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ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Score Late to Beat Alaska 3-2

December 12, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


West Valley City, Utah - The Utah Grizzlies (13-7-2-0) defeated the Alaska Aces 3-2 Friday night at Maverik Center as Ryan Walters broke the tie with a power-play goal in the final minute of play.

"At the end of the day, good teams find a way to win and we found a way to do it," said Head Coach/General Manager Tim Branham.

Utah took a 1-0 lead in the first period as Eric Knodel scored 5:01 into the contest, walking in on a feed from Alex Krushelnyski, and Utah took a 1-0 lead. The assist extended Krushelnyski's scoring streak to six-straight games as Knodel scored Utah's first goal for the fourth time in six games.

Matt Berry (9) tipped home a Shayne Taker blast on the power-play with 6:31 left in the first period and the Grizzlies made it 2-0. Charles Sarault also picked up his first assist of the night on the play.

"Matt Berry is a special player," said Branham. "He's extremely fast, talented, and passionate. When he's moving his feet and skating, there's nobody in this league that can stop him. He leads our team in points and he's a great edition for us; we're lucky to have him."

The 2-0 lead held until 34 seconds left in the second period when Alaska made it 2-1. Alaska tied the contest with 2:12 left in regulation and it was 2-2.

Penalties were called off of the ensuing face-off and the game went four-on-four before Krushelnyski was hauled down off of that face-off and the Grizzlies went on a four-on-three power-play with 1:29 remaining in regulation.

"I think our guys were really focused," said Branham. "They knew it was a great opportunity going on that power play four-on-three. It's something we work on in practice and it showed through today."

Following a Utah timeout, Ryan Walters looked off two options and wrapped the puck in giving Utah a 3-2 lead with 48 seconds left as Knodel and Sarault picked up assists.

"When you give up a goal, the next shift is the biggest," said Walters. "We got a power-play and it's our job to get the puck in the net. We moved the puck around really well and it happened to go in."

Alaska, again, made a furious attempt to tie the game before Connor Hardowa blocked a shot off of a face-off with six seconds left and the game ended in regulation.

"We're going to enjoy the win for tonight and tomorrow it's back to work," said Walters. "We're two for three, the weekend's not over, and we're going to come ready to play tomorrow."

Utah goaltender Taran Kozun stopped 28 of 30 to improve to 3-0 at Maverik Center and 3-2 overall. He stopped the first 43 shots of the series over 99:46 before the Aces finally broke through after Kozun shutout Alaska 5-0 Wednesday.

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