Railers Nail Grizz 6-2

Railers Nail Grizz 6-2

West Valley City, Utah – Quinn Ryan and Zac Robbins scored goals for the Utah Grizzlies in a 6-2 loss to the Worcester Railers in front of a crowd of 5445 at Maverik Center on Saturday night.

Ryan got Utah on the board 7:43 into the contest. Nate Clurman picked up an assist as he has a helper in 6 of his last 7 games. Utah led 1-0 after 20 minutes of play, outshooting Worcester 10 to 8.

Worcester’s Anthony Repaci got his 16th of the year 3:46 into the second period to tie the game. Utah got a 5 on 3 power play for 57 seconds 15:13 in but Worcester killed the penalty to keep it a tie game. The Railers took the lead with 1:59 left in the second period as Jordan Smotherman got his 20th of the year. Worcester led 2-1 after 2 periods.

Smotherman scored his 2nd of the game 50 seconds into the third period to extend the lead. Worcester made it a 4-1 game 3:33 into the third as Blake Christiansen scored from the slot. Liam Coughlin made it a 5-1 contest as he scored shorthanded. Grizzlies goaltender Trent Miner was pulled from the contest after saving 23 of 28. Peyton Jones saved 8 of 9 in relief. Jacob Hayhurst scored 9:09 into the third. It was the 6th unanswered goal for the Railers, who are now 20-19-2-1 on the year. Utah’s Zac Robbins finished the scoring as he scored from a Tyler Penner pass. Brian Bowen also got an assist as he has now scored in 8 of his last 9 games.

Worcester outscored Utah 37 to 29. The Railers went 2 for 4 on the power play while Utah was 0 for 3. Ben Tardif led Utah with 9 shots.

The series finale is on Monday, February 21st at 1:10 pm. It’s Sensory Inclusion Day and the Grizzlies are also wearing Paw Patrol specialty jerseys. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com

3 stars

1. Jordan Smotherman (Worcester) – 2 goals, 10 shots.
2. Colten Ellis (Worcester) – 27 of 29 saves.
3. Liam Coughlin (Worcester) – 1 goal, 1 assist.