ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Beat Ontario 4-2, Game 4 Friday at Maverik Center

Published on May 6, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


West Valley City, Utah - The Utah Grizzlies scored three unanswered goals and rallied from 2-1 and 1-0 deficits to beat the Ontario Reign 4-2 Wednesday night at Maverik Center.

"There was not one passenger on that bench," said Head Coach/General Manager Tim Branham. "Everyone gave 100-percent. That's what it takes. That's why we made it to the second round. That's what it's going to keep winning games in this series. Obviously Ontario wants to win as much as us. It's the team that executes the best and sticks to their game plan that will have success."

Eric Levine, who entered following Ontario's second goal, stopped all 14 shots he saw for his first ECHL playoff win.

"It was just fun to battle with the team," said Levine. "Such a great group of guys. They deserve most of the credit. I'm happy to just contribute."

"Levine is a gamer," said Head Coach/General Manager Tim Branham. "Every time we need to put him in, he gets the job done for us. What can you say about that? No matter the situation, circumstance, or the time of the game; he comes in and play his heart out. He's Bobkov first cheerleader when he gets back in the locker room. He's one heck of a teammate."

Utah tied the game at 1 2:17 after Ontario took a 1-0 lead as Michael Pelech tipped in a T.J. Syner blast. Ryan Hayes also added an assist and the game was level 9:59 into the first.

"It was kind of a scramble," said Syner. "I lost my stick on defense. It was kind of a broken play but we talked to each other and said we had to get it back, so it was a good answer."

The Reign made it 2-1 at 11:09 of the second period before Utah again tied it 3:09 later as Syner and Pelech worked a two-on-owe to perfection shorthanded and Pelech slammed in his second goal of the night from Syner. The shorthanded goal came with the Grizzlies killing a five-minute major shorthanded situation as Ontario looked to break the game and the series open.

"I thought the Pelech goal was the turning point in the game," said Branham. "It gave us a lot of life, and a lot of confidence. The guys on the bench keep saying, "We're gonna get this kill. We're gonna get this kill." It was a great play and it shows the character of this team."

Utah took their first lead of the night 9:09 into the third period as Channing Boe held in a Mathieu Aubin blast that was saved by Jussi Olkinuora. Boe threw in a puck from the left wing wall that was tipped in by Cam Wojtala in front for his first professional playoff goal.

"It says we have character," said Levine. "You don't win in the playoffs without it. Our guys stepped up. Good job for Cam, a guy that just grinds it out going in front of the net, getting a big goal."

Mathieu Aubin scored shorthanded into an empty-net with 59 seconds left as Utah killed a too-many-men on the ice minor in the final 2:52.

"We never stopped battling," said Levine. "Shoutout to Bobkov. He's the one that put us here. Unbelievable play against Idaho. It's been some bad luck for him. A few tips in front, nothing he can do. I'm just glad we got the win. It's what we needed."

The Grizzlies finished the night six-for-six on the penalty-kill and did not allow the Reign a shot on their first three power-play situations.

"We have to play physical," said T.J. Syner. "That's playoff hockey. You see that at every level. We're not going to veer away from that. We're going to keep playing physical for the rest of the playoffs here and it's only going to make us better in the end."

"We can't get wrapped up in what's happening over there," said Branham on Ontario taking shots at the Grizzlies physical play in the California media. "They can say whatever they want to say. It is what it is. We're going to play our game. We're going to continue to play hard, wear them down, put pucks on net and play solid defensively. That's the recipe to success. We have to stick to our own business and play our own game."

All games will be broadcasted live on 1320 KFAN, 1320KFAN.com, iHeart Radio and via PPV at ECHL.TV .

*Round 2*

Game 1: Sunday, May 3: Ontario 3 Utah 2 (Overtime)

Game 2: Monday, May 4: Ontario 6 Utah 2

Game 3: Wednesday, May 6: Utah 4 Ontario 2

Game 4: Friday, May 8: Ontario at Utah, 7 p.m.

Game 5: Saturday, May 9: Ontario at Utah, 7 p.m.

***Game 6: Tuesday, May 12: Utah at Ontario, 8 p.m.*

***Game 7: Wednesday, May 13: Utah at Ontario, 7 p.m.*

***If Necessary*

Check out the Utah Grizzlies Statistics

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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