White Delivers Grizzlies Overtime Game Winner
Tulsa, Oklahoma – AJ White scored the game winning goal 18 seconds into overtime on a pass from Trey Bradley as the Utah Grizzlies extend their winning streak to 5 games with a 3-2 victory over the Tulsa Oilers on Friday night at BOK Center.
Tulsa had a 2-0 lead after 1 period as Robby Jackson scored 9:05 into the game. Ian McNulty made it 2-0 as he scored unassisted with just under 11 seconds left in the first. Tulsa outshot Utah 12 to 7 in the period.
Charlie Gerard got the Grizz on the board 7:17 into the second for his 14th of the year. 47 seconds later AJ White tied the game. Alex Lepkowski got an assist on both goals in the second period. Utah outshot Tulsa 12 to 8 in the second.
Neither team scored in the third period. Tulsa outshot Utah 30 to 25. It’s only the 2nd time in the last 14 games where Utah has been outshot. Gerard led Utah with 6 shots on goal.
Overtime started with AJ White winning the face-off as the puck went to Garrett Johnston, who raced deep into his own zone. He gave it to Trey Bradley, who went coast to coast and skated to the corner before finding a cutting AJ White for the game winner. Bradley’s assist gives him a tie with Matthew Boucher for the team lead with 25 helpers on the season. Bradley now has 8 points in his last 7 games. White has 7 points in his last 5 games.
Peyton Jones saved 28 of 30 for Utah to earn his team leading 7th win of the season. Utah is now on a season high 5 game winning streak, which is also the longest current streak in the league. Utah now has a .558 winning percentage, .050 points ahead of Rapid City for 4th place in the Western Conference. Rapid City lost 5-3 at Wichita on Friday night.
The series continues on Saturday night at BOK Center. Utah is now 4-4-1-1 vs Tulsa this season. Face-off is at 6:05 pm mountain time. Next homestand for the Grizzlies is on May 19, 21-23 vs Allen. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com.
3 stars
- AJ White (Utah) – 2 goals. GWG 18 seconds into overtime.
- Alex Lepkowski (Utah) – 2 assists.
- Robby Jackson (Tulsa) – 1 goal.
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