Grizzlies Win 4-3 New Year's Thriller

Grizzlies Win 4-3 in New Year’s Thriller

West Valley City, Utah – Ian Scheid scored a power play goal with 4:59 left in regulation to break the tie as the Utah Grizzlies defeated the Rapid City Rush 4-3 on New Year’s Day at Maverik Center.

Charlie Gerard scored 1:20 into the game to give Utah a quick 1-0 lead. Rapid City tied up the game 13:06 into the first as Avery Peterson tied the game on assists by Brennan Saulnier and Garrett Klotz. The score was tied after 20 minutes of play with Rapid City outshooting Utah 7 to 6.

Peterson scored his 2nd of the night 2:05 into the second. Utah’s Christian Horn tied it at 2 when he scored on a breakaway 10:20 into the second. It was Horn’s first goal of the season. He was 2nd on the team with 5 shots on goal.

Jack Jenkins scored a shorthanded goal 4:50 into the third period to give the Grizzlies a 3-2 lead. Jenkins has 2 goals and 2 assists in the first 2 games this season. The Rush tied it up 35 seconds later as Tyler Coulter scored his 1st goal of the season. Coulter had 24 goals for Rapid City last season.

Scheid’s power play goal with just under 5 minutes left was the deciding goal in the Utah win to go to 3-1 on the season. Rapid City has lost 5 in a row after winning the opener on December 11th.

Utah goaltender Peyton Jones stopped 23 of 26 in the win. Jones has started all 4 games for the Grizzlies. Rapid City’s David Tendeck saved 21 of 25 in the loss. The rush outshot the Grizzlies 26 to 25.

The 3 game series concludes on Saturday night at 7:10 pm. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com with capacity limited to 1800 with masks required and social distancing.

3 stars

1. Ian Scheid (Utah) – GWG with 4:59 left in the third period.
2. Jack Jenkins (Utah) – 1 goal.
3. Charlie Gerard (Utah) – 1 goal, 6 shots.