Grizzlies Can Clinch Playoffs as Early as Wednesday in Idaho
Published on April 6, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release
Wednesday, April 8; Utah at Idaho, 7 p.m.
Friday, April 10; Utah at Colorado, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 11; Utah at Colorado, 7 p.m.
The Situation
The Grizzlies at 35-26-5-3 play their final three games of the regular season on the road this week in Boise Wednesday and in Colorado Friday and Saturday. Their magic number for clinching their ninth playoff berth in the past ten seasons is four points.
To Clinch
Any combination of one Utah win and one Alaska loss, two Utah wins or two Alaska regulation losses will clinch a playoff spot for Utah. The Grizzlies can clinch as soon as Wednesday if they beat Idaho and if Alaska loses to Ontario in regulation to open their Wednesday, Friday, Saturday series in Anchorage.
If We Clinch This Week
If the Grizzlies clinch a playoff spot, their first round opponent will be the Idaho Steelheads who wrap up their season with Utah Wednesday night having already clinched the Pacific Division.
Last Weekend
The Grizzlies won their second and third-straight games Friday and Saturday as they combined to outscore Alaska 7-1; as Igor Bobkov stopped 77 of 78 shots and the Grizzlies went 14-14 on the penalty-kill. Utah went 5-2 on their seven-game home stand.
Shorthanded Goals
The Grizzlies lead the ECHL with 17 shorthanded goals. Going back over the last eight seasons, only South Carolina (2008-2009), Elmira (2010-2011) and Florida (2012-2013) have had seasons with more and all have scored 18 shorthanded goals. Utah has three games remaining to tie or overtake those teams with the most shorthanded goals in the ECHL over the last eight seasons.
72 Games
If Mathieu Aubin plays in all three games this week, he will be the first Utah player since Christian Gaudet in 2007-2008 to play in all 72 games in a season. He would be the seventh player since the Grizzlies joined the ECHL in 2005-2006, to play in every game during a regular season.
Bobkov
Igor Bobkov enters the week with a record of 18-12-2-0. He ranks fourth in the ECHL with a .919 save percentage and is second in the ECHL with four shutouts. His six shutouts the last two seasons tie him for second all-time in Grizzlies history, one in back of Tommy Salo who had seven.
Weekly Radio Shows
Captain Channing Boe appears on "Monty In The Morning" every Tuesday at 9 a.m. on 1320 KFAN/.com and the 1320 KFAN app.
Head Coach Tim Branham appears on "Monty In The Morning" every Friday at 9 a.m.
Where To Eat?
Shula's 347 Grill at Embassy Suites is inviting Grizzlies fans to take their ticket stubs in before or after games to buy one burger and get one burger half off and they also have unveiled some tasty new appetizers. Shula's is located inside Embassy Suites on 3500 South across from Valley Fair Mall.
Broadcasts
All Grizzlies broadcasts can be heard on 1320 KFAN with Adrian Denny in his 10th season as the "Voice of the Grizzlies." Denny is once again joined for all Grizzlies home games by 1320 KFAN Program Director and host of "Monty in the Morning" Tim Montemayor. Grizzlies broadcasts can be seen on PPV at ECHL.TV and also heard on 1320KFAN.com and iHeart Radio by searching "1320 KFAN." The Grizzlies broadcasted seven games on KMYU this regular season as KUTV's Talkin' Sports Adam Mikulich once again joined the coverage on 2.2, 12 on satellite and 22 on cable. Any playoff telecasts are still to be determined.
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