Quarterfinals Preview: Stockton Thunder

Ah, Stockton . . .

We had a feeling this was going to be the first round match up. But now - now, we finally get to sound off on the two teams and their meetings.

It's no secret that Utah's had trouble with the Thunder this season. The Grizzlies have only captured 4 wins from 11 games played against Stockton. If you equate that into a playoff series (albeit, a rather long one), things don't look good for Utah heading into the Quarterfinals.

However, we're hopeful, but mostly we hope that Utah can remember what made them such a force in the beginning of the season. We know it seems like a while ago, but we're sure fans can remember the rush of holding that number one spot in the Western Conference for weeks on end. Yet in the first series with Stockton on home ice, the Grizzlies lost their heads and began to lose their grip on that coveted top spot. So what happened?

Utah's game had been based around the ideal of professionalism. We heard this a lot during the first of the season - about how professional the boys were and how focused on winning the game. Does anyone else remember the December 29th game against the Condors in which the Grizzlies wouldn't square off with former teammates Gergan and Snetsinger? We do. During the era of professionalism (so to speak), it was hard to pull the Grizzlies into a head match.

But during the Stockton series, Utah stopped focusing on the professionalism of their game strategy and moved on to "team solidarity," which apparently consisted of beating the crap out of the opposition rather than playing hockey. We love a good fight as much as the next hockey fan, but not when it keeps the team from playing hockey. From playing their own game.

Stockton's strategy in this series - and throughout most of the season - reminded us of Reggie Dunlop's strategy in Slapshot: "We win because I make them crazy!" And to the Thunder's credit, they suceeded. Colley played Thomas's game by starting with a line of Kilburg, Schulz, Tuzzolino, Emmerson, and Deeth with the sole purpose of kicking the crap out of the Thunder's starting line. That's Stockton's game right there. Playing that kind of a game will make you crazy:


This totally made our rinkside seats worth it.

Play it smart, focus on hockey, play your own game. We can't imagine Colley is saying anything different. And while emotion will definitely play a part in this series, we're hoping Utah will be able to keep it professional and stay away from any circus sideshow antics.

Let's get 3, boys.

Game Day: Idaho Steelheads

Last road game of the season.

We're hoping to see some of that Utah road magic that we were so fond of at the start of the season. From a stats point of view, it looks like Utah needs to grab, then hold on to their lead as they are 23-0-1 when leading after two periods . . . yeah, that's pretty much textbook.

Kevin Deeth leads the Grizzlies against Idaho in points, so we hope to see him working his usual skills. Deeth has been held off the points sheet for the last 7 games. Engelage will be in net tonight and should also be a bonus for the Grizzlies against the Steelheads; Andrew is 4-1 against Idaho this season. Not a bad place to start. Let's make it 5-1, Andy.

Utah still has a few injuries in the mix, but Kilburg will be returning - woot! And it looks like Idaho has picked up some fresh blood in terms of a goalie and a forward. No real idea of how this may affect things, but we figure it's worth a mention.

Of most importance, we hope Utah decides to stay out of the box as much as possible. Idaho is 1st on the power play at 24.5%. The Grizzlies need to keep their heads and not allow the Steelheads to go on the man advantage . . . please?

Looking forward to something a little better than Sunday, boys.

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs Stockton Thunder

Utah finally pulled themselves out of a losing streak on Saturday night, just in time to face off against Stockton. Utah hasn't had the greatest of luck against the Thunder this year, mainly because - in our opinion - the boys refuse to play their own game against Stockton and rather slip into the defensive, committing penalty after penalty instead of scoring goal after goal. Hopefully with some discipline, the Grizzlies can pull this one off.

Stockton has the interesting statistic of going 18-0-3 when they lead after the 2nd period. That's a lot of wins. Utah will need to be on their toes to keep the Thunder at bay through the first 40 and maintain their defense in the final 20, instead of getting sidetracked into the circus atmosphere that tends to occur when playing Stockton. Either way, the Grizzlies should be on the lookout for Fraser Clair who leads the Thunder with 8 points against Utah.

Over the last few games, the Grizzlies have been able to pull themselves back up to third on the power play. We're able to accept this a bit better than when they fell to 6th.

The Grizzlies picked up some new blood this week with the return of Shea Guthrie to the Utah line. Also, sounds like Paul McIlveen decided to show up (apparently he didn't report after the trade, hence the suspension) and will dress tonight. You can also expect Kevin Deeth to add to the mix as he leads rookies in assists with 36.

Start the series off right, Grizzlies.

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs Alaska Aces

It's been a while since the Aces have been in town. In fact, the last time they were here was in November, when they handed the Grizzlies a pair of losses (one in overtime). Of course, you may remember that back in November every team that came to the Maverik Center was kind of giving Utah a wedgie. It wasn't pretty. Now, however, the Grizzlies have figured out how to play on their home ice, and we'd like to see them use this opportunity to get a few points up on Las Vegas.

Alaska is coming off of a challenging weekend against Stockton. They won two out of the three games, but one was an overtime win, and they were eventually unable to overtake the Thunder in the standings. The Aces are currently 3rd in the Mountain Division, 2 points behind Idaho, and 5 behind Utah. Utah is at the top of the Mountain Division, but still only #2 in the Western Conference. Hence the sign. However, the Grizzlies could be in the lead by the weekend if they can get 3 out of 4 points in the series with Alaska. 4 would be better.

The Grizzlies have been getting back to the game we know and love lately. They've won 6 of their last 10 games, and we're looking for them to start a new streak. They've been on and off with the wins, not stacking more than two together since the beginning of January. They got one in Vegas last week, so with the 4 home games coming up, we don't think 5 in a row is too much to ask. We're not demanding or anything.

One way the Grizzlies can do that is by making sure they have the lead going into the 3rd period. Here's another one of those weird stats someone thought of keeping once - the Grizzlies are 20-0-1 when leading at the end of the 2nd. What that actually tells us in non-statistical terms is that Utah is good at holding a lead and closing out games. That is a very good skill to have, and probably has contributed quite a bit to them hovering around the top of the conference for most of the season. Too many teams are tricked into thinking they have a "safe" lead. The Grizzlies know there's no such thing. They're probably not safe in Colley's locker room until they win. We know how he is about losing.


Also coming up this weekend - along with the Grizzlies' rise to the top of the Western Conference - is Hockey Weekend Across America. The three special event days are Wear Your Jersey Day on Friday the 18th, Bring a Friend to the Rink Day on Saturday the 19th, and Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes Day on Sunday the 20th. There are also 4 locations in Utah where you can participate in a Try Hockey For Free Clinic on Saturday the 19th. And of course, what better way to celebrate hockey than to support your local team? If you've ever needed an excuse to bring someone to a Grizzlies game, this is it.

4 home games in 5 days. 8 points on the line. 1st place in the west within reach. It all starts tonight at 7:05 pm.

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers

There seems to be a shortage of games this week, and nothing at home for the Grizzlies. Hopefully you've already pulled out your Costco card and picked up your rations to make it through the famine. ($2.50 off a giant tub of cookie dough with coupon until the end of the month.) They'll make up for it next week, when they have 4 home games in 5 days. But for now, there's only one game, and it's tonight in Vegas, baby.

The Las Vegas Wranglers currently lead the Western Conference by 4 points. The Grizzlies are in 2nd... still. Utah has its next three games against, Vegas while the Wranglers have a couple of games this weekend against Victoria sandwiched in the middle. So again, the Wranglers come out with the upper hand, having more chances to get points than Utah. That makes these games against Vegas all the more important. The Grizzlies can't just worry about earning points, they've got to be about keeping Las Vegas from getting them. NO OVERTIME!!! Just our suggestion.

Another suggestion would be to not let the Wranglers score first. They have a record of 21-3-3 when they get the first goal in a game. This is kind of a weird statistic and we don't really know what it means, but they always report so it must be important. We are all for getting the first goal anyway. Or not letting your opponent score first. Either way works for us.

We know that Andrew Engelage has been stellar in net for the Grizzlies, and again earned Goalie of the Week honors, but Las Vegas recently got Michael Ouzas back from Peoria. Oddly enough, this is where Utah just sent captain Jake Gannon. We're kind of confused about this, but then again, we're confused about most things to do with moving players around, so everything is status quo. Anyway, Ouzas is currently ranked 6th in the league in GAA (goals against average). Engelage is 3rd in that statistic. We're thinking that last meeting between the two where Engelage got a shutout and Ouzas gave up 5 goals may have had something to do with that. We'd like to see a repeat performance. However, we think Vegas might still remember that, and might possibly be ticked, so we'll settle for a win. In regulation.

The Grizzlies will get Paul Crowder back in the lineup tonight. This is perfect timing - before he went out with injuries, he had two goals and two assists in two games against the Wranglers in November. It would be great if he picked up right where he left off. We're sure Timmy will be happy to see Paulie back in the game. Especially if they're also roommates, because having to watch your brother play while you can't has got to make a guy kind of cranky.

Only game of the week tonight. Puck drops at 8:05 pm. Hang with Adrian Denny on 1230 KFAN while you inventory your toilet paper and cookie dough.

Game Day: Las Vegas Wranglers

Top two teams in the Western Conference tonight.

According to the stats, the Wranglers can be deadly when scoring first. They've gone 19-3-3 when they tally the first goal in a game. So, Utah will want to stop that from happening if possible. We expect to see a defensively played game on the Grizzlies end, since Vegas loves to create odd-man rushes with the speed of their players. David Schulz is out currently with an injury, but it looks like Matt Sorteberg will be stepping in on defense for the Grizzlies.

The Wrangler to watch out for in this game is Ryan Huddy. He currently leads Las Vegas with 23 goals. Damn. However, the Grizzlies can counter with Kevin Deeth who has the alternate statistic of 23 assists, then follow that up with secret weapon Tim Crowder who has scored 5 goals against the Wranglers this season.

Goalies are another area where we should see a duel between Vegas and utah. According to Denny's blog: "Las Vegas goaltenders Joe Fallon and Michael Ouzas, along with Utah’s Andrew Engelage and the recalled J.P. Lamoureux rank fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh respectively in the ECHL in goals-against-average." Though, Engelage has the upper hand as the only unbeaten goaltender (4-0-0-1) in the series between the two teams. Denny has more interesting stats regarding the battle of the netminders on his blog.

Utah has dropped to 3rd on the power play, which still isn't bad. But of course, we're spoiled. We liked seeing the boys in the number one spot, so we hope they pick that up tonight.

Puck drops at 7:05pm.

Game Day: Idaho Steelheads

Idaho tonight.


The Grizzlies are currently tied for the top position in the league for points. The boys are looking to keep it that way, while extending their current win streak to 4 games.

Special teams on both the Utah and Idaho side will be a big factor in this matchup. The Grizzlies are at the top of the pack with a power play conversion percentage of 23.6, which is pretty stellar - until you realize that the Steelheads sit at second in the league on the penalty kill. We've seen these stats in action during the last series between these two teams. Utah went 0 for 6 on the man advantage in a penalty heavy game and lost 6-3, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Idaho PK.

However, the Grizzlies have some not-so-secret weapons up their sleeve in their rookie line of Deeth, Donovan, and Carroll. Kevin Deeth currently leads Utah in points against the Steelheads with 3 goals and 6 assists. Carroll is not far behind with 3 goals and 5 assists against Idaho. And let's not forget the spectacular showing from Ferguson in Ontario this weekend.

Also on Utah's side is the recently awarded Goalie of the Week Andrew Engelage. With a SV% of 0.924, he currently sits at second in the league for save percentage. And over his last 3 wins, he allowed an average of only 1.67 goals. That's one beauty of a GAA number.

Puck drops at 7:05 tonight. If you're a student, you get in for $5 with an ID. If you're attending at all, you get $2 food specials.

Mid-Week Preview - Utah Grizzlies vs Idaho Steelheads

The Grizzlies are cramming four games in this week, and they're all on the road. First up is Idaho, with games Tuesday and Wednesday.

Utah has had good luck against the Steelheads this season, winning three out of five match-ups so far. We're hoping that luck holds for these two games. Or at least if it's not luck, the Grizzlies' good hard work will pay off for them yet again. They are currently on a 4 game winning streak, their last loss being to... Idaho. Hm...

The Steelheads haven't been so lucky recently. They've been on a 4 game losing streak since that win in Utah, and have actually lost 8 of their last 10. Two of those losses were shootouts, but still, it's an extra point they haven't claimed. We've said before that teams in slumps kind of make us nervous, just because they could be due a win in the fickle eyes of the hockey gods, and just really come out and put the skunk on the Grizzlies. But then again, the Grizzlies haven't had a really stinky loss in a while. When you work hard all the time like this team, it's hard to really lose by a lot, even if you run into a hot goalie.

As fate would have it, however, the hot goalie is on Utah's side. J. P. Lamoureux - he of the double shut out last weekend - was recently named as the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week. In Adrian Denny's game day blog he comments that it's hard to believe that during the season in which Lamoureux was named Goaltender of the Year, he was never once Goaltender of the Week. We find it harder to believe that a guy named Jean-Pierre is from North Dakota.

Anyway, the Grizzlies are still on top of the Western Conference which makes us very happy. They're 9 points ahead of Idaho, and 6 points behind Greenville. Why do we care about Greenville, you ask? Because they're leading the entire ECHL right now. A win tonight leapfrogs the Grizzlies over Florida into second place in the league, and makes that top spot even more reachable. We don't want to be greedy or anything, but how nice would it be to hit number one in the ECHL?

We would be remiss if we didn't mention what might possibly be the best motivator for the Grizzlies to get a win tonight. It's Coach Colley's birthday today, and we're pretty sure all he wants is a win in Idaho. Two would be even better. Plus we're guessing if they lose there won't be any cake after the game. (Happy Birthday, Coach!)

Puck drops tonight at 7:10 pm in Boise. You can listen on 1230 KFAN-2. Four points possible in the next two days.

Game Day: Bakersfield Condors

Bakersfield tonight.

The Grizzlies are fresh off a road win in Las Vegas, which saw Kevin Deeth tally up another 3 points. This makes the rookie 3 points in the last 3 games according to Adrian Denny's game day blog. So, Bakersfield will definitely have their eyes on the Gig Harbor native.


In order to beat the stats, Utah will want to score first against the Condors who are 10-3-1 when they tally the first goal. With the top ranked power play in the ECHL and a firepower defenseman like Nick Tuzzolino, the Grizzlies should have ample ability to accomplish scoring the first goal of the night.

The Condor to watch for in this series is Stephane Goulet, who has picked up 7 points against Utah so far this season. And while we're kind of getting sick of Bakersfield (as the boys have played them 8 times already this year), this game will also be Brad Snetsinger's return to Grizzlies ice, as he was traded to the Condors about a week ago.

The Grizzlies are advertising that if you brave the weather, you can get a free voucher to the January 12th game. Not a bad deal if you can make it there.

Puck drops at 7:05pm.

Game Day: Las Vegas Wranglers

Las Vegas tonight.

The Grizzlies haven't had the best of luck on home ice so far this season and with Vegas sitting at the top of the Western Conference, Utah will have their work cut out for them. However, midweek games seem to be successful for the boys as Adrian reported in his blog that the Grizzlies are 3-0 on Wednesdays so far this season.

Were not sure if Michael Ouzas is slated to be in net tonight, but we've got our fingers crossed that he's not as Ouzas is currently sitting at first in GAA with a 1.88. Add to that mix Vegas has the reigning ECHL Player of the Week in captain Tyler Mosienko, who scored 5 goals and tallied 3 assists last week, and the Grizzlies had better be on their toes tonight.

If Utah can score early and clean up their defense, they should have better luck against the Wranglers, who are 12-0-0 when leading after two periods if we go by stats alone. Tim Crowder is definitely the man to help the boys out with this, as he leads the Grizzlies in scoring against Las Vegas with 5 points (3g, 2a).

Jake Gannon is on the IR, unfortunately, as he's been essential on defense this season. But Utah has gotten used to playing without their captain during his periodic stints in the AHL, so we hope to see this trend continue.

Puck drops tonight at 7:05pm.
Let's go, boys.

Game Day: Idaho Steelheads

Ah, the Idaho Steelheads.

After splitting a two game preseason series with the Steelheads, the Grizzlies look to start their 8 game road trip on the right foot. According to Adrian's blog this morning, it may be an uphill battle: "Last year, Utah was outshot 361-252 in 10 games played here and outscored 10-7 in the first period while being outshot 110-68 in the opening frames." On top of these stats, Idaho's goalie Mike Zacharias is tied for fifth in the league with a 2.01 goals-against average, which means Utah will need to look sharp in all areas tonight.

The Grizzlies picked up some new help this week in the form of defenseman Nick Tuzzolini and forwards Kevin Deeth and Tyler Ruegsegger. D-man Tuzzolino is no stranger to Grizzlies fans, having spent 2 seasons in Alaska and should add to the experience of the defensive lines. Deeth adds speed and a strong, accurate shot to the front end, while Ruegsegger brings an ability to take the puck to the net for the goal. This will be much needed with Parnham out on the 21-day IR. We found a nice goal of Ruegsegger's on YouTube and fans should recognize former Grizzly Tom May in the clip as well.



Andrew Engelage will get his first start of the season. Derlago is the man to watch out for, leading the Steelheads with 4 goals.

Game starts tonight at 7:10 pm, and the pregame show at 6:40, on 1230 KFAN-2 or you can watch online at the B2 Network which is probably what we'll be doing . . . after we finish traffic school.

Go Grizzlies!

Mid-Week Game Preview and Other News.

Game Day: Stockton Thunder.

So we're hoping that tonight will be Mark Pavli's return to E-Center ice. Pavli has tallied 3 assists with the Thunder, two of those in his last 3 games, since being traded by the Grizzlies in January.

Based on the daily spread at ECHL.com, it sounds like Tim Crowder and Tony Romano are the Grizzlies to watch in this matchup. Crowder currently leads Utah in points against the Thunder with 1 goal and 3 assists, and Romano has scored two 3rd period tying goals as well as a shootout game-winner over the Grizzlies' last 5. Not bad. But it sounds like Stockton's goaltender Perugini will be a tough one to beat since he leads the league at .925 SV% and comes in at second with 2.48 GAA.

Both the Grizzlies and the Thunder have two of the top power plays in the league going into the match. However, Utah added Captain Ryan Kinasewich back into the lineup yesterday as he returned from a stint in Bridgeport where he tallied 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 5 games. And with another powerhouse on the power play like James Sixsmith, who's currently in the midst of a scoring streak (5 games, last count) and AJ Perry in the lineup, we expect to see some lethal action.

For the mid-week matchup, the Grizzlies are running a promotion where you can attend the game by the carload; up to six people can receive a ticket package for just $25 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, students can attent the game for $5 and snack on $2 fries, sodas, hot dogs, and/or beer.

Also, make sure to check out Adrian Denny's game day blog for both matches.

Other News

We just wanted to give a heads up about our game and other photos on Flickr. We're currently in the process of deciding if we want to upgrade the account or switch to a different service, so the uploads have been sporatic and small at best. We have a lot of pictures to add to the account, going as far back as Training Camp, and we hope to start on that soon. We hope to have these up during the regular season, but if worst comes to worst, we will get them uploaded from 2009-2010 during the off-season.

Also, the photo of the game can only be found in the post game blog. Since we typically don't get photos past the 1st period uploaded when we initially do our write up, we decided to post the photo of the game only on the blog for organizational purposes at this time.

Go Grizzlies!

Game Day: Steelheads, Sixsmith rejoins Utah Grizzlies

Game day: Idaho Steelheads

Ah, the ISH. We meet again, comarades.

Both the Grizzlies and the Steelheads enter this game with a road win behind them. Utah looks to continue their wins on the road, while Idaho is hoping to capture their own on home ice. O'Keefe will be in goal tonight for the Grizzlies after his success on January 9. Perry and Galbraith are expected to be back on the ice tonight, but no word on Hunter that we've heard. We hope to see more of Asselin in Idaho as well.

We don't have much more to say about this, so go read Denny's game day blog instead.


Grizzlies Transactions

James Sixsmith returns to Utah after spending some time with Bridgeport in the AHL. While Sixsmith won't join the team tonight in Boise, he's expected to play in Stockton this weekend. It will be nice to see Sixer (Bubba) back in a Grizzlies jersey - maybe revive the Sixsmith-Vlady-May line?


Also, Hugo Carpentier was recalled by the Abbotsford Heat of the AHL. Luck, Hugo!


Other Grizzlies news

Tip-A-Grizz is coming up on February 15. Money raised at the event will go to Grizzlies Children Charities which supports youth hockey in Utah. It's $25 to reserve a seat for non-season ticket holders, so RSVP before it's sold out.

The ECHL All-Stars game is coming up on January 20. Kinasewich, Bartley, and Perry are scheduled to play, and Grizzlies trainer Plandowski will also attend the game as training staff.


Good luck tonight boys!

Game Day in Alaska and other Grizzlies news

Game today: Alaska Aces.

Galbraith makes his first return to Aces ice tonight with the Grizzlies since the trade on December 27, and Evan Kotsopoulos plays his first game against Utah as an Ace. Both Utah and Alaska will receive some help tonight with players returning from the AHL. Dylan Hunter will meet the Grizzlies in Alaska, and the Aces should be expecting Mike Walsh from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. Former Grizzlies forward Walsh was part of the recent trade with Alaska and was released from his PTO with Grand Rapids yesterday. We also heard a rumor that Bartley could make an appearance with the Grizzlies soon.

AJ Perry will stay in Utah due to illness and keep newly acquired left wing Patrick Asselin company, according to Yo's game day blog. And apparently, Tom May is the boy to watch for tonight as he scored 3 goals in 3 November games against Alaska.

On Monday, Alaska snapped Victoria's double digit winning streak in the last match of their 3 game series with the Salmon Kings. The Aces are looking for another win to build on as the Grizzlies try to stop their own recent losing streak.

While we're not looking for excuses - we definitely think the boys need to show up to play - we're wondering if the illness/flu that's been going around has affected performance at all.

Either way, it should be a good game to watch if Utah decides to play.

Don't forget to read Denny's official game day blog.


Utah Grizzlies visit St. George

The Grizzlies stopped by the grand opening of the new Dixie Igloo Ice Center in St. George on their way to Vegas last week. The new Dixie Igloo is the first ice rink to be built in St. George and was designed to meet NHL-rink regulations.

Arriving in the evening, the Grizzlies had a team skate with fans and signed autographs before continuing to Vegas.


Other News

USANA is now the Utah Grizzlies' official supplement provider. Not really interesting news, but news nonetheless. Maybe they can help with the illness going around . . .

We missed Grizzlies Live again this week. Fail.

Luck, Grizzlies!

Weekend Preview - Ontario and Idaho

The Grizzlies finish up their home stand this weekend with games against the Ontario Reign on Friday, and the Idaho Steelheads on Saturday.



Idaho again? Ish...



The Ontario Reign are the only team in the ECHL that have three mascots:

Blaze

Dark Knight



Some Joker in a costume

(Pictures from the Ontario Reign website.)

They also came back from being down 5-0 to the Grizz on Wednesday to tie the game and even push to overtime. You'd think the team would be tired of Coach Colley's butt-chewings by now.



For the Grizzlies, it looks like Shea Guthrie should be back from IR, while Mark Pavli is on 3-day reserve as of Wednesday. The Grizzlies need to get back to what they were doing earlier in the season - working hard and not giving up. We don't know what this lazy-butt garbage is lately, but we're not fans of it. We seriously doubt it's Colley's new system.



Maybe after the butt-chewings, everyone's butts are just too dang tired to play.



Whatever - they're all under the age of 30.



The Steelheads played Alaska on Thursday, and again tonight, and then head down to Utah for a Saturday match-up with the Grizzlies. Their leading scorer - Tyler Spurgeon - has been loaned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, so he'll be out of the mix. This is a random one-game stint for the ECHL, where most teams play each other two or three times in a row. The ISH and Grizz will have another one of those next Wednesday in Idaho in between playing Bakersfield 4 times.



Kind of like a potato sandwich.

Game tonight starts at 7:05 pm at the E Center. If you can't make it down to support the team, you can cheer in your car - Adrian Denny will be doing the broadcast on 1230 am. Nobody thinks cheering in your car is weird... unless you're using pom-poms.

Game Day: Utah Grizzlies vs Wranglers, again.

Since we just typed up our post game from yesterday, we don't have much to say about today's game.

And we already ran out of things to say about Vegas sometime last week . . .

But Yo does have something to say, so read his game day blog.

Tonight's game is going to be a battle. The boys are looking to prove that winning is going to be a constant, and Vegas is looking to prove that they can win a game. They've already proven that they can gain solid wins without their top two scorers.

The Utah Grizzlies are currently sitting at 3rd place in the National Conference with 9-4-0-0. That's not bad considering how the season started on home ice. Things are shaping up nicely.

O'Keefe is on fire.

We want to see more from Guthrie tonight. And Dale.

And we predict fights.

Go Grizzlies!

Game Day: Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas

We're running out of things to say about Vegas.

You'd think we could come up with something after a week.

Nope.

Utah Grizzlies have lost both of their top scorers to call-ups. Vegas hasn't really been untouched in that department either. We're hoping this will even out the odds. Yo's game day blog covers this in a litle more depth.

On the defense end, it sounds like Brooks is back. He was pretty solid defensively last year, so we're hoping to see this from him tonight. Also, the Grizzlies confirmed our Parnham and Hughes rumors from earlier this week. They sound like they will be good additions. Nice.

Beljo won't be in a Grizzlies jersey tonight. Apparently, he still has work permits and stuff to deal with.

We really don't have much else to say today.

We've been dishing all week, what with the call-ups, trades, and signings.

We can't even think of any good predictions.

So . . .

Go Grizzlies!

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers

Game Day.
Friday the 13th.
Third consecutive away game against the Wranglers.
The perfect time for a little fear and loathing in Las Vegas.





"Did you see what God just did to us, man?"
Last night was pretty painful, but we're expecting a comeback like the boys pulled off in Idaho. We're hoping the Utah Grizzlies are the bad luck for the Wranglers and not the other way around. We're somewhat confident in that, as we're playing the Wranglers at home. And we're guessing that the boys have had their share of bad luck (Rootbeer Racinette style) from Colley and Curcio today, so it's about time for them to turn it around on someone else. Maybe Kotsy can step in and give some of the Wranglers bad luck . . .


"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production."
Yes, we mean Kinasewich. He was featured in a sweet ECHL spread on NHL.com, so make sure you all check it out. We're hoping to see him hitting the scoreboard tonight with killer goals. He had some nice defensive plays last night and some decent shots on goal, but was held off the scoreboard last night . . . along with everyone else. We think he's probably at DEFCON1 right about now . . .

"I hate to say this, but this place is getting to me. I think I'm getting the Fear."
Seriously. We're kind of getting sick of Vegas, but we're sure the boys are having fun in Sin City. After tonight, the boys will be back home and ready to play at the E-Center tomorrow. We're excited to see them back home and facing a team that is NOT Idaho on their home ice.

That's all we've got for today.

Go Grizzlies!

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs. Las Vegas Wranglers... again

Seriously? We have to do another game-day post about Las Vegas?

Okay. Here goes...

Sports betting is illegal everywhere in the US except Nevada. However, you can't bet on any University of Nevada sports events, or on the Las Vegas Stars baseball team. So if you want to bet the Grizzlies beat the Wranglers tonight, you're free and clear.

Nevada takes its name from a Spanish word meaning "snow-clad". Kind of like their goalie when they play the Grizzlies.

Nevada is the largest gold-producing state in the nation. It certainly has been a gold-mine of scoring for the Grizzlies this season.



Not Vegas, but the Reno Ice Pavillion - a 16,000 square foot rink - was dismantled and moved to Reno from Atlantic City, New Jersey. That's just kind of cool.

It would take one person 288 years to spend one night in every hotel room in Las Vegas. How long for a hockey team? If the Grizzlies keep playing the Wranglers like this, we may find out.



We heard a rumor that the Bellagio got in trouble during the drought for all the water it wasted in its giant fountain. Rather than cutting back, they just imported water from Canada. At least the hockey players will feel at home.



We've got nothing else.

The Grizzlies have played well against this team all season long, so we figure one of two things will happen. Either they've got Vegas figured out and will keep playing well, or they're due to have a terrible game and get totally blown out. We are going with the first option. There might be a mystery door number three, but we're afraid that might be the one where the entire state of Nevada is infected by some mysterious alien disease from Area 51 and gets kicked out of the US as a state, and the team can't get back to Utah because their visas only allow them in and out of Canada. Although that would be really random.

We haven't heard yet if there are any changes to the line up for tonight, and there's not really any other news. The only other thing we've heard is that the New York Islanders - the Grizzlies NHL affiliate - now have a record of 6-6-6. Not quite as random as the whole alien disease scenario, but a little weird all the same. We seriously doubt it means anything since we're not all that superstitious. (Unless it means they're about to call up "The Beast"...)

Game starts at 8:05 pm tonight and can be watched online or listened to at one of the Grizzlies' affiliate stations (1230 am or 1320 am). We're not sure which one, and it doesn't seem to be listed on their site as of us writing this. But keep checking back with the Grizzlies' official website to get all the info.

Another day, another game against Las Vegas.

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs. Las Vegas Wranglers

First things first, we admit we are waaaayyyy behind in our game write-ups. We're blaming technical problems and the DMV. We don't know yet whether it will be worth our time to go back and review the last two games against Idaho or not. For now, here's the review:


Utah vs. Idaho, Friday, November 6 = vomit

Utah vs. Idaho, Saturday, November 7 = peppermint hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles


We don't know why there was such a big difference on those two nights, but whatever. We'll take the win and shut up. Considering the Grizzlies beat the Steelheads 2 out of 3 times last week, that's not bad. It will win you a rock-paper-scissors contest.

Before we get into the game tonight, a few things have happened since we last had the pleasure of updating our blog. First of all, Ryan (GQ) Kinasewich was chosen as the ECHL Player of the Month. We thought about making another magazine cover, but eh, we already did that. Hopefully there's some kind of monetary reward from the ECHL, or at least a singing telegram.

Anyway, Ryan already made the ECHL home page with this article about his play so far this season. He is currently on pace to score 117 goals this season. The ECHL record is 85. That's pretty crazy. We could see history in the making this season.


Also in the news, Matt Clarke has been loaned to the Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL affilate of the Colorado Avalanche. This will put Evan Stoflet back in the lineup for the Grizzlies. We'll miss him, but we wish him the best of luck in Lake Erie.


Now, on to the game.


Well, it's not like the Grizzlies haven't played the Wranglers before. They have. In fact, it wasn't all that long ago. And if we remember correctly, they kicked some... butt.

The Wranglers have made a few changes to their lineup since the last meeting, but the only really interesting departure seems to be Nick Ross going to the AHL. They seem to have kind of evened-out with wins and losses too - they beat Ontario twice, and lost to Bakersfield twice, then beat them once. So if you count their last game with the Grizzlies, their last six games have canceled each other out. We don't know what that means, but we're pretty proud of ourselves for doing the math.


According to Adrian Denny's game day blog on the official Grizzlies website, both Ryan Kinasewich and Mark Pavli will have family in Las Vegas to cheer them on. Pavli has been sitting out, so maybe he'll make it into the lineup sometime this week.


The Grizzlies play again in Las Vegas Thursday and Friday, and then come back into town Saturday for a match up with Las Vegas. The following weekend will feature three home games for the Grizzlies in three days against Las Vegas. If that all seems redundant, so does this season. We're actually looking forward to the round of games at Thanksgiving where they'll play Alaska. The Wranglers probably will be too. Look at what we'll be welcoming them with this weekend...

Let's see them wrangle in that.


Go Grizzlies!


PS - We will be posting some pictures and such from last Friday's game as soon as we have access to our camera and our computer at the same time.