The Grizzlies play the Idaho Steelheads tonight, a team that goes by the abbreviation "ISH". It's like they're not quite committed to anything. "Yeah, we have a good-ish record," or "That was a pathetic-ish loss to the Grizzlies." (We're saving that one for after the game tonight.) The Steelheads have played three games already this season, and they have three wins. All three wins came against the Stockton Thunder, so they haven't seen a lot of variety yet. In their most recent game (Sunday, 17 October), goaltender(-ish) Richard Bachman stopped 26 of 28 shots. On the other end, the Steelheads took 39 shots at the opposing goaltender (3 went in) so it looks like defense is going to be key against this team. In addition, their other goalie - Rejean Beauchemin - was the ECHL goaltender of the week(-ish) for October 15-18. Steelheads blogger(-ish) Will Hoenike had this to say about the Grizzlies:
This year's version of the Steelheads will play a pair of games in Utah this weekend against the Grizzlies. The Grizz have played just one game, a 5-3 win over the Las Vegas Wranglers. Ryan Kinasewich led the way with three goals and an assist while Parker Van Buskirk was okay (19 saves on 22 shots) in net.
It looks like this will be a good measuring stick for the team.
And also for the fans. In an article in the Deseret News, James Sixsmith talks about how important it is for the team to make their home ice hard for other teams to win on:
"We just hope that we can maybe win a little more this year and attract more fans," said Sixsmith. "Some games last year we had a ton of fans and other games we didn't have that many, and it's because fans want to see a winning product."
Hear that, fans? The team wants you there watching.
(Picture credited to Jason Olson - Deseret News)
Sixsmith also talks about the potential of this year's team:
"I think this team is going to be very exciting to watch with all the speed and skill. I've been around hockey a long time, and you put this many guys that can skate and move that puck and stick-handle the puck together, and it's gonna be exciting to watch and be a part of."
In addition, the next goal scored by Ryan Kinasewich will be a new Grizzlies record. With his hat trick in the season opener, Ryan tied Chris Taylor for the all-time leading goal scorer in team history. Next goal pushes him to the top. Of course, if you didn't already know that, shame on you for six weeks.
It's going to be an exciting season for the team.
We're going over to pick up our tickets on our lunch hour from our regular jobs, so we'll be there tonight supporting our team. They told us that the city doesn't allow tailgating at the E Center (lame), but if you see someone in the parking lot roasting marshmallows over a lighter, it's probably us. Stop by and say hi. We'll even give you a marshmallow.
Go Grizzlies!
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