ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizz Report

October 21, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, October 18 Grizzlies 4 vs. San Antonio 5 at the E-Center

~The Grizzlies home opener was disappointing as Utah failed to hold on to a third period lead. The Grizzlies led 3-2 heading into the final period before San Antonio scored three straight goals taking a 5-3 lead late in the game. Jon Sim would cap off a four points night (1-3-4) with a late goal cutting the lead and eventually the final to 5-4. Jim Montgomery had four assists for Utah giving him six assists in three games. John Erskine continued his streak of a point in each Grizzlies' game with his second goal of the season. Alexei Komarov scored a goal and had an assist while David Oliver scored his first goal of the season. Corey Hirsch made 34 saves in net for Utah, while Chris Mason turned aside 30 shots gaining his first victory of the season for the Rampage. Filip Novak scored two goals for San Antonio.

Stat of the Game: San Antonio scored two goals in the game's final minutes in a 34 second stretch.

Saturday, October 19 Grizzlies 5 vs. San Antonio 3 at the E-Center

~Utah gained their first victory of the season in what turned out to be an explosive third period for both teams. Utah led 2-0 after the first period with power play goals by Jon Sim and Matthieu Descoteaux. San Antonio would control the second period cutting the lead to just one goal after a Jeff Toms score. With the score 2-1 in favor of the Grizz heading into the final period, the teams opened up the offensive flood gates combining for five goals. Former Utah player Ryan Jardine would tie the score in the early going of the final period but Gavin Morgan took less than a minute to answer regaining the lead for the Grizzlies. Pierre Daganais would tie the score just over a minute after the Morgan goal but Utah's newest player Marc-Andre Thinel would take a Morgan pass and put the puck past Rampage goaltender Wade Flaherty to give Utah the lead for good. Eric Landry would add an insurance goal with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Jason Bacashihua made 35 saves in net for the Grizzlies earning his first AHL victory.

Stat of the Game: John Erskine notched an assist giving him points in each of Utah's first four games.

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEWS

Wednesday, October 23 & Friday, October 25 Grizzlies vs. Chicago at the E-Center 7:00 pm

~The longtime rivals will do battle for the first time this year on Wednesday night. Chicago has earned three points with a win, a loss and a tie. This past weekend, Chicago dropped a one goal decision (4-3) to Cincinnati and earned a tie on the road in Grand Rapids. Rob Brown leads the way with six points (1-5-6). Leading the Wolves in goals is Steve Maltais with three. The Wolves are solid in goal with Norm Maracle and Frederic Cassivi sharing the duties. Other players to watch include; Kurtis Foster, Andreas Karlsson and Mark Hartigan.

Strength: Rob Brown has played 310 games (142gls-278asts-420pts) with the Wolves and 543 (190gls-248asts-438pts) games in the NHL.

Saturday, October 26 Grizzlies @ Cincinnati at the Cincinnati Gardens 5:35 pm

~The Grizzlies and Ducks will meet for the first of four meetings in a one-day journey to Ohio. The Ducks are currently 1-2-0-1 and are unbeaten in regulation in two home games. Jason York leads the Ducks with five points (three goals and two assists), while Jonathan Hedstrom and Robert Valicevic add some offensive punch. In goal, the Ducks have Ilja Bryzgalov and J.F. Damphousse. Cincy has been strong in the first two periods of their four games but have been outscored 9-1 in the third period.

SHORTS

Sim Catches Fire Early: Jon Sim was re-assigned to Utah by Dallas prior to the weekend's games versus San Antonio. On Friday night, Sim scored a goal and had three assists and on Saturday night he scored a power play goal and added an assist. His six points tie him for the team lead and rank among the top 20 in the league in scoring despite playing in just two games.

Bacashihua Gets Comfortable: Grizzlies' netminder Jason Bacashihua turned in another solid performance on Saturday night gaining his first AHL victory, 5-3 against San Antonio. On the night, he made 35 saves on 38 shots keeping his save percentage at .943 on the season (tops in the AHL). His 47 save effort two weeks ago in Houston is still the most saves in a single game in the entire league.

Morgan Comes Through In Grizzlies First Victory: Utah scored five goals on Saturday night in their two-goal victory over San Antonio but it may have been Gavin Morgan's goal that made the most impact as he responded to the Rampage tying the game early in the third period at two goals apiece. San Antonio's Ryan Jardine tied the game beating Jason Bacashihua at the 6:33 mark of the third period bringing back memories for Utah of the previous night when they let a third period lead slip away. Morgan however did not have those visions as 35 seconds later he blasted a shot past San Antonio goaltender and former teammate Wade Flaherty regaining the lead for Utah. Morgan also assisted on the game-winning goal scored by Marc-Andre Thinel later in the period. On the physical side, Morgan ranks in the league's top five with 30 penalty minutes.

Montreal Trio Impressive In Victory: Utah's secondary affiliate, the Montreal Canadiens assigned four players to Utah thus far and on Saturday night that group made a difference in the Grizzlies' 5-3 victory over San Antonio. Scoring their first goals as members of the Grizzlies were defenseman Matthieu Descoteaux and forwards Marc-Andre Thinel and Eric Landry (Eric Chouinard missed the game with an injury). Thinel's goal served as the game-winner, while Landry's score gave the Grizzlies some room between themselves and the Rampage.

Talk Hockey On KFAN: Be sure to catch Steve Brown, Bob Hoffman and Grizzlies' Head Coach Don Hay on Tuesday at 2:00 pm on KFAN-1320 AM when they discus the games with San Antonio and take a look ahead to this week games versus Chicago and Cincinnati.

Cyber-Stuff: Don't miss any of the latest news about the Grizzlies. Check out www.utahgrizzlies.com to get the scoop and be sure to play Grizzlies' power play trivia for an opportunity to win tickets to upcoming Grizzlies' games.

On The Air: All Grizzlies action can be heard on ESPN Radio 1230. The Ford Pre-Game show begins 15 minutes prior to face-off.

Check out the Utah Grizzlies Statistics



ECHL Stories from October 21, 2002


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