Game 2: Salmon Kings 4, Grizzlies 2

Really, Utah? THIS is your playoff hockey?

To say this game was a disappointment would be a vast understatement. The Grizzlies didn't look like they knew how to pass, were looking at the bench more than they were the puck, and were fighting among each other in the 2nd. Yeah. We saw that, Utah. The whole game left us with the distinct taste of "WTF?" in our mouths.

Our two highlights? Nick Tuzzolino's goal and Shea Guthrie taking the puck to the net late in the 3rd followed by McIlveen picking up the rebound. We were mostly shocked to see anyone picking up a rebound, let alone having a beautiful SOG result from it. Actually, Carroll's goal was a thing of beauty as well. Thumbs up for these 10 seconds of the game.

Other than that, pure crap in our book. And while we're more disgusted with Utah, the Salmon Kings didn't look so hot either. How on earth do you miss a two-on-none with an empty net, Victoria? At least you made us laugh . . .

Boo to the uncalled elbow on Donovan. Like we said: a distinct taste of WTF?

Nice job staying out of the box, Grizzlies. But we really don't think anyone cared enough to commit any penalties.

Utah - knock off this bullshit. Get your heads in the game, focus on your 15 wins, and take care of business. Stop underachieving and have some damn pride.


Here's to a road sweep.

Stars of the Game -

1. VIC - C. Painchaud
2. UTA - M. Carroll
3. VIC - R. Hennigar

Links -
post game || Victoria Takes 2-0 Series Lead With 4-2 Win
gamesheet || Victoria at Utah - 4/16/11
highlights || Game Highlights 4/16/11 vs Victoria
interview || Kevin Colley 4/16/11 post game
interview || Chris Donovan 4/16/11 intermission

Utah Grizzlies deal Shea Guthrie to Everblades, acquire Prokop from Bakersfield, sign Hand

Grizzlies traded Shea Guthrie to Florida Everblades today. Shea, who has 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) in 22 games with the Utah Grizzlies, was traded for the rights to Simon Ferguson. Sounds like Ferguson has spent all of his time with the Everblades in the AHL where he's played 13 games with Syracuse and tallied 3 assists.

While we were a little upset about Caria, this trade made us sad. Mainly because we were just starting to see some consistancy from Shea this month, and he has been one of our favorite n00bs to watch this year. But hockey is hockey is hockey, so we're trusting Colley on this again. Looks like Ferguson has been in the AHL over the past 3 years so we'll see how he works with our team.

To finish up the trade from Bakersfield, the Grizzlies picked up Patrik Prokop. Sounds like he had a decent junior career. So far this year he's played 7 games with the Condors and racked up 11 PIM.

And to finish up the changes, Utah picked up Ryan Hand as their new enforcer. We're interested to see how he affects the team, particularly against Idaho and Alaska. This boy tallies up the penatly minutes, which tells us he knows how to get the job done.

Luck to Shea in Florida!

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies vs Bakersfield Condors Post Game 12/11/09

Grizzlies lose.

We were going to think of something witty to say.


But we can't.


Yo billed this as a decent effort, but we disagree. This was not the same team that we saw against Idaho. Passes were sloppy, and we didn't even notice Kinasewich on the ice. Fortunately for the boys, Parker kept them in the game . . . for all the good that did. A lot of silent desperation


Official post game is at the Utah Grizzlies' site, the gamesheet is at the ECHL site, and our post game drivel is below.




FIRST PERIOD


Grizzlies start the period out with problems.
Basic stuff.
Issues controlling the puck, issues with passing, issues keeping it out of their end . . .


At least Hugo's throwing some checks.
Looks like he changed his number to 49.


Power play for Utah.
Nada.


Stoflet's playing tonight for Bakersfield. He's their #6.
Dale's number with the Condors is 5.


Romano tries to start a fight.


Not many penalties, but the Grizzlies get one.
Brooks for interference.
Killed, but Clarke and May get a nice shorthanded rush.
Probably the best play of the 1st.


We don't know what the hell happened with Bakersfield's first goal.
Romano stopped a puck, then hit the ice.
He's down . . . still down . . . still down . . . no whistle.
Bakersfield goes around him and shoots.
Scores.


End of first. 1-0, Condors.



First Intermission: Haggin goes one-on-one with Shea Guthrie.


SECOND PERIOD

For recap, see above.
Same issues, different period.

Condors score 34 seconds in. 2-0.

Yo's phrase of the night is "lurk on."
How exactly does one "lurk onto the ice"?
We should probably ask stealthmaster Perry that.

Surprisingly enough, Utah had the most SOG for this period.
We say surprising because Utah was playing the whole thing in their end.

Finally getting somewhere halfway through the 2nd.

Then Shea gets a goal. 2-1.
Beautiful set up, beautiful execution.
Points to Vlady and Parnham on the assists.

End of second. 2-1, Condors.




Second Intermission: Yo read our text. Wooo!




THIRD PERIOD

Grizzlies need to get things going in the 3rd.
Do we think it's going to happen? No.

The boys just can't stay consistant.
After some pretty average play by Utah, Bakersfield gets a goal. 3-1.

Then the puck gets stuck in Bakersfield's gear.
Kinda funny.
Especially when he tried jumping up and down to dislodge it from . . . where ever.
He has to go to the locker room to find the damn thing.

Grizzlies get a power play at the end of the 3rd.
Let's see if they learned anything from Ontario.

Nope.

Game.
3-1, Condors.


We have no stars of the game.


NOTES

Meh . . . we don't wanna talk about it.

Better luck next time, boys.

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies vs Idaho Steelheads Post Game 12/5/09

Such a hard loss.

The first overtime loss of the year.

But the boys played well, and from the post game interview, it sounds like Colley was happier with the way they played this weekend than the last. The Grizzlies made some amazing defensive plays as well as doing a terrific job on the offense. And we don't even know where to begin with O'Keefe's killer saves. The boys were on their game for a full 60 minutes against Idaho and got the regulation tie and point.

Hugo Carpentier made his debut tonight with the Grizzlies. Carpentier joined the boys from Abbotsford, the Grizzlies' Calgary AHL affliate. And already, he's picked up an assist in his first game with Utah. Not bad. This is a name we're not going to be able to pronounce for a while yet, so we'll probably just end up calling him Hugo.

After the game, there was a jersey auction to benefit the Angel's Hands Foundation, but we'll cover that in a separate post.

So, for the official post game summary, click here. For the ECHL gamesheet, go here. And our post game summary is below.

PreGame Introductions: Anthem picture.

Ceremonial Angel's Hands Foundation puck drop.

FIRST PERIOD

Some solid play this period.

Vlady, May, and Hugo at work.

Utah opened it up about halfway through the 1st with a power play goal.

Shea gives the Grizzlies the starting lead. 1-0.

Points to Hugo and Parnham on the assists.

Kotsy gets in a fight straight from the faceoff at center ice.

Our initial reaction is to cheer, so sometimes our reflexes with the vids and pics are a bit slow.

However, it was a pretty short fight.

But we'll post what we got of it.

We'll keep checking to see if Idaho posts the full fight on their site.

Later, Gannon gets a penalty for holding.

Faceoff in the Grizzlies' end.

Penalty killed.

Kotsy gets tossed out of the faceoff.

End of first. 1-0, Grizzlies.

First Intermission: Kids play hockey. Adorable.

SECOND PERIOD

We've noticed that the Grizzlies seem to have a bit of a lag at the start of their 2nd periods.

However, they generally pick it up about halfway through.

Utah still dominated this period with SOG.

But the Steelheads were the ones getting the goals.

Grizzlies got the first power play opportunity of the second.

But they can't capitalize.

Idaho ties it. 1-1.

Then Utah gets another power play.

But May negates it with a penalty of his own.

He goes to the box for holding.

Kotsy got slammed in Idaho's zone by two different Steelheads.

Ouch. But no call on it.

Idaho makes the save.

With just over a minute left in the 2nd, Idaho scores.

Boo.

End of second. 2-1, Steelheads.

Second Intermission: There's something about an oversized check . . .

For more on the Angel's Hands Foundation, visit their website here.

THIRD PERIOD

O'Keefe gets warmed up.

Utah gets the first penalty of the 3rd.

Bench minor for Too Many Men, served by Beljo.

But Idaho negates their power play with a tripping penalty.

4-on-4.

Snatch ties it up shortly after the penalties with a sweet shot down the middle.

2-2.

Clark and Perry pick up the assists on that.

Hugo goes to the box for holding.

Killed.

Collision against the boards.

Some great plays by both teams during this period.

O'Keefe minds the net.

But regulation ends in a tie.

End of third. 2-2.

OVERTIME

This was the harshest.

Because the Grizzlies were on the PK.

And it was a beautiful PK.

Hats off to Perry, Maxwell, Gannon, Bartley, Snatch, and Friesen.

Because you all rocked the kasbah.

But 5 seconds after the Grizzlies are back at full strength, Idaho ends it with a quick goal.

Man . . .

Game.

3-2, Steelheads.

Stars of the Game:

2. Kinasewich

3. Guthrie

2 out of 3 is still pretty damn good.

NOTES

We don't know what happened over the last week, but Kinasewich was killer on the defense this weekend. Snatch battled for the puck every time he was on the ice, threw the checks, pressured Idaho incessently, and played awesome PK shifts. This makes us incredibly happy (and we're sure Colley was happy about it, too).

But wait, there's more! Snatch is back as the top scorer in the ECHL today with 33 points in 21 games. Nice. We really couldn't ask for more. You da man, Ryan!

There was an auction after the game to benefit the Angel's Hands Foundation. We'll put the pictures and whatnot up in a separate post.

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies vs Ontario Reign Post Game 12/4/09

After the harsh game on Wednesday, we entered the E-Center with minimal expectations of a win.

Man, were we wrong.

Solid win by the Grizzlies.

The boys looked good on the ice and played as a team for the entire 60 minutes. May had a 4 point night (1 goal, 3 assists), Shea racked up 2 goals, Snatch was all over the PK, Kotsy picked up 2 assists, and Beljo scored his first professional goal. Nice.

But we've gotta say as far as opponents go, we like Ontario.

Any visiting team that will pucker up for the jumbotron Kiss Cam is down in our book.

UtahGrizzlies.com has the official post game for you. ECHL.com has the gamesheet. And ours is below.

Pregame Warmup: A shot of the warmup.

This is just kind of a cool thought.

We didn't get any good anthem pics, but the group that sang was the best rendition of the anthem we've heard in a long time. Bravo!

Hunter is a scratch; he has the flu.

FIRST PERIOD

Ontario scores 19 seconds in. 1-0.

Damnit.

But Beljo answers 6 minutes later. 1-1.

Kotsy and May get the assists on that.

Ontario takes the puck in the neutral zone.

The plexiglass popped out of frame.

Technical difficulties.

Clarke got the first penalty of the game for roughing.

Faceoff in Grizzlies' end.

Killed.

Ontario puts the pressure on Vlady in the neutral zone.

Ontario goes to the box, and Utah capitalizes.

Shea gets the power play goal. 2-1.

Both Kotsy and May rack up their second points of the night on the assists.

Maxwell takes a tour for tripping.

Snatch is all over the penalty kill.

Ontario gets a hooking call on them at the end of the period.

So Grizzlies will start the 2nd with a power play.

End of first. 2-1, Grizzlies.

SECOND PERIOD

Grizzlies start out on the power play but can't do anything with it.

However, 30 seconds after the power play . . .

May gets a beauty. 3-1.

Unassisted.

May crashes the net.

Shea made one of the best plays of the night during the 2nd.

He checks a guy, grabs the puck, then gets tripped up.

But he holds on to the puck, then gets hit and face plants.

THEN he jumps up, recovers the puck again, and makes a solid pass.

During this entire sequence, he was the only player to touch the puck.

Awesome.

Ontario's netminder Darling makes the save. And 35 other saves, too.

Ontario gets a penalty.

Parnham takes the faceoff in Ontario's zone.

Nothing.

Ontario gets another penalty, and Shea gets his second power play goal of the night.

4-1.

We actually ended up with a shot of the goal right before it went in.

Nice!

Points to Snatch and Bartley on the assists.

Then, Utah gets a penalty and Ontario scores.

Hogeboom, again.

End of second. 4-2, Grizzlies.

THIRD PERIOD

The boys warm up on the ice.

The Grizzlies need to hold their lead.

In fact, our fan chant of the game is: "Don't give up your lead! Don't give up your lead!"

This was from some guy sitting behind us.

We laughed - sure. But we agreed.

Beljo along the boards.

Ontario gets some penalties.

Nothing.

Action in the neutral zone.

Kotsy gets in a fight.

Nice.

O'Keefe makes the save.

Then Vlady gets one. 5-2.
May picks up his 4th point of the night on the assist.

Ontario battles, but they can't get it past Utah's defense.
Man, check out that awesome defense.

Perry gets the empty netter.
Assists to Parnham and O'Keefe on that.
Excellent.

Game.

6-2, Grizzlies.

Stars of the Game:

1. May

2. Shea

3. Kotsy

Nice to see some new stars of the game! (Not that we'd complain either way . . .)

NOTES

Meh. We had some earlier, but then we went to the Festival of Trees.
And the game starts in 90 minutes, so . . .

Go Grizzlies!

Utah Grizzlies vs Las Vegas Wranglers Post Game 11/21/09

Another solid win for the Grizzlies.

Two goals for Vlady, multipoint nights again for Perry and Hunter, more amazing defense from our blueliners.

The Utah Grizzlies power play currently sits at the top of the league.

Almost another shutout, but Vegas got lucky.

We're a little slow with this one because we have so many pictures to choose from. But we did finally get this up for you. And we had some pretty decent seats (Thanks, Jen!), so we got some nice shots. And we didn't do anything during the intermissions, so we just left those out this time around.

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

FIRST PERIOD

Grizzlies start the period a little shaky but quickly get past it.

We don't even know if Vegas had a chance.

O'Keefe with the save.

Utah picks up the first penalty.

Shea goes to the box for holding 3:39 in.

Killed.

Guthrie in the box.

Beljo takes a tour for tripping about 3 minutes later.

Killed.

Maxwell plays some defense.

Bartley with the puck behind the net.

Vegas gets a penalty.

Grizzlies can't capitalize.

35 seconds left in the 1st, Vlady's the first to draw blood. 1-0.

Points to Bartley and Beljo on the assists.

End of first. 1-0, Grizzlies.

SECOND PERIOD

Vegas picks up the first penalty of the 2nd for interference.

Grizzlies capitalize.

May knocks one in. 2-0.

Goal celebration.

Perry and Hunter pick up the assists.

The Grizzlies' power play rocks.

Kotsy and Schwarz go at it.

It was a short one, or we'd have video.

Dale in the corners.

Guthrie picks up the third goal of the night.

Points for blueliners Bartley and Maxwell.

Brooks goes to the box for hooking.

Killed.

Hunter takes the faceoff.

Hughes gets one in. 4-0.

Brooks and Bartley for the assists.

Vegas penalty.

Vlady puts another one away. 5-0.

Perry and Hunter get the points on this one.

Maxwell waits for the faceoff.

This period was all Utah.

Vegas didn't have a chance.

End of second. 5-0, Grizzlies.

THIRD PERIOD

Perry waits for the puck to drop.

Vegas starts the period with a penalty.

Grizzlies can't do anything with it.

Kotsy passes the puck.

We have no idea what's going on in this photo, but Bartley looks mortified. Beljo just looks bored.

Then by some stroke of strange luck, Vegas gets a goal. 5-1.

Then, they get another penalty.

Nothing.

And another penalty.

Nada.

Parnham takes the faceoff.

Grizzlies get a penalty.

Parnham takes a tour for slashing.

Killed dead.

O'Keefe and Friesen protect the net.

Vegas takes a penalty late in the 3rd.

Utah does nothing with it.

Whatevs.

Gannon and Van Buskirk watch from the bench.

Game.

5-1, Grizzlies.

Stars of the Game:

1. Vlady

2. Bartley

3. Perry

NOTES

Well, we think we are in for a tough game tomorrow. Vegas needs to pick up a win and they're going to come out with everything they've got.

But we think the Grizzlies can handle it.

Go Grizzlies!