Utah Grizzlies vs Bakersfield Condors Post Game 12/18/09

Fifth loss in a row.

This game was so bloated with penalties that neither side could gain momentum. That being said, both goals from Utah were power play goals by Perry which was a nice end to an 11 period drought where the Grizzlies couldn't capitialize on a power play chance.

And really, can enough be said for Parker Van Buskirk who kept the boys in this game? He had some magnificent saves, stopping 27 of 30, and deserved a bit more love from his teammates. Hopefully, the can show their appreciation over the holiday games.

Dale and Stoflet made their return to the E Center with the Condors tonight. Stoflet ended up with a +1 and 2 PIM. Dale was a healthy scratch.

Don't forget to read the official post game at the Utah Grizzlies site, the gamesheet at ECHL.com, and ours below.

FIRST PERIOD

RJ starts a fight early again.

We don't quite understand the strategy of a fight this early in the game.

But it doesn't matter because it happens anyway.

Both teams start it out with 5 for fighting.

In front of the Condors' net.

May gets one for hooking.

Bakersfield goes to the box, and the Grizzlies caplitalize.

Perry draws first blood with the power play goal. 1-0.

Snatch and Maxwell get the points for the assists.

There's a big shoving match in front of the net.

Carpentier gets roughing along with some Condor.

Another Condor gets called for hooking.

Grizzlies on the power play.

They can't do anything with it.

End of first. 1-0, Grizzlies.

SECOND PERIOD

11 penalties in the 2nd.

3 for Utah, 8 for Bakersfield.

Clarke got a penalty for kneeing.

He and a Condor also got fighting, so we guess it happened in the midst of it.

But Bakersfield ties it up during their power play. 1-1.

Parker is keeping the boys in this game.

They need to show him some love.

Utah regains their lead momentarily on another power play goal.

Stoflet goes to the box for the Condors.

And Perry gets his second of the night. 2-1.

Points to May and Kinasewich on the assists.

Then the Condors get another goal and tie it up.

Even strength goal. 2-2.

At least it wasn't a shorty . . .

Digging the puck out of the corners.

Parnham and some Bakersfield punk go at it at the end of the period.

Both get roughing.

End of second. 2-2.

THIRD PERIOD

Clarke gets a penalty for Holding the stick a minute into the period.

Killed.

Less penalties this period.

More for Utah: 5 compared to Bakersfield's two.

Maxwell goes after the puck.

Clark and some Condor mix it up and get penalties for roughing.

Vlady takes a tour for hooking.

Bakersfield gets a goal. 3-2.

Kotsy goes for high-sticking.

Perry joins him for interference.

5-on-3 killed.

Most of the 3rd is played in the Grizzlies' defensive zone.

Utah couldn't stop picking up penalties.

Game.
3-2, Condors.

Stars of the Game:

2. AJ Perry

3. Parker Van Buskirk

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies News: Trades, Callups, and Additions

So, the Grizzlies' lineup has undergone some massive change in the last 24 hours. To make it easier, we've made a list of those changes below

• Vic Bartley has been called up to Bridgeport. [UtahGrizzlies.com
• Tony Romano joins the Grizzlies from Bridgeport. [UtahGrizzlies.com]
• Evan Stoflet has been traded to Bakersfield. [UtahGrizzlies.com]
• Jason Dale has been reassigned to Bakersfield by Bridgeport. [UtahGrizzlies.com]
• Dylan Hunter goes to the AHL's Rochester Americans. [UtahGrizzlies.com]

Basically, we lose 4 (Bartley, Stoflet, Dale, Hunter), and gain one (Romano).

Romano joins the Grizzlies from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers where he played 21 games this season. During the 2008-2009 season, Romano picked up 69 points (36 goals, 33 assists) in 65 games for the Petesborough Petes of the OHL. Not bad at all.

We're going to miss Bartley and Stoflet, who have been pretty stellar on defense for us over the past several games. Hunter's callup is really no surprise as he played in the AHL during 2006-2008, but we'll still miss the firepower.

Jason Dale is probably the one we'll miss the most here at GrizzBlog. We were just starting to cultivate an appreciation for his drive and constant effort on the ice. He really gave the game his all every shift, and we loved to watch him play. We hope this reassignment ends up being a good thing. Luck, Jason!

Fortunately (or unfortunately), we may be seeing both Evan and Jason in the Grizzlies' games this weekend against the Condors.

Luck to all!

Go Grizzlies!

Angel's Hands Foundation Jersey Auction

After the game last night, the boys auctioned off their jerseys for the Angel's Hands Foundation. The Utah Grizzlies website reported that:

$14,300 was raised for the Angel’s Hands Foundation in a post-game jersey auction of the Grizzlies game-worn specialty jerseys.

Not bad. Here's the breakdown of what each jersey went for.

• Grizzbee, MVB - $400
• Jake Gannon - $400
• Vic Bartley - $450
• Evan Kotsopoulos - $575
• Ryan Kinasewich - $700, re-sold for $600 ($1300 total)
• Bobby Hughes - $425
• Jason Dale - $400
• Shea Guthrie - $775, re-sold for $700 ($1475 total)
• Tom May - $600
• Matt Clarke - $325
• Dustin Friesen - $400
• Hugo Carpentier - $375
• Mark Pavli - $1300, re-sold for $1000 ($2300 total)
• Evan Stoflet - $450
• Jadran Beljo - $425
• Chris Brooks - $350
• Tim Maxwell - $475
• Brett Parnham - $450
• AJ Perry - $600
• Vlady Nikiforov - $500
• Dylan Hunter - $525
• Mitch O'Keefe - $725
• Parker Van Buskirk - $550

And of course we have pictures for anyone that missed it.

Kinasewich with the fan that won his jersey.

Pavli strikes a pose. Apparently, it worked. $2300 for Pavli's jersey.

May tries the Pavli pose . . . or mocks it. Whichever.
We were laughing, anyway. But so was May.

Beljo skates off to meet his buyer after he sold. But we really wish we could have gotten a picture of his reaction to the bidders saying he was hot.
We didn't know if he wasn't sure how to take the compliment or if he was worried about getting razzed later.

Dale helps auction off Hughes jersey. We're not sure where Hughes was, but nice job, Dale - way to hold a jersey, man!

At least the boys had a little fun with the auction after the OT loss. We actually love when they're having a good time. It makes for good candids.

Keep it up, boys.

For more information on the Angel's Hands Foundation, check out their website.

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies vs Alaska Aces Post Game 11/28/09

What a night for Alaska.

One of their players got a hat trick and two assists, several of their players had multipoint games, their captain got a 5-on-3 short handed goal, and their goaltender was on fire.

The Grizzlies 3 top players, on the other hand, finished up the game with a -5.

Seriously depressing.

However, Pavli did get his first goal of the season, which was probably the one good thing to come out of this for Utah.

But don't just take our word for it. Go read the official post game at the Utah Grizzlies site and the gamesheet at ECHL.com. Our post game is below.

FIRST PERIOD

Alaska gets the first goal a minute in on Parker.

1-0.

Damnit, this is going to be a repeat of last night.

In the neutral zone: Snatch, Perry, Hunter, Friesen, and Gannon.

Utah pretends to play some defense.

Gannon gets a penalty for tripping.

Killed.

Snatch talks to the ref.

But the Grizzlies hold off Alaska until the end of the period.

When they get their second goal of the night.

End of first. 2-0, Aces.

SECOND PERIOD

Alaska repeats the 1st period, getting a goal in under a minute of play.

3-0.

Different goalie, same lack of defense on Utah's part.

Hughes mourns a missed shot.

Alaska gets a penalty, and the Grizzlies capitalize.

May knocks one in. 3-1.

Points to Hughes and Vlady on the assists.

Goal celebration!

Then Utah gets a penalty.

Parnham goes to the box for high-sticking.

Alaska scores. 4-1.

Some guy at the game got arrested during the 2nd.

This was the most interesting thing to happen for the whole game.

Seriously.

Unfortunately, the picture we got of it is way too blurry.

Alaska gets two more goals in this period.

One of them was a short handed 5-on-3 goal.

Utah was alseep on the ice.

At this point in the game, Kinasewich, Hunter, and Perry all have a -5.

This is not the same team we saw two games ago.

End of second. 6-1, Aces.

THIRD PERIOD

The best thing about this period was Pavli's goal.

His first of the season.

We were actually talking about him getting a goal earlier in the game.

So we were excited about it.

Assists to Dale and Maxwell on that.

Dale is pretty much awesome.

If Kinasewich put in as much effort as Dale did during his shifts, this would have been a completely different game.

There were a lot of penalties.

And two Gannon fights.

The first he was totally punked from behind.

It was ridiculous.

But Alaska probably knew if they didn't cheap shot him, they'd be the one's going down.

Which is what happened in the second fight.

Gannon took Alaska out.

But our camera had died by that point.

Along with the Grizzlies will to live.

Game.

6-2, Alaska.

Post game skate with the team photo:

Stars of the Game:

1. Not Ryan Kinasewich

2. Not Dylan Hunter

3. Not A.J. Perry

NOTES

We're not going to sugar coat this at all. This was quite the pathetic display. And we're pretty sure the boys got an earful from Colley and Curcio, as they should have.

We did have a few questions, though . . .

What happened to our excellent defense?

It seems like Utah was stellar defensively prior to the last two games. Now, all of the sudden the Grizzlies can't break up a play to save their lives, let alone protect the net. There were a couple of moments last night where the defense just let the Aces waltz past them while they were looking at the bench. We could actually see the Aces' setting up the goal from center ice, yet our boys failed to stop it. What gives?

Why aren't we checking anyone?

When Vlady (and Dale) is the only one consistantly throwing a decent check, there's something wrong. May was the only one on our team that looked close to the size of the Alaska players, yet Vlady was the one throwing the checks on these guys? Come on.

Kinasewich, really?

We actually love Kinasewich, don't get us wrong. And when the kid is on fire, he's lethal. He even tallied 9 SOG during this sad excuse for a game. But when you play an entire shift in your defensive zone and your stick doesn't even touch the ice . . . dude. Really? That's a poor show of effort, no matter who you are - from Ovechkin down to peewee hockey. Now, there could be a myriad of reasons as to why Snatch put on such a sad show (jetlag, time zone changes, emo-ness, whatevs), but we still expect to see him play hockey when he steps on the ice.

But again. Who said we knew anything about hockey.
We're just calling it how we see it.

To better luck next time.

Go Grizzlies!

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!

Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers Post Game 11/20/09

What a win.

It's nice to see the boys prove they can still play a mean game without their top two scorers.

I mean, we knew they had it in them. We just didn't know if they did.

Multiple point nights for Hunter and Perry; first game, first goal for Parnham; and deadly special teams on the power play (3/5) and PK (0/4). Not to mention the awesome penalty shot by Vlady at the end of the game or O'Keefe's shut out.

And all of this in front of a 9000+ crowd. Nice.

The official Utah Grizzlies post game is up at their site, the gamesheet at ECHL.com, and our song and dance is below.

PreGame Introductions: Pack the House, indeed! We didn't take as many pictures because we were behind the netting. Anthem pictures:

FIRST PERIOD

30 seconds in Pavli gets into a fight.

Wow.

We're thinking this is going to be a wild game.

As soon as Pavli's out of the box, Gannon picks one up for high sticking.

1:36 later, Bartley joins him for tripping.

5-on-3 with two of our blueliners in the box.

Crap.

But the boys kill it with style.

Both teams are looking pretty good in the 1st.

Vegas started out strong, but the Grizzlies start to control the game about halfway through the period.

Vegas gets a penalty.

Grizzlies waste no time capitalizing.

N00b Parnham gets the goal on the power play. 1-0.

First game, first goal.

We're starting to like this kid.

Points on the assists to n00b Hughes and n00b Beljo.

We didn't know Beljo would be able to play.

But we're glad he is.

Kotsy plays some defense.

Nearing the end of the 1st, May knocks one in.

But they don't count it. Rude.

High stick on the puck.

Whatevs.

End of first. 1-0, Grizzlies.

First Intermission: Little kids play hockey. Adorable.

SECOND PERIOD

Vegas takes an early penalty.

And May makes up for his uncounted goal. 2-0.

Points to Hunter and Perry.

The only bad thing about this period, is that we were sitting behind the Grizzlies' net.

The puck rarely came down our way.

Dale was all over the ice.

Damn.

Everywhere the puck was, Dale was.

Awesome shifts from this kid.

The boys dominated this period.

Seriously. 18 SOG to Vegas's 3.

Ouch, Vegas.

We know we haven't said enough about our blueliners so far this year.

They're pretty incredible.

And their play kind of says it all.

Late in the 2nd, Grizzlies get another power play opportunity.

And Hunter buries it. 3-0.

Points to Maxwell and Hunter on the assists.

Both Perry and Hunter just picked up multipoint nights.

O'Keefe in goal.

Vegas gets another penalty at the end of the 2nd.

Grizzlies will start the 3rd with 1:24 left in it.

End of second. 3-0, Grizzlies.

Second Intermission: Ummmm . . . here's a picture of the crowd.

THIRD PERIOD

Vegas came out with a vengence.

At first we wondered if Utah would keep up.

We stopped taking pictures at this point and opted to watch the game.

Utah started out with a partial power play.

Nothing.

Vegas was pretty amazing at chasing the Grizzlies down in their own end.

Vlady had some amazing shifts.

Grizzlies get another power play.

Nothing.

Vegas is starting to pick things up, but it's too little too late.

Grizzlies are back on their game.

Then, Brooks goes to the box for Interference.

Joni had a few strokes, but . . .

Killed.

Hughes follows shortly after for hooking.

Killed beautifully.

Vegas had no chance on this one. They couldn't even keep it in.

Then, as Vegas is setting up a shot, Vlady swoops in.

Vlady's tripped on the breakaway.

Penalty shot.

Vlady buries it. 4-0.

You could see it going in before he even shot it.

Ouzas had no chance. Which is the perfect theme of the game.

Game.

4-0, Grizzlies.

Stars of the Game

1. O'Keefe with the shutout

2. Hunter with one goal, one assist

3. Perry with two assists.

NOTES

Nice to see the n00bs holding their own. We had a hunch that Parnham would get a goal in this game, we just didn't realize it would be the first one.

We need to pay attention to the lines tonight so we can make some new fantasy lines. We've got at least 3 new faces to work with and we're not familiar with their methods yet. However Colley and Curcio set them up last night was pretty sweet by us - no complaints here. We love the idea of a Kotsy-somebody-Pavli line, we just need to figure out a third person. for that.

Kind of administrative, but we know our comments are messed up on the page. We're working on fixing that. Sorry. :(

That's all for now.

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers Post Game 11/10/09

Grizzlies win.

We honestly don't have much to follow that. The game was somewhat calm, steady, and consistant. Just strong, good hockey from both teams with a solid win for our boys. This is what we like to see.

And for a change of pace, it was characterized by a LACK of penalties. 5 penalties in total through the game as opposed to 29 penalties last Friday.

Also different, Kinasewich didn't make it to the scoreboard tonight. But both Perry and Sixsmith picked up multipoint games.

The official Utah Grizzlies postgame is up; the ECHL gamesheet is as well. Ours is below.


FIRST PERIOD

Both teams come out swift and solid.
Grizzlies are playing more aggressively than Vegas.
But Vegas is keeping pace.

Good steady plays, shots, and saves by both teams.

Then late in the 1st, Perry scores on the rebound.
Ouzas lays on his face in shame.
We cackle like little girls.
Points to May and Sixsmith on the assists.

Shea shows off his mad puck handling skills as he keeps it away from Vegas.

Ouzas is on fire.
He makes at least 3 crazy saves before he holds on to the puck.

There have been no penalties.
Weird.

Yo comments that Orpik should be a pest.
But we like to call him Penny Candy.
His brother scares us too much to call him a pest.


End of first. 1-0, Grizzlies.

First Intermission: Haggin goes one-on-one with Matt Caria. It will be up at the Utah Grizzlies' podcast center for your listening pleasure.

We realize that you can't pick up the 1230 AM in Highland or Alpine. Bummer.

Yay for the internet.

SECOND PERIOD

Leave it to Kinasewich to get the first penalty.
He seems to be in the box almost every game this season.
We don't remember him doing that the last couple of seasons.
But we think we like it.

Penalty killed.

Then, the Grizzlies go on the power play.
Some Vegas joke gets 4 minutes of high sticking penalties.
What the crap WAS he doing with the stick?
We missed it.

Four minutes.
But the boys can't do anything with it.

However, we must say that they looked amazing.
A lot of movement in the zone.
Nice set ups.

But Shea gets a penalty for hooking, and shortens up the power play.
Boo.

Kinasewich gets a couple of nice shots off.
One really nice shorthanded chance.
But nothing.
Penalty killed.

Then, a ref knocks the puck back over the blue line and calls offside on May.
What the hell?
Jerk.

Late in the 2nd, Penny Candy scores.
Tied, 1-1.

But 2:31 after, Dale sends one in. 2-1.
His 2nd of the season.
Perry gets points for that assist.
His 2nd point of the game.

Vlady's been throwing these awesome checks all night
He totally squashes some Vegas punk against the boards.
We love it.

End of second. 2-1, Grizzlies.

Second Intermission: Um . . . we did laundry. Yo talked about how the boys' families came down to Vegas for the games. Very cool.


THIRD PERIOD

There are some awesome O'Keefe saves in the first of this period.
Which results in a pushing match in front of the net.
No fight, though.

The video was freezing on our feed, so we decided to restart the browser.
Mistake.

Maxwell sends one in while we're pulling up the feed.
3-1.
Points to Bartley and Sixsmith.

Vegas has definitely picked up their speed.
They've decided to play a physical game late in the contest.

But the Grizzlies defense kicks butt.
They make an awesome save while O'Keefe is down.
Blocking any entrance to the net.
Then playing it down the ice.
Solid.

Boys seem to be making plays out of clearing, then chasing it down for an opportunity.
Awesome.

Then, Shea gets a tripping minor.
Vegas capitalizes.
Guthrie does the skate of shame.

The score just tightened up.
Crap.

Things are getting heated.
Semi-fisticuffs.
Some Vegas joke knocks down Caria in front of the net.
Seriously, 3-on-Caria
The joke even gets a few cheap shots in.
And some sucker jabs.
But the refs break it up before Caria can respond.

Can you blame them -
Who wants to clean blood off the ice?

CRAZY MAD final 2 minutes.
Both teams fighting with everything they've got.
Grizzlies can't clear it.
Vegas presses their attack.

If Joni was watching, she'd have a stroke. Or five.

Time runs out on Vegas.
Whew!

Game.
3-2, Grizzlies.

Stars of the Game:
1. Perry - that's all we care about


NOTES

Not really much to say. Clean, consistant hockey. A good win, and a solid defense at the end of the 3rd when the Grizzlies tend to give it up.

We rematch with these guys in a two days.
Let's do it again, boys!

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies vs. Las Vegas Wranglers Post Game: 10-29-09

To be quite honest, we can't remember much about the game except the vast amount of scoring that happened. And while we feel a little bad for Vegas's backup goalie, Gistedt wasn't the only reason the Grizzlies massacred the Wranglers last night. The Grizzlies came out looking like a team ready to play a full 60 minutes from the moment they stepped onto the ice. So, we're assuming that whatever Colley yelled/said must have worked.

The only question we have is if 13 players earned points thoughtout the course of the game, who didn't?



The official post game is at UtahGrizzlies.com, and the gamesheet is up at ECHL.com. Ours is below.



FIRST PERIOD

Grizzlies get a power play within the first minute.
Kotsy scores in the last few secondof the power play. 1-0.
Points to Vlady and Sixsmith for the assists.

Two minutes later, Grizzlies get another one.
Sixsmith knocks one in. 2-0.
Vlady picks up another assist and May picks up a point.

Then, 2:10 after Bubba gets his goal, Snatch puts one away.
3-0.
Caria and Sixsmith for the assists.

Bubba's already earned himself 3 points in the first 6 minutes.
Vlady has 2.
Freakin' awesome.

Then Penny Candy gets one in for Vegas. 3-1.
Meh.

Some Vegas punk gets 4 minutes worth of penalties.
Grizzlies capitalize, again.

Hunter gets the power play goal. 4-1.
Points to Caria and Meyers.

Bartley gets a high-sticking minor.
The boys kill it.

End of first. 4-1, Grizzlies.


First Intermission: Haggin goes one-on-one with Perry. They talk about NHL 10, AJ's brother Corey, and his desire to wear the #9. You can listen to the interview with AJ Perry at the podcast center.


SECOND PERIOD

The scoring frenzie continues in the second.
We seriously can't remember what else happened.
The second period is ALL Utah.

30 seconds in, Bartley gets a goal. 5-1.
Damn.
Assist goes to Guthrie.

Then, Snatch gets his 7th goal of the season.
6-1.
Points to Caria and Friesen on that one.

Vladi gets sent to the box.
Killed.

We see Vegas on the ice, but they're not doing anything.

Hunter puts his second goal of the night in. Caria gets yet another assist.
7-1.

Sixsmith does a tour for holding.
The boys kill it.

At this point, we're just feeling bad for Vegas.
Really bad.
Like, you-don't-deserve-this-much-torture bad.

Vegas picks up a penalty.
Grizzlies can't capitalize.

Vegas picks up another penalty.

Caria gets a goal. 8-1.
Caria's earned himself 5 points for this game.
4 assists, 1 goal.
Damn.

Points to Hunter and Guthrie for the assists.


End of second. 8-1, Grizzlies.


Second Intermission: Yo does a recap and reads emails and texts. We do our laundry.
Check out this interview with Vegas forward Orpik. So depressing, even the announcer can't sound excited. Note the look of hopelessness on Penny Candy's face at the end of the video. So sad!


THIRD PERIOD

To be quite honest, the third period was uneventful.
Vegas came out a bit stronger.
Utah decided to let them save some pride.

Dale gets his first professional goal at about 6 minutes in.
9-1.
The poor goalie looked stunned.
We could tell he'd already lost his will to live.

Points to Snatch and Perry for the assists.

Vegas gets a goal.
Those poor bastards.

End of the 3rd is PK practice.
Guthrie and Clarke take consecutive tours.

Kinasewich decides to make things interesting.
Snatch joins Clarke and makes the boys kill a 5-on-3.

All penalties killed.
No power play goals for you, Vegas.

Game.
9-2, Grizzlies.

Stars of the Game are all Grizzlies:
1. Caria
2. Hunter
3. Kinasewich




NOTES

This game had so much awesome in it, we don't know where to begin.

First, we enjoyed the new line changes. Seeing Vlady and Sixsmith together on the ice made us feel like we knew what we were talking about when we decided to pair those two in our fantasy lines. We're wondering if the line changes had more to do with the slaughter that happened on the ice or if it was Colley's threats of imminent doom.

Second, holy &%^#, Caria! What's up!? Also, Kinasewich was looking a little more consistant, which is what we want to see. The backup goalie was definitely a lucky break for the Grizzlies. And while we feel bad for Vegas, the goalie wasn't the only good thing going for the Grizzlies. They actually played as we all know they can. If the boys can remain consistantly at the level of play they brought to Vegas tonight, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with going into their next few games.

Third, it was great to see Maxwell back on the ice. Maxwell and Jason Dale were on the ice last night for the Grizzlies for the first time this year.

And lastly, Parker's the unsung hero of the night. Vegas outshot the Grizzlies, and he kept the Wranglers in check. Woooo, Parker!

That's all we've got for now.

Go Grizzlies!

Game Day - Utah Grizzlies vs. Las Vegas Wranglers

After a couple of losses at home to the Idaho Steelheads, the Grizzlies head back to Vegas to roll the dice against the Wranglers again. We'd say maybe they're rolling the dice at the craps table too while they're down there, but most of the team isn't old enough for that.



The last time these two teams met up, the Grizzlies came away with a win in their season opener, and Ryan (GQ) Kinasewich had a hat trick. Not a bad start. Despite the losses to Idaho, the Grizz are still a talented team with a lot of energy, and if they can minimize the mistakes they can have a repeat of the previous match-up in Sin City.



The Wranglers have just come off a loss and two wins against the Alaska Aces, and will be looking for that momentum to help them in tonight's game. We went to their Preview link on their website and this is what it looked like:

Pretty wordy.


What the heck is their mascot supposed to be anyway?


We can tell you that Las Vegas will be missing goaltender Michael Ouzas and also Shay Stephenson - both are suspended. Probably for underage gambling. (Just kidding - they're both old.) We can also tell you that the Grizzlies are third in the ECHL on the power play at 25% (4 for 16). Pavli and Stoflet will be out tonight so that Tim Maxwell and Jason Dale can make their season debuts. And if you read what Adrian Denny wrote in his game-day blog over at the Grizzlies' website, it sounds like the team got a butt-chewing from Colley. If we were hockey chefs, we could tell you what all that would taste like when your threw it into a soup together...

But we're not. We're just going to tune in and listen to the game like the rest of you who weren't able to go to Vegas for the game because you have regular jobs and stuff. So I guess we'll all have to see what happens tonight.

The game starts at 8:05 pm and will be broadcast on 1320 am KFAN. Synchronize your watches.

PS - Happy Birthday to Hall of Fame Islanders Defenseman Denis Potvin!

Pink in the Rink - Jersey Auction

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last week or so, you know that Saturday night was the Grizzlies' annual Pink in the Rink night, where the ice is pink, the players are pink, and they auction off the pink jerseys to raise money for breast cancer after the game. The Grizzlies website reported that the team made "nearly $13,000" at the auction, but if you're like us, you're interested to know the breakdown on what each jersey got.

So here it is:

• Grizzbee - $400
• AJ Perry - $425
• Mark Pavli - $700
• Ryan Kinasewich - $1000
• Evan Stoflet - $625
• Evan Kotsopoulos - $825
• Josh Meyers - $400
• Vlady Nikiforov - $650
• Vic Bartley - $475
• Tim Maxwell - $475
• James Sixsmith - $575
• Tom May - $1000
• Mitch O'Keefe - $575
• Matt Caria - $575
• Matt Clarke - $525
• Jake Gannon - $500
• Dustin Friesen - $600
• Parker Van Buskirk - $575
• Shea Guthrie - $625
• Pink stick signed by the team - $400

That brings the total to $12,800. In other words, "nearly $13,000".

Good job, boys!

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the auction. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to get one of Matt Caria almost biffing it... Better luck next time, I suppose.

AJ Perry shows off his jersey for the bidders:

Jason Dale poses for a picture with the fan who purchased his jersey:

James Sixsmith strikes a pose for the camera:

He hasn't quite got the cover look down yet though - we'll leave that to Kinasewich:

Shea Guthrie poses with a fan:

And Parker Van Buskirk poses with a whole crew of fans:

Even though the team didn't quite come out on top of the game, Pink in the Rink was a win for everyone. Except maybe the guy who has to scrape the pink off the ice.

Go Grizzlies!