Grizz Sweep Series with Comeback Win
West Valley City, Utah – Tyler Penner scored the game winning goal with 2:54 left in regulation and Matthew Boucher scored 2 goals in the third period as the Utah Grizzlies defeated the Wichita Thunder 5-3 on Sunday afternoon to sweep the 4 game series at Maverik Center.
Wichita scored first as Logan Fredericks gets his 4th of the year 9:32 into the first period. Thunder led 1-0 after 1 period. The Thunder outshot Utah 15 to 12 in the first period and 47 to 37 for the game.
Trey Bradley tied the game with a shorthanded goal 1:34 into the second period. Utah leads the league with 9 shorthanded goals this season. Wichita’s Brayden Watts scored his 6th of the year 6:05 into the second. With the score 2-1 Wichita the Grizzlies got a penalty shot as Connor McDonald was held while skating towards Thunder goalie Evan Buitenhuis. McDonald’s penalty shot was stopped by Buitenhuis. 11 seconds later 11:01 in Dean Stewart scored on the power play to make it a 3-1 game. Utah’s Brian Bowen cut into the Thunder lead as he scored 13:51 into the second period to make it a 3-2. Thunder led by 1 after 2 periods.
Matthew Boucher connected on a one-timer on a Brandon Cutler shot to tie the game 6:17 into the third. Cutler now has a point in 16 of his last 17 games. Tyler Penner scored on a one-timer on a Christian Simeone pass with 2:54 left. Penner ended the afternoon with 1 goal and 1 assist for the 2nd straight game. Boucher added an empty netter with 25 seconds left as the Grizzlies extend their winning streak to 6 games and Wichita’s losing skid goes to 8 straight. In the 6 game winning streak the Grizz have outscored opponents 26 to 10.
Peyton Jones was a brick wall in net for Utah as he saved 44 of 47. Wichita’s Evan Buitenhuis saved 32 of 36. Utah enters the holiday break in first place in the Mountain Division with 35 standings points and a .673 points percentage.
The Grizzlies begin a 7 game road trip on December 27th at Rapid City. Face-off is at 7:05 and can be seen on FloSports and heard on Mixlr. Next home game for the Grizzlies is on January 14, 2022 vs Idaho. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
3 stars
- Tyler Penner (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist. GWG with 2:54 left. +3 rating.
- Matthew Boucher (Utah) – 2 goals, +1, 4 shots.
- Peyton Jones (Utah) – 44 of 47 saves. Jones earns his 7th win of the season.
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