Grizzlies Live - There's more than one stoplight in Gig Harbor

'Tis the season for procrastination! But we're finally getting this up.

Denny was joined by Riley Emmerson and Kevin Deeth for Grizzlies Live on Tuesday.


On Tuesday, the boys stated that they haven't shown anyone that they could play at home. But a couple of games later, they've definitely started to improve on their home record. In discussing the home record, Deeth stated "Anytime you can pick up wins on the road, it builds momentum for the rest of the season." And we feel that's what has finally started happening on home ice.

Adrian and the boys discussed both Stockton and Ontario. Denny asked Kevin Deeth what it was like on the ice during the Stockton game as it seemed like a bit of a riot situation from the press box. Deeth summed it up adequately, "[It was] kind of a circus with the Hunt brothers running around trying to rip your head off. But I just tried to ignore it and play."

Adrian then asked Emmerson his opinion on the Stockton team, who he played with last season. Riley related that he grew up with the Hunt brothers and they were good guys off the ice, but completely different when they laced up the skates. "I remember one game we were playing and Garrett was just screaming at the top of his lungs, trying to get someone to fight him. I skated over to him and said, 'Garrett, play hockey.'"

Denny made the comparison between fan bases and their teams; Utah's fans come late, it takes them a while to get into it, and they don't get stressed until the 3rd period or 4th quarter, which parallels the way the teams play. In making the comparison to Stockton, Adrian stated "It seems like both the team and the fans are still trying to learn hockey and are more into the physical side of play." Riley piped up with a chuckle, "I don't know anyone in Stockton is actually trying to learn it."

Adrian turned to asking the boys about their hometowns, Riley about Abbotsford (but he was born in Burnaby - shout out to RW!) and Kevin about Gig Harbor. Denny quizzed Deeth about a local teen from Gig Harbor who'd stolen a plane recently. Kevin responded, "Well, I don't know everybody and there's more than one stoplight . . ." We laughed.

The boys and Adrian also discussed Kevin Colley and the impact he has on the team. Emmerson relayed, "[Colley] is a very smart coach that relates to the players and how they react just because he used to play and he knows what it's like."

The show ended with another round of ADD: the Game Show which was backed by Atari music . . . Really, that's all we remembered about it - the Atari music.

Next broadcast of Grizzlies Live is January 11 at 7:00pm.

Post Game: Grizzlies 4, Wranglers 2

Awesome to see the boys win at home.

A great game to watch all around. The Grizzlies did a spectacular job of coming out ready in the 1st and controlling the puck. Of course, a couple of lulls in the 2nd after Utah's third goal by Crowder and at the top of the 3rd made us a little nervous, but the boys held on and added another goal from Gergen to snatch the win from the Wranglers.

The boys went 3 for 3 on the penalty kill and 1 for 3 on the power play against the ECHL's top ranked PK. Utah also managed to pick up some 5 on 5 goals, which we know Colley wanted to see. Special teams have been a big factor in Utah's success rate this season. But in a game with as few penalties as this one it's necessary to be successful in 5 on 5 play, and the Grizzlies pulled it off with style.

Kevin Deeth ended the game one goal shy of a hat trick. He had some nice looks in the 2nd, but just wasn't able to knock a 3rd one home. We were definitely hoping for some pizza, but impressed by Deeth nonetheless. Nicely done.

Chris Donovan picked up the last Utah penalty of the game. Denny mentioned his animation in the penalty box during the post game, wanting to know if Chris had some plan as the Grizzlies scored 20 seconds after his release. Colley's response? "Well, he had 2 minutes to think about it."

Game Photos -



Stars of the Game -

1. UTA - K. Deeth
2. UTA - S. Ferguson
3. UTA - N. Tuzzolino

Links -
post game || Grizzlies Beat Las Vegas 4-2
gamesheet }} Las Vegas at Utah - 12/15/10
highlights || Game Highlights 12/15/10
photos || 12/15/10 - Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers
interview }} Kevin Colley 12/15/10 post game
interview || Kevin Deeth 12/15/10 intermission

Post Game: Ontario 3, Grizzlies 2 (OT)

Grizzlies lose, but this time in OT. Improvement.

Utah had a weak 1st period. The entire 2nd period was a brawl (seriously, 19 penalties in the middle frame). And the last 10 minutes of play is how we would have liked to see the Grizzlies playing the whole game. However, the boys did gain one point, and 1 point from 6 over the weekend is . . . still pretty damn bad. But we're going to take the comeback late in the 3rd as a sign that Utah's play at home is changing (please, please, please). Either way, the crowd was certainly into this game as were we.

One of the first things we noticed was the presence of Emmerson in a suit. During Grizzlies Live, Assistant Coach Mendelson had commented on the positive influence of Riley on the bench even if he wasn't playing shifts, so we were interested to see the effect #59 could bring to the game from the bench.

Michael Gergen looked pretty tough tonight. He fought for the puck during line changes and made an extra effort to take the puck coast to coast to control it Ontario's zone. We were excited when Denny mentioned this in his postgame interview with Colley as well. We also want to thank the blueliners for scoring tonight.

0 for 4 on the power play?

Not much else to say about this one. Grizzlies head back to California next weekend, so we expect to see some wins.

Game Photos -

*Still with the computer issues; we'll get it fixed this week.

Stars of the Game -

1. ONT - J. Corey
2. UTA - N. Tuzzolino
3. ONT - D. Collins

Links -
post game || Grizzlies Comeback In Third; Fall 3-2 In OT
gamesheet || Ontario at Utah - 12/4/10
highlights || Game Highlights 12/4/10 vs Ontario
photos || 12/4/10 - Utah Grizzlies vs Ontario Reign
interview || Kevin Colley 12/4/10 post game
interview || Riley Emmerson 12/4/10 intermission

Weekend Preview - Utah Grizzlies vs Bakersfield Condors

The Grizzlies are still stuck in Bakersfield, right at the start of Tule fog season. Not that the fog has anything to do with this weekend's match up, but it came up when we Googled Bakersfield, and we thought it was kind of cool. Then again, according to Adrian Denny's game day blog, the Condors have been outscored 19-4 in their last four games. Maybe they are playing in a fog after all.

The thing to remember about fog, however, is that it eventually lifts, and when it does, the Condors are going to attack with the ferocity of seven suns. (Being stuck in fog will do that to you.) The Grizzlies need to be ready for this. After a strong showing on Wednesday, they need to be able to come out just as strong this weekend, if not stronger, if they want their four points. They're currently second in the division behind Alaska. Both have 14 points, but Alaska has played one less game.

Even though they were awesome in their last game, one thing the Grizz can improve on is their power play. They went 0-7 on Wednesday - more like a powerless play. Another thing Utah needs to watch out for is keeping the score at least tied through the first two periods. The Condors are 4-0-0 when leading after the second, so they're good at holding a lead and shutting it down in the third.

Riley Emmerson has been activated off the IR, so we expect him to return to the line up for Utah tonight. Kevin Deeth will be out - he's now on the IR. Brad Snetsinger has five points against the Condors already this season, so we're hoping he can keep up this trend. Another hat trick would be nice... but we'll take whatever we can get. Hopefully that's a couple of wins.

Both Friday and Saturday night's games start at 8:00 pm and will be broadcast on KFAN 1230 AM. You can also listen online, or watch online pay per view. Live scoring updates are also available on the ECHL website, or the Grizzlies' Twitter page.

We can see clearly now... six points for the Grizzlies emerging from the fog in Bakersfield.

The Life of Riley

We're very happy to report the Grizzlies picked up 3 out of 4 possible points in the standings this weekend against the Las Vegas Wranglers. This moves them up to second in their division with 12 points, right behind Alaska who has 14.

The Grizzlies did this without their captain, Jake Gannon, who was loaned to Peoria of the AHL on Friday and left early that morning. We'll definitely miss him, but as always, we wish him the best of luck with the Rivermen.

Joining the Grizzlies this weekend was Riley Armstrong, which we were very excited about. Seriously, two of us were at an NHL game in Phoenix when we got the news, and we probably cheered over that louder than we cheered for the previous goal. Those of you who followed us last year may remember us being fans of Armstrong when he was with Abbotsford, and we're very happy to have him here in Utah. Now we actually have a reason to follow him on twitter.

In other Riley news, Riley Emmerson has been placed on 3-day IR as of November 6th. No news on whether or not he'll be in the line-up for Wednesday's game at Bakersfield. Check out the Grizzlies' official website for more information on the last leg of the road trip.

Just a brief Preseason Review

It was great to hear the slap of the puck and the scrape of skates on the ice once again as the Grizzlies took on the Idaho Steelheads in their two preseason games last weekend. Nothing is quite like the ECHL hockey season, especially when it's Grizzlies vs Steelheads. And while we're still out of practice from the off season, here's your preseason review!

Friday, October 8th:
The Grizzlies found themselves in a 4 goal deficit at the top of the 2nd, as Idaho packed on the points. However, Utah was able to cut the lead to a single goal before the end of the period, 4-3. But unfortunately, the Grizzlies weren't able to even the score before the end of the match, and Idaho picked up an empty net goal to end the game 5-3 in the Steelheads' favor.

This preseason game wasn't open to the public, but you can read the official postgame on the Grizzlies' site: Late Idaho Empty-Netter Ends Utah’s Preseason Comeback Effort.


Saturday, October 9th:
On our way to the game in Logan, we stopped by Le Nonne for some eats. We honestly just wanted to give these guys a shout out because their spinach ravioli is amazing. But now on to hockey . . .

The Grizzlies took the lead halfway through 1st with a goal by Parnham. And a beautiful goal it was. You could see it coming from the blueline. But our favorite part was the look on Riley Emmerson's face as the team jumped up to celebrate the goal. (We're still depressed we didn't get a picture of this.) 6'8" Riley got a goal of his own in the 2nd on a power play to increase the Grizzlies' lead to 2-0. Then Utah piled on another goal at the top of the 3rd to widen the gap, before Idaho struck back, 3-1. Both the Grizzlies and the Steelheads picked up additional goals to end the game 4-2 in Utah's favor.

You can check out the official postgame for Saturday's preseason game on the Grizzlies' site: Grizzlies Beat Idaho 4-2 To Complete Preseason.

It was nice to see JP Lamoureux in action for the Utah side. He stopped every shot he saw during the match.

One change we did see from last year's preseason game was the 3rd period. There was no coasting on the lead in the 3rd. The boys put in a lot of hard work for a full 60, which elated us to no end. We hope to see this trend continue and improve throughout the season.

Here's to a great 2010-11, Grizzlies!