Weekend Preview 2/26/2010 - Utah Grizzlies vs Ontario Reign

This weekend, the Grizzlies head off to sunny California for a couple of games against the Ontario Reign.



Or not.


[Insert "Ontario Rain" joke here]

All weather aside, we expect this will be an exciting match-up. The Reign currently have a 3 game win streak going and will be looking for another good weekend. The Grizzlies also have a 3 game win streak, complete with that big 7-1 win on Wednesday night. If we're looking at momentum, the edge would probably have to swing in the Grizzlies' favor, because the Reign haven't played since Sunday. But that means they'll be a little more rested going into this game.

Totally off the topic, but what exactly is the proper way to refer to the Reign as a team? Do you pluralize them because there are several players on the team? ("...the Reign haven't played since Sunday.") Or do you refer to them as one all-encompassing body? ("...the Reign hasn't played since Sunday.") This baffles us. It baffles us every time we write about the Abbotsford Heat too. If you can shed any light on the topic, we'd appreciate it. Thank you for indulging our grammatical musings. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Ontario's power play was key in their last win as they went 5 for 12 (that's a ridiculous 41.7%) with the man advantage. It would be a good idea for the Grizzlies to stay out of the box. Also, remember Ontario fan favorite Peter Lenes from the All-Star Game? (Yeah, the "fun-size" guy.) He recently went 12 games without scoring a goal, but had goals in back-to-back games against Idaho last weekend, and feels he's getting that scoring touch back. Might be good to keep an eye on him. Those little guys can be sneaky.

Of course, Utah had their own guy to watch out for in Lance Galbraith on Wednesday. Can he duplicate his near Sittler-like 6 points in one game? We'd love to see it. Heck, we'd love to see any of the Grizzlies duplicate that. Maybe Coach Colley can use that as a motivator - if anyone gets six points in one game, Frosties for everyone on him.

Tonight's game starts at 8:00 pm if you're in Utah, and will be broadcast on 1230 AM by the most excellent Adrian Denny. He also mentions in his game day blog that on KSL-5 after the Olympic coverage, there will be a feature news story on the team with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.