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AHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Battle During First Week but Fail to Earn a Victory

October 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


The Grizzlies opened their 2004-05 season on Wednesday night and battled the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks to a 4-3 shootout loss (earning one point). Utah held three separate one-goal leads but the Ducks were very resilient tying the score on all three occasions. Joe Callahan, Jon Sim and Doug Doull all scored goals for Utah. In the re-match on Friday night, the Grizzlies fell behind 3-0 in the first period and two minutes of the game. Rick Berry got Utah on the board with a PP goal in the second period and Matthew Spiller and Kiel McLeod scored third-period goals but 4-3 is the closest the Grizzlies would get. In the team's first road game of the season, the Grizzlies lost 6-1 to San Antonio. The team spent most of the day traveling to the Alamo City for the evening tilt but fell behind early 3-0 after San Antonio scored three times in the first 3:41 of the game. Spiller scored for the second straight night accounting for Utah's only goal.

Oct. 13 Grizzlies 3 Cincinnati 4 in a shootout Jean-Marc Pelletier made 35 saves
Oct. 15 Grizzlies 3 Cincinnati 4 Erik Westrum had a pair of assists
Oct. 16 Grizzlies 1 @ San Antonio 6 Matthew Spiller scored loan Utah goal

West Division Standings:
San Antonio 2-0 4 pts.
Grand Rapids 2-0 4 pts.
Milwaukee 2-0 4 pts.
Cincinnati 2-1 4 pts.
Houston 1-1 2 pts.
Utah 0-2-0-1 1 pts.
Chicago 0-2 0 pts.

No Sophomore Jinx for Matthew Spiller:

~During his rookie campaign, 20-year-old Matthew Spiller shocked many people by dressing in 51 games for Phoenix. One-year older, the Daysland, Alberta native has taken great strides already finding the back of the net twice in the Grizzlies first three games, one more goal than all of last season when he played 72 games (51 with Phoenix and 21 with Springfield). Spiller was given recognition as a nominee by the AHL for CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week (won by Manitoba's Jason King).

Grizzlies Partner with Salt Lake County Library for Annual Food Drive:

~The Grizzlies and the Salt Lake County Libraries will partner once again with the Utah Food Bank for the Grizzlies Face-Off Against Hunger. Fans donating a canned food item at any SLC Library branch or at select Smith's and Jiffy Lube locations will receive a voucher for a discount Grizzlies ticket good for the Grizzlies games on October 29, November 23, December 6 or January 21. Contact the Grizzlies Community Affairs department at (801) 988-8021 for more information.

Grizzlies Hit the City of Angels for Showdown with the Monarchs:

~The Grizzlies and the Manchester Monarchs will square off in a regular season match-up that will be played in the NHL venue of the Los Angeles Kings, the Staples Center on Saturday, October 23 at 7:35 PM. The contest is one of several AHL games that will be played at NHL arenas with the unfortunate circumstances of the NHL lockout. Ticket packages are available to make the short trip to the left coast by calling Fantastic Sports at 1-877-UTAH-TRVL.

Season Ticket Holder Skate Set for October 27th:

~The Utah Grizzlies annual Skate with the Team, exclusively for season ticket holders, will take place on Wednesday, October 27th at the 'E' Center from 6-8 PM. For more information, contact your individual ticket sales representative or the Grizzlies office at (801) 988-8000.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 18, 2004


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