ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Take Down Penguins, 6-4

February 21, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


The rubber match between Utah (28-24-3-2) and Wilke-Barre/Scranton (26-25-4-4) showed a lot of offense and a little bit of everything as Utah gained a 5-1 lead but saw it evaporate to 5-4 before finishing the game with a shorthanded goal by Barrett Heisten to put the game away, 6-4, in front of 10, 145 fans.

The first period had the puck falling Utah's way, literally. At the 6:37 mark, Dan Jancevski shoveled a pass to Marcus Kristoffersson-bolting up ice in the neutral zone-and Kristoffersson took the puck into Penguin territory up the middle. David Oliver was trailing the play and crossed the blue line behind Kristoffersson on the near side, received a drop pass from Kristoffersson and released a hard wrist shot at Penguin goalie Mike Valley. The shot went off Valley's glove and had enough momentum to go over his mitt and trickle into the net behind him. The goal got the Grizzlies on the board first as Oliver tallied his 5th goal in only four games.

A little over a minute later, players and fans got a taste of a little deja vu. Justin Cox controlled the puck in the middle of the Penguins zone and dropped it off to Grizzlies new-comer Bubba Berenzweig who wound up for a slap shot that bounced through the crease, over a water bottle and past Valley's glove and into the net, giving Utah a 2-0 lead. For Berenzweig, it was his 7th goal of the year, first as a Utah Grizzly. At the end of twenty minutes, Utah had 12 shots on net and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had 7.

In the second period, the visiting Penguins got things in gear and lit the lamp first at the 5:51 mark. Penguin center Colby Armstrong received a pass through the crease from teammate Matt Hussey, and Armstrong got enough wood on the puck to squeak it through Mike Smith's pads to get them within one goal, 2-1.

>From there, it was all Utah as they dominated the play on the ice and connected on some of the best offensive sequences of the season. At 9:23, the Grizzlies were on the power play as David Gosselin got control of the puck on the near side of the Penguin net and wheeled around the back of Mike Valley and dumped the puck in the slot where Eric Landry one-timed a shot into the net. The goal gave Utah some insurance and Landry tallied his 21st goal (21-25-46) of the year.

Just over a minute later, Bubba Berenzweig made his addition to the team seem genius as he recorded his second goal of the game. David Oliver crossed the Penguin blue line and made a beautiful cross-ice pass to Berenzweig as he bolted down the near side. Berenzweig received the pass in perfect stride and deflected the puck into the back of the net, making it a 4-1 lead for Utah.

Utah continued to display their offensive skills when Barrett Heisten brought the biscuit into the Penguin zone along the near side boards as Jim Montgomery crashed towards the opponent goal. Barrett hit Montgomery right on the tape and Montgomery did the rest, beating Mike Valley above the blocker, extending Utah's lead by four goals at the 14:16 mark, 5-1 Utah.

The Penguins showed some heart and didn't throw in the towel. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton converted on a 5 on 3 power play. Penguin forward Tom Kostopoulos on the near side of Mike Smith, sent the puck through the crease to teammate Kris Beech on the far side and Beech one-timed it past Smith to make it a 5-2 game. Utah went 1 for 3 on the power play for the period, making it 14 straight games with a power play goal. Utah had 12 shots on net in the period; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had 15.

The visiting Penguins started the third period by scoring a short-handed goal at the 2:46 mark. Greg Hawgood gambled to keep the puck in the Penguin zone and got burned as the biscuit got by him. Kris Beech took the puck and went the length of the ice who beat Smith to get the Penguins within two, 5-3.

Utah fans got another scare as the Penguins converted on a second goal, less than three minutes later at the 5:08 mark. Penguin defenseman Richard Lintner got by the Utah defense and dished the puck to Alexandre Daigle who went directly to the Utah net and beat Smith with a low wrist shot that seemed to fool the rookie goaltender. The Penguins now were within one goal, 5-4. Utah got the wake up call and started to play with their heads again, instead of on their heels. Despite being short-handed, Utah managed to create a good thing out of a bad situation. Jim Montgomery intercepted a Penguin pass at his own blue line by knocking the puck down out of mid-air. Montgomery immediately bolted towards the Penguin zone. Montgomery was met near the opposing blue line by a Penguin defenseman and dumped the puck to Bubba Berenzweig who had been trailing the play. Berenzweig headed toward the Penguin net and at the last moment, tossed the puck to Barrett Heisten on the far side of the post who knocked the puck into the back of the net. The goal proved to be the game winner as Utah held on to beat the Penguins 6-4.

The Grizzlies end up winning the season series from Wilkes-Barre three games to one.

Three Stars: 1. Bubba Berenzweig (UT) 2 goals, 1 assist 2. Jim Montgomery (UT) 1 goal, 2 assists 3. David Oliver (UT) 1 goal, 1 assist

Next Game: The Utah Grizzlies will play the Grand Rapids Griffins in Michigan, tomorrow, February 22. Puck drops 5:30 PM (mst).

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