Weekend Preview - Utah Grizzlies vs Ontario Reign

The Grizzlies take up arms tonight and Saturday against the Ontario Reign. They're going into this weekend on a 1 game winning streak, which isn't really a streak at all, but we're pretty sure they're planning on turning it into one, so we're going with it.

Streak or not, Utah has won 7 of their last 10 games and has been getting excellent play from everyone on the team. They are still at the top of the Western Conference despite a tiny little setback in Idaho on Tuesday. No big deal - they aren't going to win every game, no matter how much voodoo or fairy dust we throw out there. (Just for the record, combining voodoo and fairy dust is a bad idea. Or so we've heard.) Still, we're keeping our standards high and expecting 4 points this weekend.

Ontario may only have 21 points in the standings to the Grizzlies' 44, and they may have only won two of their last 10 games, but the truth of the matter is they can be a tough team for Utah to play against. The two teams have matched up four times already this season, and Ontario has won twice, both on the Grizzlies' home ice. Utah needs to look at this weekend not as an easy four points, but as a chance for payback in Ontario. We're not too worried about this team taking a vacation though. Maybe toward the beginning of the season they were guilty of that on occasion, but they seem pretty determined to stay on top now. They don't want the curse of Coach Colley on their heads. Plus it looks like the weather in Ontario is going to be crappy this weekend. (Maybe that IS the curse of Coach Colley. We have no idea what kind of powers he has.) Anyway, the Reign are 7-1-1 when leading after 2 periods, so the Grizzlies will want to get to work early. No pulling a Russian World Junior this weekend. (Our sympathies to all our Canadian friends out there - hopefully no one jumped.) If we were coaching, we'd tell the team to get ahead in the first two periods and stay there. Useful advice, but that's pretty much the extent of our plan, so it's a good thing we're not coaching.

For the Grizzlies, Marcus Carroll and Chris Donovan currently have 4 game point streaks going, and Kevin Deeth has two mulitple point games in a row. Ontario has new goaltender Alex Petizian from Alaska/Portland. Brock Wilson has a 1 game streak without suspension.

If you happen to be in Ontario for the game, try to be one of the first 3,000 people in the arena - it's Bud Holloway bobblehead night.

Games start tonight at 8:00 pm MST. You can listen on 1230 KFAN. Second win of the latest win streak.