AHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Comeback Falls Short

Published on October 20, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


West Valley City, Utah¯ The Grizzlies once again fell behind early to an opponent trailing 3-1 after two periods of play but turned on the afterburners in the third period outshooting Manchester 19-8 and putting two goals on the board but it wasn't enough as the Monarchs improved to 3-0 with the 5-3 victory over the Grizzlies at the ‘E' Center.

Manchester started the scoring in the first period when Joe Rullier scored his first goal of the season just as a power play expired. The Monarchs outshot the Grizzlies 14-9 after the first period but Jean-Marc Pelletier made 13 saves for Utah keeping the Grizzlies in the game.

In the second period, Dustin Brown took advantage of a Grizzly defensive breakdown and found himself all alone in front of Pelletier for his first goal of the season. Later in the period, Noah Clarke scored a shorthanded goal for the Monarchs taking control 3-0. In the period's final minute, the Grizzlies found themselves on a 5-3 power play and took advantage when Martin Sonnenberg re-directed a Sheldon Keefe pass behind Mathieu Garon pulling the Grizzlies to within two goals heading into the final period at 3-1.

In the third period, the Grizzlies came out flying and nearly scored on several occasions in the frame's opening minutes. A miscue behind Pelletier led to the Monarchs fourth goal scored by Greg Hogeboom at the 7:18 mark of the period.

Utah would add another power play goal when Jon Sim scored from a tough angle making the score 4-2. Just under four minutes later, Randall Gelech would lead a shorthanded rush for the Grizzlies that would be finished by Erik Westrum making the score 4-3. For Gelech, it was his first professional point. Manchester would score an empty-net goal with just over a minute to play putting the decision in their favor but Utah played well in the third period and can take that momentum into the re-match on Saturday night in the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Cammalleri and Brown each finished the game with a goal and two assists and Tom Kostpoulos and Mike Weaver each had two helpers. Garon made 36 saves improving to 2-0 on the season, while Pelletier stopped 30 shots falling to 0-2-1 on the young season.

Face-off for Saturday's game in TinselTown is set for 8:30 PM (MT) and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1230.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 20, 2004


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