Grizzlies Live: Mendelson is not much help with the right wing.

This week on Grizzlies Live, Adrian Denny was joined by Leigh Mendelson, Brent Gauvreau, and Tim Crowder.

The show aired on 860AM this week, which Denny stated to air conservative, right wing programs. Mendelson piped in with, "Well, I played goaltender, so I don't know how much help I'll be with the right wing." Clever.

Denny and Mendelson discussed the presence of Riley Emmerson on the bench Saturday, both agreeing that it made a difference in the Grizzlies' play. As Riley is a vocal and positive guy, Leigh believed it helped the boys to have encouragement from another player in addition to the coaches.

Discussing the upcoming road games, Mendelson cited needed improvement on the forecheck and not allowing the opposing team out of their own zone. He also characterized Ontario as a dangerous opponent due to the desperation of the hockey club, and commented on Stockton's coaching being a major hindrance to the Grizzlies.

Mendelson then turned to the players, expressing confidence in Igor Gongalsky as a good addition to the team who would bring size, strength and experience as a left winger. The assistant coach also cited Gauvreau for his leadership and professionalism on the bench, and touted Tim Crowder as a player who gets his job done all the time.

Tim Crowder and Brent Gauvreau discussed the recent upheaval of the team dynamics, with Tim stating his "linemates are dropping like flies." Tim discussed Paul's recovery which was frustrating, but his older brother was trying to get back on track. Gauvreau agreed with the frustration of injury. Brent found his lower body injury particularly difficult as he was unable to skate or do other training exercises.

With the injuries and callups, Tim was definitely feeling some pressure of his role: "The team is looking to me to put pucks in the net." And so far, Tim's been doing a pretty decent job of this, including contributions on every goal in Friday's game.

Gauvreau also put in his two cents about players traveling to work in Europe, stating it was great experience but warned players to do their research before signing overseas. And as a somewhat related aside, we learned that Tim Crowder has not been to Europe, and Brent Gauvreau has not been to Victoria.

The boys ended the night with some trivia, playing ADD: the Game Show and doing quite well at it.

Next week, Brent picked Riley Emmerson, Brett Parnham, and Kevin Deeth as the Grizzlies Live guests, so we look forward to hearing from them.

Good luck on the road, Grizzlies!

Grizzlies Live - And the answer is . . . True

This week Denny was joined by Assistant Coach Leigh Mendelson, Brock Wilson, and Andrew Engelage for Grizzlies Live.

We learned that Colley likes to look at the Grizzlies at the top of the league standings almost as much as we do. It's awesome to see your team high in the standings, but Mendelson put this in perspective: "By yourself you can look at the standings and smile, but as a team you need to keep a clear mindset each night." We liked that.

Mendelson also addressed the Grizzlies winning road trip, where the boys went 4-0 over the Thanksgiving weekend. He commented on Emmerson's positive influence on the bench, even when Riley is playing grocery stick. Talk also included Brett Parnham and his spectacular week; Brett took full advantage of his top line opportunity to make a big impression in the league.

Denny then turned attention to Brock Wilson's goal. Brock expressed his surprise that he got that goal, since he was trying to center the puck for Parnham. "When Parnham skated over to me after the goal, he let me know it was mine," Wilson said. "I could have sworn he'd gotten it." Andy piped in with his two cents, joking "I think it was just a poor centering attempt that ended up in the net."

Brock also discussed his confidence in the Grizzlies goalies, JP and Andy, as well as his summer work with youth hockey groups. He also shared that his Thanksgiving dinner was from the 7-11. Tasty.

Engelage discussed his roll with Reading in the playoffs last season, along with playing with former Grizzlies Olivier LaBelle and Ryan Cruthers. When asked what he thought of the Royals coming from behind 3-0 to tie the series and lose in Game 7, Andy responded that he felt it was a lack of mental preparation: "I think some of the guys went into the series expecting that we'd win at least one. And you can't really do that and expect to get the win."

Denny and the boys ended the evening with a quiz of Bakersfield or West Valley City, since they've spent more time in Bakersfield than on home ice. Our favorite part? Denny asked the question "The movie The Sandlot was filmed near West Valley City or Bakersfield?" Andrew, missing the Bakersfield option, answered with a confident "True." After a pause, Brock responded with a confused "West Valley City." This is why a goalie needs his defensemen. (Kidding . . .)

Yeah, that's about the face we made too, Squints.

Next Grizzlies Live airs December 7, at 7pm on 1230AM.