Lewis, McGauley and Molino Star in 8-2 Win at Wichita

McGauley, Lewis and Molino Deliver Big in 8-2 Win

Wichita, Kansas – Tim McGauley had 1 goal and 6 assist, Ty Lewis had 3 goals and 2 assists and Griffen Molino had 1 goal and 4 assists in the Utah Grizzlies 8-2 win over the Wichita Thunder on Tuesday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.

For McGauley, the performance was historic. It was the most assists by a Grizzlies player since the team joined the ECHL in the 2005-06 season. The most recent Grizzly who had a 5 assist game was current Utah assistant coach Ryan Kinasewich, who had 5 helpers on January 16th, 2008 vs Phoenix. The 7 point game also broke a Utah franchise record. Lance Galbraith had 6 points in a game on February 24, 2010 vs Stockton. McGauley’s 7 points are the most by a player in the league so far this season. He is the 18th player in league history to have at least 6 assists in a game.

Not to be outdone, Ty Lewis scored 3 goals and 2 assists in the game. Lewis scored Utah’s 4th hat trick of the season. It was the most points Lewis has scored in a game as a pro. Lewis now has 6 goals and 7 assists in 10 games this season. Lewis has 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 3 games.

Griffen Molino had 1 goal and 4 assists on the night. Both Molino and McGauley were a +4 on the night. Molino’s goal was a shorthanded goal 17:52 into the second period. That is the 6th shorthanded goal this season for the Grizzlies and their 5th since Thanksgiving. Molino has 4 goals and 11 assists in his last 6 games. Molino is a +13 in the last 6 and is currently 2nd on the team at +18 as McGauley leads the Grizz at +20.

Utah was 3 for 3 on the power play and was 5 for 5 on the penalty kill and also had the shorthanded goal in the second period. Taylor Richart had 2 power play goals on the night, though Lewis might have gotten a piece of the goal Richart scored 1:50 into the second period. If Lewis tipped it, he could end up with a 4th goal on the evening.

Grizzlies goaltender Martin Ouellette stopped 20 of 22 shots and has now won each of his first 3 starts with the club. Ouellette was named ECHL Goaltender of the Week for his efforts last weekend in winning 2 games against the defending champion Newfoundland Growlers. Ouellette stopped 51 of 53 on the weekend and had a 19 save shutout in his Utah debut on Friday, December 13th.

Mitch Maxwell added his first goal of the season to complete the scoring with 1:51 left in regulation. Sasha Larocque, Joe Wegwerth and Travis Barron each had 1 assist in the game.

The Grizzlies next game is on Thursday, December 19th at BOK Center against the Tulsa Oilers. Face-off is at 6:05 pm MST.  Next homestand will be December 27th, 28th and 30th against Tulsa.

3 Stars

1. Ty Lewis (Utah) – 3 goals, 2 assists, +3, 5 shots.
2. Tim McGauley (Utah) – 1 goal, 6 assists. +4.
3. Griffen Molino (Utah) – 1 goal, 4 assists, +4.