Grand Rapids 1 at Utah 3
April 4, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
WEST VALLEY CITY, UT - Not the way the Grand Rapids wanted to begin their season finale four game road trip.
The Utah Grizzlies jumped out to an early two goal lead and never looked back, posting a 3-1 victory over the Griffins on Wednesday night at The "E" Center. The loss proved to be costly as Grand Rapids (39-27-11-0) now sits one point behind Utah (40-28-6-4) for first place in the West Division and drops to fourth overall in the Western Conference standings.
Barrett Heisten opened the scoring for the Grizzlies just 1:33 into the contest when he took a pass off the left wing boards and slipped a short-handed tally over the glove of Martin Prusek. Midway through the opening period the Grizzlies took a two goal lead when a centering pass from Blair Manning deflected off the skates of Justin Cox and found its way into the back of the net at 10:52.
Cameron Mann put the Grizzlies ahead by three when he took a pass from Niko Kapanen and flipped a wrist shot over the shoulder of Prusek 8:00 into the middle frame. Mann's 18th of the campaign, fourth of the year while his club had the man advantage, gave the Grizzlies a three goal pad after 40 minutes of play.
Joe Murphy broke the shutout bid of Chad Alban at 8:21 of the final period as he banked a shot in off the pads of the Utah goaltender. Murphy's seventh tally of the year would not be enough to spark a comeback, as the Griffins fell to the Grizzlies for the seventh time this season. With the loss Grand Rapids extended their losing streak to a season high four games.
Prusek (16-8-5) suffers the loss turning away 27 of 30 shots, while Alban (17-14-1) earns the victory stopping 37 of 38 chances. The Griffins failed to convert on three power play opportunities, while the Grizzlies went one for six with the man advantage.
The Griffins remain in Utah and will battle the Grizzlies in a rematch on Friday night at 9:00 p.m.
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- Grand Rapids 1 at Utah 3 - Grand Rapids Griffins
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