Grizzlies Earn Standings Point in 4-3 Shootout Loss

Grizzlies Earned Standings Point in Shootout Loss

Boise, Idaho – The Utah Grizzlies got goals from Ben Tardif, Tyler Penner and Matthew Boucher but Idaho Steelheads goaltender Colton Point saved 34 of 37, including all 8 shots in overtime and all 3 in the shootout as they defeated the Grizzlies 4-3 in a shootout in front of a crowd of 5257 at Idaho Central Arena on a Saturday night.

Tardif got Utah on the board with a power play goal 9:56 into the game. Idaho’s Shawn McBride scored a power play goal of his own with 1:52 left in the period. McBride finished the night with 1 goal and 1 assist. Utah outshot Idaho 11 to 6 as both teams scored 1 in the period.

Idaho’s Chase Zieky scored twice in a 55 second stretch in the second period, with the 2nd coming on the power play to give the Steelheads a 3-1 lead. Zack Andrusiak got an assist on both of Zieky’s goals. Utah’s Tyler Penner scored on a rebound from a Brian Bowen shot 15:53 into the second. Later in the period Matthew Boucher scored on the power play on a pass from Quinn Ryan with 54 seconds left. Both teams scored twice in the second period. Both clubs went 2 for 2 on the power play.

Neither team scored in the third period to force overtime. Utah outshot Idaho 8 to 3 in the overtime period and had the puck for the majority of the extra session but Idaho’s Colton Point made 1 save after another to force a shootout. In the shootout Idaho captain AJ White was the only one to score as the Steelheads won the 3rd game of the Boise portion of the 6 game series.

Utah went 1-1-1 in Boise this weekend and the Grizzlies were 3-3-1 in the completed 7 game road trip. Utah’s Cole Kehler played in 4 games on the road trip after being acquired in a trade on December 30th. Kehler is 2-1-0-1 for Utah. He saved 30 of 33 and 2 of 3 in the shootout for Utah, who’s record goes to 20-11-1-1 on the season while Idaho is now 18-12-0-1.

The Grizzlies return for a 6 game homestand, which begins on January 14th vs Idaho at 7:10 pm. Don’t forget to grab your tickets for the annual Guns N Hoses night on January 15th with 2 charity games starting at 1 pm leading up to the Grizzlies game at 7:10 pm. A ticket to the Grizzlies game is good to get fans in for the afternoon charity games. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

3 stars

1. Chase Zieky (Idaho) – 2 goals.
2. Charle-Edouard D’Astous (Utah) – 2 assists.
3. Shawn McBride (Idaho) – 1 goal, 1 assist.