty physical.
Teigan Zahn gets run over, and Utah’s headed back to the power play.
Five-on-three situation for 15 seconds as RC puts the puck over the glass.
Caleb Herbert negates the power play.
Generally good possession for Utah throughout this frame.
Cannata looking sharp again.
Utah skated fast and put up a lot of shots, but we’re 0-0 after 20. Shots are 16-7 for Utah.

Second Period

Eric Freschi to the box for slashing early in the second.
Downing, Herbert, Marchment, Ully and Richart on the power play. That is a pretty good looking first unit.
Economos is battling for the puck around Carlson, and Blake Heinrich objects. They both get five for fighting.
Oh boo. Point blank range shot goes through Cannata.
Utah skating hard in response though.
Ausmus gets run over, and Will Smith objects violently. He and Alex Rauter get sent to the box for fighting. Rauter is shown the door. But somehow Smith gets an extra two. Unless Rauter got bloody or something? Not really sure.
Power play for Utah now. From the last ten seconds or so of the first penalty kill to now the Grizzlies have had possession of the puck. They still haven’t been able to beat Carlson though.
How were the Grizzlies considered onside there?
Utah keeps getting shots, but Carlson isn’t having any trouble with them.
Well, the good news is that Utah has more shots after 40 than they did in the whole game on Wednesday, but the bad news is they trail 1-0.

Third Period

Ok someone, anyone, in black…gonna need a big goal here…
For a penalty kill, the Grizzlies are spending a lot of time in the offensive zone.
The only shots on that kill belonged to the Grizzlies.
Seriously guys, don’t lose 1-0 again. (Don’t lose by more than that either…)
There’s a lot of time, and it’s just one goal…
Cannata still sharp. Unfortunately, Carlson has been sharper.
Marchment jumps on a rare rebound, but surprise, surprise, Carlson grabbed that too.
…That is very not what anyone wanted. 2-0 Rush. On a bounce too.
They’ve had the right idea a couple of times, but then just missed the pass or the shot. So frustrating.
Empty net goal for the Rush.
The most irritating thing about this series is that the difference has been in net, and it’s not because Cannata had been bad. He hasn’t. In fact, he’s been good. Carlson’s just been better.
Shots 41-25 for Utah, who falls 3-0 shut out for two straight.

Well, Downing is back, and the Grizzlies’ penalty kill remains spotless. Unfortunately, the power play has been held off the scoreboard, and Carlson appears to have the Grizzlies’ number. They’re gonna have to create more traffic and get him moving, but RC seems to defend pretty well against just that.

FORTY ONE SHOTS.

Photo courtesy of Action Sports Photography.

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Utah Grizzlies vs Kansas City: The Moose is Loose

With Caleb Herbert, Tim McGauley, Travis Barron, Julien Nantel, and Kevin Davis all up in the AHL, and J.T. Henke, Nolan De Jong, Cole Ully, Jack Walker, Austin Carroll and R.T. Rice all out with various injuries, Will Smith and Joseph Mizzi made their Grizzlies debuts, Joey Raats dressed as a forward, and Josh Anderson also returned to the lineup from Colorado. Joe Cannata got the start against Cliff Watson, C.J. Eick, and the Kansas City Mavericks.

First Period

That was a ROUGH first shift.
Neither team is looking particularly crisp at the moment.
What a sprawling poke-check from Cannata to negate any chance on the one-on-none.
Mike Economos gets leveled, and Turner Ottenbreit drops the gloves with Neal Goff as a result! Both get five, Goff gets the extra two for the initial interference call.
Half-way through the first, shots are still 4-3 for KC. Neither team has recorded n official shot in quite a while.
Birthday boy Taylor Richart playing soccer with the puck to some effect over there!
One thing the Grizzlies are doing quite well is make it difficult for KC to make passes/shots, whether it’s through tying up sticks or getting in shot lanes.
Cannata seems to be seeing the puck really well.
Oooh, new guy Mizzi with a really nice move, followed by a nicer shot! Unfortunately, Mason McDonald flashes the leather.
Teigan Zahn with a gorgeous defensive move there.
That’s the second good chance that Mizzi’s been a part of.
Taylor Richart doing Taylor Richart things. (Aka, blocking all of the shots.)
Suddenly, shots are 10-5 for Utah!
Kansas City is gonna score on this power play with two seconds left.
Kansas City scores on the power play with four seconds left. I HATE being right.
I honestly thought Cannata had that one.
Utah trails 1-0 after 20, despite out-shooting KC 10-6

Second Period

That’s the second penalty Economos has drawn against Goff!
I know it’s really bad form to yell for someone to shoot, but several of you should have shot that puck…
Mizzi continues to impress through the second period.
Utah is getting a lot more chances as the period approaches the half-way point.
Turner Ottenbreit slides the puck past McDonald! Josh Dickinson gets the assist, and just like that, we’re all tied up!
The period is already half gone, and the Grizzlies have only allowed one shot!
Economos with the WHEELS???? Seriously. He’s gotten so speedy lately.
Taylor My-middle-name-is-blocked-shot Richart.
Ah. That’s not ideal. 2-1 for KC on their third shot of the period…
Sometime or other, Grayson Downing is gonna score. He’s just too good not to.
Why is it ALWAYS Richy? And on his birthday too. That’s just rude.
Snipe and celly! I SAID it was only a matter of time!!!! Downing ties it up, Richart and Dickinson with the assists!

Not bad for your first goal with your team! Grayson Downing scores his first goal with the @UtahGrizzlies as he snipes one top-corner from a near-impossible angle. The @UtahGrizzlies and the @kc_mavericks are tied 2-2 after two periods of play. pic.twitter.com/xCpkbNMUjK

— ECHL (@ECHL) February 16, 2019

Well. The shot situation is great, the goal situation is great, two goals on eleven shots is not great.

Third Period

Playing on the other end of the ice would be really great right about now.
On the other hand, KC’s wired a couple of shots on Cannata, and he’s been rock solid this period.
Great shift from the Grizzlies there. Economos almost had one from the doorstep.
As the game has progressed, both teams have definitely settled down and cleaned up the passing issues from earlier.
Ottenbreit has looked quite good this game, even without his goal.
Cannata with a good save.
KC up 3-2. Sorry Joe. I jinxed you.
WALLY ON THE POWER PLAY. TIE GAME.
…HOW did Dickinson settle that puck down and not lose possession?
Downing with a beautiful move to elude a defender and get a shot off. Unfortunately, McDonald is a pretty good goalie.
That Cannata save could prove to be very, very important with three minutes left in this tie game…
1:22 to go…
Another big Cannata save with 55 seconds to go…
Oh boy, Utah did not miss taking the game in the last twenty seconds by much there.
Welp. One point down. Let’s get that second one.

OT

With the second point on the line, Cannata is making some very important saves.
OT power play, thanks to Cliff Watson!
Richart with a HUGE shot that looks like it might have stung Marchment.
Oh Josh nearly had one.
THE MOOSE. IS. LOOSE.
Kansas City is NOT pleased.
(I can’t believe that counted, but I sure as H-e-double-hockey-sticks don’t mind being on this side of a call like that for a change!)
GRIZZLIES WIN 4-3 IN OT.

A great night of @ECHL hockey ends with yet another overtime finish! Gage Ausmus scores in the extra period to help lift the @UtahGrizzlies to a 4-3 win over the @kc_mavericks in overtime. pic.twitter.com/Td2vg4nORP

— ECHL (@ECHL) February 16, 2019

Ausmus’ OT game winner earned him first star of the night, while Dickinson’s two assist night was good for second star, and Downing’s goal, assist, and seven shots saw him take third star honors. In the end, Cannata saved 22/25 for his 14th win of the year. Turner Ottenbreit also had a very strong game, as did Mizzi, who together with Walters and Dickinson, had five shots in his debut. Walters now has seven goals in his last six games and, with all the call-ups and injuries, is once again the Grizzlies’ leading scorer.

One of the most impressive things about the Grizzlies in this stretch that started at the end of January is the consistency with which they’ve managed to keep the wins and goals coming, despite the injuries, call-ups, and new players they’ve had to bring in.

“It feels good coming to the rink for practice, game days, there’s just a good mood in there, and everyone feels good.” Ausmus said about what’s been allowing the Grizzlies to be so consistent, despite the constant turnover of personnel. “Obviously you’re gonna play better hockey when you have that mindset and it’s fun to come to the rink. That’s the biggest part about this group is that we all have a good time, we all get along, and we have fun when we come to the rink.”

Downing’s thoughts on the subject were very similar to Ausmus’. “We definitely are short-handed” he said, “But the guys who are playing are doing a good job. Doesn’t matter who’s in or who’s out, I think everyone has to fill a role, and tonight we kind of showed that. A lot of adversity coming through in overtime, I think Moosie’s goal was huge, don’t really know what happened in front of the net there, but a goal’s a goal and like I said, winning is fun.”

Downing himself is one of the new additions in the merry-go-round that has been the Grizzlies roster, but he’s by no means the newest. Mizzi and Smith both played in their first games with the team, and Tim Branham was pleased with their outing.

“We had seven forwards all week at practice, so it’s not like you can get a whole lot accomplished in practice, you’re just trying to keep your wind up and stay confident.” Branham said. “Mizzi is a young kid who was recommended by his agent, Pat Curcio, he’s a 20-year-old kid playing tier two junior hockey, this is a big jump for him. He had five shots through the second period, could have had three goals. Really good job by him. Smitty, he came from Adirondack, started in the SPHL, played in the Quebec Major Junior League, another young kid, but he’s got experience in this league. I thought he did a really good job tonight.”

Overall, Branham was pleased with how the team came together.

“I thought that was a really good game by the team, a complete team effort. We’re playing pretty short-handed. Good help getting Cannata down, that’s for sure, and Anderson, but at the end of the day, no matter who’s in our lineup, we pull through and find a way to have success. I thought that third period they kind of took it to us, but other than that, the majority of the game, I think we did pretty good. Hopefully we can clean up a few things for tomorrow, and find another two points.”

He reserved his greatest praise for Downing, however, and deservedly so.

“He’s been tremendous. Definitely one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached. He’s got all the tools, that’s for sure, and it was only a matter of time before those flood gates opened. He’s been doing a lot, he’s been creating a lot, playing a lot of hockey. He’s never played with three lines before in his life, since like…mites. College hockey you have four lines, in the American League you have four lines, so this is a lot of hockey for him, and I think he’s adjusting really well — which he should, he’s a top notch player — and we’re definitely lucky to have him.”

“I think [Dickinson] made a great play on the boards and kinda found me.” Downing said of his goal. “It’s one of those things this year that I haven’t been shooting enough, so I kinda decided just to close my eyes and put it on net. Luckily it was a pretty good shot, and it’s always nice getting that first one out of the way. I felt like they all could have went in tonight. I think their goalie played well. Any time you can win, it’s huge, and it’s more fun. We’ve got a great group of guys since I’ve been down here, I don’t know what’s in the water, but winning is a lot of fun, so it’s nice to be in that atmosphere.”

Utah looks to keep the wins coming as they continue to host Kansas City tonight (Saturday) and Monday, especially since there’s bound to be a great crowd for Grizzlies Fight Cancer night.

Goals

First Period: None
Second Period: Ottenbreit (Dickinson), Downing (Richart, Dickinson)
Third Period: Walters (Marchment, Downing) PP
OT: Ausmus (Economos, Zahn)

Photo courtesy of Josh Pinnau.

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