ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Beat Bakersfield 3-1

Published on March 21, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


West Valley City, Utah - The Utah Grizzlies (31-24-5-3) defeated the Bakersfield Condors 3-1 Friday night at Maverik Center.

"We did what it took to get the job done," said Grizzlies Head Coach/General Manager Tim Branham. "We did a great job creating scoring opportunities. We had a lot of chances tonight. Walker scoring three was great. I saw a lot of good things out there. I liked how we played with two minutes left there. We did a good job in our own zone and stopping them from after they pulled the goalie."

Brenden Walker scored all three Utah goals in his Maverik Center debut after being acquired from Gwinnett on March 9. He finished off the hat trick with .9 seconds left in the game as he scored into an empty-net from behind center ice.

"I had a big chance later in the third there and got the empty net to top it all off," said Walker.

Utah took a 1-0 lead 2:26 into the first period and led for 56:55 of the 60 minute hockey game.

Grizzlies goaltender Igor Bobkov stopped 28 of 29 shots to improve to 15-10-2-0.

The Grizzlies got the scoring started 2:26 into the first period on Walker's first of the night as he threw one in from the side of the net after just clanging a post on a three-on-two.

Bakersfield tied the game with 3:15 left in the second period on a power-play goal, but Walker made it 2-1 39 seconds later.

"Walker has been a huge addition," said Branham. "He gives us scoring depth that we need. The same guys can't score every night. It's great to have depth up and down the lineup. He's provided us with that. He plays with grit. He's got speed and great skill. He plays well with his two linemates. We just need to find balance scoring with all three lines."

Igor Bobkov stopped 11 shots in the third period to hold onto the win. Utah outshot Bakersfield 36-29, though the Condors drew four of the five power-plays.

"I thought Bobkov played well in net and made the saves look easy," said Branham. "He didn't see the one that they did score. He was confident. He's a big body, takes up a lot of the net, especially down low. He looked really good tonight. He made key saves for us down the stretch and throughout the whole game."

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