McGauley Shines in 4-1 Utah Win

McGauley Shines in 4-1 Utah Win

Independence, Missouri – Tim McGauley had 2 goals and 2 assists as the Utah Grizzlies defeated the Kansas City Mavericks 4-1 on Friday night at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence, Missouri.

Grizz took a 2-0 lead late in the first period as Ty Lewis scored 13:13 into the game. Griffen Molino and Tim McGauley got the assists. Jack Jenkins made it a 2-0 game as he scored with 1:20 left in the first. McGauley and Taylor Richart got the helpers. Grizzlies have scored first in 10 of their last 13 games.

Mavericks only goal came in the second period as Justin Woods scored on a really tough angled shot 3:44 into the second for his third of the season. That was the only goal allowed by Utah goaltender Martin Ouellette, who stopped 22 of 23 in his fourth straight win for the Grizzlies since being acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Gladiators.

Early in the third period Tim McGauley took over the game. He scored on a breakaway 33 seconds into the third period to make it a 3-1 game. Less than 3 minutes later McGauley added another insurance goal to make it 4-1. McGauley ended the night a +4. He leads the league in plus/minus with a +24. His Utah teammate Griffen Molino is second in the league at +21. In the month of December McGauley has 8 goals and 10 assists and is a +16 in 8 games. His teammate Molino is not far behind with 4 goals and 12 assists and is also a +16 in 8 games this month.

Both teams were 0-2 on the power play. Utah outshot Kansas City 25 to 23 in the game. It was the third season meeting between the clubs and the first one that the Grizzlies won after the Mavericks won 2 games on November 8th and 9th. Utah is 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and have a standings point in 8 of their last 9 games.

Next game for the Grizzlies is on Saturday night at Wichita. Grizz have outscored the Thunder 15 to 3 in two previous meetings including an 8-2 Utah win on December 17th. Face-off is at 6:05 pm MST. The Grizzlies return to Maverik Center for games on December 27th-28th and the 30th against the Tulsa Oilers. Face-off all 3 games is at 7:00 pm.

3 stars

1. Tim McGauley (Utah) – 2 goals, 2 assists. +4.
2. Martin Ouellette (Utah) – 22 of 23 saves.
3. Jack Jenkins (Utah) – 1 goal.