Grizz Win 5-1 in Series Opener

Grizz Win Series Opener 5-1

West Valley City, Utah – Tarun Fizer, Kyle Betts and Charle-Edouard D’Astous each had 1 goal and 1 assist and Trent Miner saved 33 of 34 to lead the Utah Grizzlies to a 5-1 win over the Rapid City Rush in game 1 of the Mountain Division Finals at Maverik Center on Friday night.

Betts got Utah on the board 19 seconds into the contest. Nate Clurman extended the lead 8:02 in. Utah led 2-0 after 1 period as they outshot the Rush 11 to 9.

In the second period Fizer scored 8:05 in to extend the lead to 3-0. The Rush got on the board 9:26 in as Logan Nelson scored his 5th of the playoffs. Utah got back on the board as D’Astous scored his 10th of the playoffs 17:26 in. Utah led 4-1 after 2 periods. In the third period Dylan Fitze scored a power play goal on a rebound from a D’Astous shot 12:06 in.

Utah went 1 for 3 on the power play and was 7 for 7 on the penalty kill. Utah outshot Rapid City 36 to 34. Ben Tardif, Zach Tsekos and Nick Henry each had 2 assists. Trent Miner was outstanding in net for Utah as he saved 33 of 34. Rapid City’s Lukas Parik saved 31 of 36.

Game 2 of the best of 7 series is on Saturday night at Maverik Center. Face-off is at 7:10 pm and tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. You can also watch the game on FloHockey.TV and listen on Mixlr.

3 stars

1. Tarun Fizer (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist.
2. Kyle Betts (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist.
3. Trent Miner (Utah) – 33 of 34 saves.