Grizzlies Explode for 8 Goals in Home Victory
ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Explode for 8 Goals in Home Victory

Published on February 26, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


Salt Lake City, Utah - The forward line of Danny Dzhaniyev (1 goal, 5 assists), Reilly Connors (2 goals, 2 assists) and Stepan Timofeyev (1 goal, 3 assists) were each a +4 for the Utah Grizzlies in their 8-3 victory over the Tahoe Knight Monsters on Wednesday night at Maverik Center.

Tahoe's Jordan Gustafson scored 1:09 into the contest. Twenty-six seconds later Danny Dzhaniyev got Utah on the board with his 17th of the campaign on a great pass from Timofeyev. Reilly Connors gave Utah a 2-1 lead on a one-timer from the left circle 13:34 in. Evan Friesen scored a power-play goal 17:23 in to extend Utah's lead to 3-1.

Maxim Barbashev scored the eventual game winner 6:45 into the second period as he redirected Luc Salem's shot on a delayed penalty. Utah extended the lead to 5-1 on John Gelatt's 10th goal of the campaign 9:16 in. Gelatt is the 6th different Grizzly to score 10 or more goals this season. Tahoe's Sloan Stanick scored a power play goal 15:53 in. Utah defenseman Andrew Noel fired a backhand shot off a Knight Monster and into the back of the net for Utah's 6th goal of the night 17:35 in. Utah led 6-2 after 40 minutes of play.

Stepan Timofeyev scored his 8th goal of the season 4:45 in to give Utah a 7-2 lead. Eric Olson scored his first pro goal for Tahoe 7:15 in. 12 seconds later Reilly Connors scored his second of the night on a centering pass from Dzhaniyev to complete the scoring.

Dzhaniyev scored a career high 6 points in the win. He leads Utah with 14 multiple point games. Dzhaniyev leads all league rookies in points (51) and assists (35). Dzhaniyev also leads all league skaters with 217 shots on goal. Dzhaniyev had 4 shots on goal, giving him 3 or more shots in 42 of 52 games this campaign.

Reilly Connors has had an outstanding month of February, with 10 goals and 5 assists in 10 games. Stepan Timofeyev tied a season high with 4 points. He also had 1 goal and 3 assists at Tulsa on December 21, 2025.

Utah has scored 46 goals in 10 games in February. The Grizzlies were 1 for 2 on the power play tonight. Utah is 17 for 54 on the man advantage over their last 16 games. Utah has scored 27 goals in 4 games vs Tahoe in February.

Utah's Kyle Keyser got the victory in net, saving 13 of 15 shots in the first 40 minutes of play. Hunter Miska played the third period for the Grizzlies and he saved 18 of 19.

The series continues with Grizzlies Fight Cancer Weekend on February 27-28. Face-off both nights is at 7:10 pm and tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

3 stars

1. Danny Dzhaniyev (Utah) - 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points, +4, 4 shots.

2. Reilly Connors (Utah) - 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, +4, 4 shots.

3. Stepan Timofeyev (Utah) - 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, 2 shots.

Check out the Utah Grizzlies Statistics

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ECHL Stories from February 26, 2026


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