Grizz Win 5-2 to Retake Division Lead

Grizzlies Win 5-2 to Retake Division Lead

West Valley City, Utah – Ben Tardif had 1 goal and 2 assists and Trey Bradley and Charle-Edouard D’Astous each had 1 goal and 1 assist to lead the Utah Grizzlies to a 5-2 win over the Rapid City Rush on Friday night at Maverik Center.

The Grizzlies retake the lead in the Mountain division with the win as their points percentage climbs to .595 and the Rush fall to 2nd place with a .582 points %.

Neither team scored in the first period. Mason Mannek got Utah on the board 3:16 into the second period. Tardif made it a 2-0 game when he scored 9:36 in. D’Astous extended the lead 15:16 in to make it a 3-0 game. Utah led by 3 after 2 periods. The Grizz are now 26-1 when leading after 2 periods this season.

Rush got on the board 5:13 into the third as Colton Leiter scored his 10th of the year. The Rush cut into the lead some more as Alec Butcher scored his 19th goal 11:24 into the third. Dylan Fitze scored a huge insurance goal for Utah with 3:44 left in regulation. Less than a minute later Trey Bradley scored an empty netter with 2:50 left.

Utah evened up the series after Rapid City won the series opener on March 30 with a 4-3 final score. Utah is now 6-5 vs Rapid City this season. Trent Miner got the win in net as he saved 23 of 25. Rapid City’s Brad Arvanitis saved 30 of 34.

The rubber match of the 3-game series is on Saturday night at 7:10 pm. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

3 stars

1. Ben Tardif (Utah) – 1 goal, 2 assists, +3, 4 shots.
2. Charle-Edouard D’Astous (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +3, 5 shots.
3. Trey Bradley (Utah) – 1 goal, 2 assists, +3, 4 shots.