Grizzlies Host Deciding Game Five Tuesday At E-Center
April 12, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release
West Valley City, Utah - The Utah Grizzlies and Las Vegas Wranglers will meet in the fifth and deciding game of their best-of-five first round ECHL playoff series Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Utah forced the game five with a three-goal third period rally Sunday to win 4-2 after trailing 2-1 at the start of the final frame.
Leading The League Grizzlies forward James Sixsmith has scored in all four games of the playoffs thus far, recording multiple-points in three of the four games and totaling three assists each in two of the four contests. With one goal and eight assists in four games, Sixsmith leads the league during the playoffs with eight assists and is tied for second with nine points. Sixsmith has scored in all seven playoff games that he has played in a Utah uniform during his career, totaling four goals and nine assists for 13 points.
Projected Goaltender Matchup The Grizzlies are expected to once again start Mike Morrison, who stopped 23-straight shots and 32 of 34 overall in Sunday's win. Morrison, who brought 229 games of professional experience, including 29 in the NHL, to Utah, joined the Grizzlies April 2 in Victoria for the first time since a December trade with Florida shifted his ECHL rights to Utah. The Wranglers are projected to start Jimmy Spratt, who has logged the entire series in goal for Las Vegas.
Scoring First In this series, the team that has scored first has lost three of the four games. Las Vegas has tallied the first goal in three-straight games.
Special Teams In this series, the team that has won the special teams battle has won each game. Las Vegas won game one, the only time in the series that special teams scoring was even.
In The Wins In Utah's two wins in this series, they have allowed a combined total of three goals and gone 9-9 on the penalty-kill. The Grizzlies have outscored Las Vegas 5-0 in the third periods and have not allowed a goal after the first period in their playoff victories as well.
Historically Speaking Tuesday marks the fourth time in team history and the first time since 2002 that the Grizzlies have played either a fifth or seventh deciding game in a playoff series. Utah is 2-1 in deciding games in team history and 2-0 at home. Two those series occurred during the 1995-96 season as the Grizzlies went on to win the IHL's Turner Cup.
1996: Utah defeated Kansas City 3-1 in game five of the first round at the Delta Center. 1996: Utah defeated Peoria 3-0 in game seven of the second round at the Delta Center. 2002: Utah fell on the road 3-2 to Houston in game five of the first round.
Who's Next The winner of Tuesday's game five will move on to round two where they will face the Idaho Steelheads in a best-of-seven series that will begin Friday and Saturday at the Qwest Arena in Boise.
Tickets, Food and Beverage Every ticket for Tuesday's game is available for $10 and can be purchased at the E-Center box office or online at www.utahgrizzlies.com . In addition, it is a Wild $2 Weeknight with $2 Hot Dogs, $2 Fries, $2 Soft Drinks and $2 Draft Beers.
On-The-Air Game five will be broadcast live on 860 AM, Utah's Big Talker, with "Grizzlies On The Fly" pre-game coverage beginning at 6:35 p.m. The game will be simulcast on www.utahgrizzlies.com with a $7 PPV broadcast also available on the team's home page.
ECHL Stories from April 12, 2010
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- Checkers Announce Second-Round Dates, Opponent - Charlotte Checkers
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