Top of the Mountain

The Grizzlies finally return home from a successful 8 game road trip this week. They went 5-2-1 and now sit at the top of the Mountain Division. Not bad at all, boys. Look out though - here comes Alaska...

Don't forget - Friday the 19th is Maverik night. That means all seats are just $5 with a receipt from Maverik. So hop on over and get a pack of gum, ask for a receipt, and buy your seats already, because according to the Grizzlies' website, they're going fast.

Forward Riley Armstrong was suspended by the Grizzlies as of 11/13/2010. We haven't figured out what's going on with that situation yet. You can bet we'll keep our eye on it though. Our top guesses are 1) he's going overseas to play and the Grizzlies wanted to retain his rights, or 2) he let the air out of Colley's tires in the parking lot. (Hey, they're just guesses. We never said they were good ones.)

The Grizzlies' former NHL affiliate, the New York Islanders, fired head coach Scott Gordon today, and put Bridgeport head coach Jack Capuano at the helm. Former Grizzly and Sound Tiger Justin Bourne wrote about playing for "Cappy" in USA Today. We don't know much about coaching or anything, but man, check out the hair in that picture.

A couple of moves by Abbotsford: it looks like JP Lamoureux will soon be back in a Grizzlies jersey. Also, Brett Sutter is back with the Heat. Couldn't possibly have anything to do with him getting arrested in Phoenix, could it?

And just because we love an underdog, check out this guy in Reading - Ben Scrivens. He's beating the odds and doing it with a great attitude.

Home game in 5 days!

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.

Post Game: Wranglers 4, Grizzlies 3 (SO)

The Grizzlies may have lost this one, but today - today we have love for the Crowder boys.

Yesterday, Paul piled on the goals and today younger brother Tim took his turn. When these boys are on, they're on fire! It's really hard to deny the numbers. Paul picked up 4 points over the weekend with 2 goals and 2 assists, while Tim picked up the identical stats. (We'd make a Sedins joke here, but it might be a little too early in the season.) And of course, we would be remiss if we didn't mention Michael Gergen's contribution to both of Tim's goals. Beauty.

Riley Armstrong joined the Grizzlies and picked up an assist on a power play goal by Jackman. As a bonus, Riley drew the penalty resulting in the man advantage. And if we're going to be honest here at the UGB, we've kind of been Riley Armstrong fans for a while, so it just made our day to see him land in Utah.

And we have to highlight the awesome Brock Wilson fight, which we're not even certain how it started as it was behind the play. One of the Vegas players was in Armstrong's face, and the next thing we saw was Brock taking care of business. But of course, for the B2 watchers, our favorite part was Wilson in the penalty box with a huge grin on his face. Good times.

Nick Tuzzolino took on the intermission interview and mentioned one reason for coming here was issues with the Wheeling Nailers. Well . . . we have heard that Death Is Better Than Wheeling (Found this on Bourne's Blog last season and we're still laughing at it).

Overall, the Grizzlies picked up 3 of 4 possible points in Vegas, so we consider it a good weekend.

Stars of the Game -

*All Vegas, so we deem the Crowder boys our stars.


Links -
post game || Grizzlies Fall 4-3 In Vegas Shootout
gamesheet || Utah at Las Vegas 11/6/10
highlights || Game Highlights 11/6/10 at Las Vegas
interview || Nick Tuzzolino 11/6/10 intermission

Hockeyworld! 3/8/2010

AHL

Abbotsford Heat

• The Heat recently hosted the finals for the Pee Wee Division Light the Lamp Shootout. They also hosted the finals for the Atom Division.


• Heat forward Riley Armstrong was traded to the Detroit Red Wings organization and was assigned to Grand Rapids. Says Armstrong, "It's a big change for me - packing up from out of nowhere, moving all my clothes out in one day right now. It's a lot on the mind, a lot on the body." Those of you who understand our affinity for "Li'l Army" will also understand when we say we don't know how we feel about this.


• The latest Heat Report.


• The Heat's next two games are at home against the Lake Erie Monsters on Friday and Saturday. They are currently third in their division, two spots and two points ahead of Lake Erie.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers

• If you see the Tigers wearing hats off the ice, here's why.

The Sound Tigers have to be ready for anything at short notice.

Trevor Gillies will probably be called up for the Islanders' next game against the Flyers.

Bridgeport's next two games are at Norfolk. They are currently in fifth place in their division and have won 6 of their last 10 games.

Our AHL Features

• Former Grizzly Justin Bourne explains how the money works when players go back and forth from the farm to the "big show".


• You can take the boy out of hockey...

NHL

Calgary Flames

• Greasy goals are on the menu in Calgary. Tasty...


• If you're going to be in Calgary on Thursday, go to a Flames game. You could win the jersey off their backs.


• The Flames are one point out of a playoff spot as of today. The team they're trailing is the Detroit Red Wings, who they play Tuesday in a classic red team battle. We wonder how Li'l Army feels about this.

New York Islanders

• Rookie John Tavares and veteran Doug Weight are best buddies.


• It's official - the Islanders have recalled Trevor Gillies from Bridgeport for Tuesday's game against the Flyers. Not officially an orange team battle, but we do expect this game to have an orange flavor.


• Here's the game preview from the Islanders' official website. The Islanders are... not in last place, but they are 12 points behind Philadelphia in the conference standings. They've lost their last two games.

Our NHL Features

Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks (and the USA Olympic hockey team) will be on the cover of NHL2K11.



• If you can stop 49 shots on goal, plus a few in the shootout, you just might beat the Washington Capitals. "It's not going to be every night that your goalie's going to wear a mask and steal a game for you," Dallas's head coach said. We're not exactly sure what he means by that. Andy Brown might.


• The last day of the NHL's regular season is April 11th.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Believe it or not, there is an ice rink in St. George, Utah. We so have to try that someday.