Weekend Preview - Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers

Is it just us, or does it seem like Las Vegas is ruling our lives lately?

Believe it or not, after this weekend the Grizzlies only have one more regular season game against the Wranglers in March. However, with the standings looking the way they have, it's very likely they'll meet at some point in the playoffs. We'd prefer it be later rather than sooner. We're getting tired of them.

The Grizzlies blew their shot to go into this weekend ahead of Las Vegas in the standings, so that makes these two games even more important in their quest for the #1 spot in the conference. Utah currently sits right behind Vegas with 61 points to the Wranglers' 63. (Stockton is right behind them with 59.) The good news is that in the 8 times Utah and Vegas have met this season (seems more like 88 times), the Grizzlies have come out on top 6 times with 1 shootout loss, and have earned 13 points. Not a bad record so far. Kevin Deeth leads the Grizzlies against the Wranglers with 11 points. Also a good sign. Our #2 sign, however, is getting a bit old. We'd prefer the Grizzlies get 4 points this weekend and the Wranglers get 0 points so we can stop posting it.

Somewhat like the Grizzlies recently, Vegas has been flailing a little bit, winning only 4 of their last 10 games. They've lost their last 3, so they're on a bit of a losing streak. The Grizzlies themselves have a bit of a streak going themselves, losing their last two, but since their streak isn't as long, it won't be as painful if they have to end it. We're sure they'll be willing to sacrifice their own losing streak in order to keep the Wranglers' going. They're kind and unselfish that way.

The Wranglers recently acquired goaltender Billy Sauer from Gwinnett. We don't know why. We also don't know whether he'll be in the net against the Grizzlies or not. And there's some debate on which name is easier to taunt - Sauer or Ouzas. That may need to be tested this weekend.

One thing that doesn't need to be tested this weekend is the power at the Maverik Center. With Wednesday's outage, something seemed to go out in the Grizzlies too. Their last two games have been somewhat lackluster, and Wednesday's game even caused Coach Colley to say he was going to dissect everyone. That's got to be a messy business. Hopefully he got everyone put back together in time for tonight's game. And let's keep the power on this time.

It's Hockey Weekend Across America, and the Grizzlies have a bunch of promotions going on for Friday and Saturday. We don't know if the two are related, but we're going to say they are. For tonight's game (Friday) fans are encouraged to bring a can of food for the Utah Food Bank. It's especially encouraging since you can get $5 off any ticket for each can donated. There will also be a post-game skate for fans and the team. Bring your own skates, or rent some for $2. On Saturday it's Pooch on the Pond where fans can bring their dog and sit in the special pooch section. This goes right along with Bring a Friend to the Rink Day. Nice. The Grizzlies will also be sporting special jerseys for the Angel's Hands Foundation that will be auctioned off after the game. Proceeds go to the Angel's Hands Foundation which helps families dealing with rare diseases. And don't forget the Try Hockey For Free activities going on at 4 different ice rinks across Utah on Saturday the 19th in conjunction with HWAA.

The fun starts at 7:00 pm tonight at the Maverik Center. Three games left against the Wranglers. Two games this weekend. One chance to get ahead of them in the Western Conference.

Post Game: Grizzlies 3, Salmon Kings 1

Although we don't have anything against shootouts, it was nice to see the Grizzlies win this one in regulation and earn their two points.

Both teams battled through the opening period, but neither would light the lamp during the initial 20 minutes. Victoria struck first during a 5-on-3 power play in the 2nd period. The Salmon Kings would hold this lead until 7:08 into the 3rd when Tony Romano buried one for Utah to tie things up and swing the momentum in the Grizzlies' favor. James Sixsmith captured the lead for Utah during a power play with what would be the game winning goal.

Lance Galbraith tacked on an empty netter with one second left in the game to end things 3-1 for Utah.

From the official post game:

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies (24-21-2-5) scored three third period goals to battle back from a 1-0 final period deficit and defeat the Victoria Salmon Kings (30-19-4-2) Saturday night at the E-Center before 5,235 fans and nearly 200 dogs for the team’s fourth-annual “Pooch on Pond” game. [utahgrizzlies.com]

post game || Grizzlies 3rd Period Pushes Them Past Victoria 3-1
highlights || Game Highlights 2/20/10 vs Victoria
gamesheet || Victoria at Utah 2/20/10
photos || 2/20/10 - Utah Grizzlies vs Victoria Salmon Kings
interview || Kevin Colley 2/20/10 post game
interview || Lance Galbraith 2/20/10 intermission
blog || Adrian Denny's game day blog


Photo of the Game:

3rd period - AJ Perry passes the puck up to James Sixsmith in the neutral zone.

Additional Photos: [Flickr]




Scoring Summary:

VIC M. Siddall (17), 8:23 2nd period (Goldie, Painchaud); Salmon Kings 1, Grizzlies 0
UTA T. Romano (7), 7:08 3rd period (McJannet); Salmon Kings 1, Grizzlies 1
UTA J. Sixsmith (14), 11:35 3rd period (Clarke, Galbraith); Salmon Kings 1, Grizzlies 2
UTA L. Galbraith (9), EN 19:59 3rd period (Aston, Maxwell); Salmon Kings 1, Grizzlies 3


What Worked Well: Penalty Kill
Utah killed 7 of 8 penalties in the match, including a 5-on-3 situation. Victoria's only goal came from the other 5-on-3 situation, which means Utah killed every penalty where they were only shorthanded by one player. Not bad at all.

What Could Have Worked Better: Staying out of the box
The Grizzlies tallied 8 penalties, including those two 5-on-3 short handed situations which led to Victoria's only goal. And we all know that it's harder to score a goal when you're defending your own net, so . . . enough said.

Who Made the Difference: Tony Romano
Even though Sixsmith had a really amazing game, there's no denying the impact Tony's goal made on Utah. It completely changed the momentum of the game and paved the way for the Grizzlies to steal the win from Victoria in regulation. This was definitely the turning point of the match, and Romano was the one to find the hole and make that difference. Nice.


Stars of the Game:

1. UTA - J. Sixsmith
2. UTA - M. O'Keefe
3. UTA - T. Romano


Additional Notes:

> Mitch O'Keefe stopped 26 of 27 shots in this match.
> Lance Galbraith was the only Grizzly to tally a multipoint game (1 goal, 1 assist). Not a bad early birthday present for Lance who will be 30 on February 21.
> James Sixsmith continues his scoring streak, picking up hs 14 goal of the season.
> Utah collects 4 of 6 points in this series, winning 2 of the 3 contests.
> This year's Pooch on the Pond was host to 200+ dogs and their owners.

Weekend Preview 2/19/2010 - Utah vs Victoria

Well, the trade carousel seems to have slowed down a big for the Grizzlies. They did get Hugo Carpentier back from Abbotsford on Tuesday, but since we've seen him before and they didn't give anyone up, we're not all that frustrated with this move. In fact, we quite like the guy. Anyway, the Grizzlies seem to be more consistent as of late, and that's in a good way. In fact, six of their last ten games have ended in shootouts. That's pretty consistent. (The Grizz have won five of their last ten.)

Speaking of consistent shootouts, the team finishes up their series against Victoria this weekend. They've played the Fish Dudes (what? Oh, Salmon Kings...) six times this season, including Wednesday night, and five of those games have gone to shootouts. Utah has won two of those shootouts. Victoria has won three. Are we crazy if we predict another shootout? It should be the Grizzlies turn to win this one.

Coach Colley said in his post-game interview after Wednesday's game:

"We had the lead in our rink going into the third period; we can't give that up. It doesn't matter if it's on their power play or whatnot, but we've got to get the job done and not give teams any more points."

The Fish are currently eleven points ahead of the Grizzlies in the standings, so like Colley said, we're hoping they can just swallow that salmon whole this time without giving them any extra points. We do like an exciting close game, especially when it's in front of the home crowd, but we hope they can win in regulation this time.

Before coming to Utah this week, Victoria had won 6 of their last 10, but their longest winning streak was only two games. We're not sure if that means they're hot right now or what. The Grizzlies have won 5 of their last 10 (including Wednesday against Victoria), but again, their biggest streak in that span was only two games.

Eh, odds are it's going to a shootout anyway, so we just hope the guys are practicing their moves.

* * * * *

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING WE TOTALLY MISSED EARLIER...

• If you're one of the first 2,500 people at the rink Friday night, you can get a team calendar. We're so there... especially since we never put up a new one for 2010.


• Saturday will be the 4th annual "Pooch on the Pond" night at the E Center. Call us crazy, but we like dogs more than we like Gary Coleman.