ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Erickson Shines In Utah Debut; Grizzlies Fall In Shootout

December 31, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


West Valley City, Utah - The Victoria Salmon Kings defeated the Utah Grizzlies (15-11-2-1) 3-2 in a shootout Thursday night at the E-Center. The game featured the only two ECHL teams who had previously not gone to shootouts this year.

Utah finishes the 2009 calendar year with a 32-27-5-9 record, their best calendar year since joining the ECHL in 2005.

Victoria took a 1-0 lead with 18 seconds left in the first period before Utah tied the game at one with 2:43 left in the second as Ryan Kinasewich fed AJ Perry for his 13th goal of the year as each player extended their scoring streak to seven games.

Utah took a 2-1 lead 4:44 into the third period on Tony Romano's second of the year with Matt Clarke and Dustin Friesen picking up assists. However, the Salmon Kings tied the game at two with 10:06 left in regulation.

Each team had a power-play in overtime as Victoria outshot Utah 6-0 but Grizzlies goaltender Beau Erickson stayed strong in net and sent the game to a shootout.

Erickson stopped 31 of 33 shots overall through 65 minutes in his Utah debut after being acquired in a trade from Reading.

In the shootout, Mike Hamilton broke a 2-2 tie in round six to send the Salmon Kings to victory.

Utah opens a season-long eight-game road trip Saturday in Las Vegas. Face-off is scheduled for 8:05 p.m.

The Grizzlies return home Friday, January 22 to host Ontario at the E-Center at 7:05 p.m.

Check out the Utah Grizzlies Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 31, 2009


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