Grizz Win 5-1 to Advance to Western Conference Finals

Grizz Advance to Western Conference Finals with 5-1 Win

West Valley City, Utah – Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored 2 goals and 1 assist and Trent Miner saved 32 of 33 to lead the Utah Grizzlies to a 5-1 victory over the Rapid City Rush to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2008. The Grizzlies will face the Toledo Walleye in round 3 of the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

D’Astous scored 5:07 into the contest with a power play goal to give Utah a 1-0 lead. It was his 10th playoffs power play goal which sets a new league record. Utah led 1-0 after 1 period, outshooting RC 15 to 8.

In the second period Brett Gravelle tied the game 19:38 in on a power play goal. The Rush went 1 for 5 on the power play and Utah was 1 for 2.

The Grizz scored 4 unanswered goals in the 3rd period to clinch the series win. D’Astous scored his second of the game and 17th of the postseason 3:25 in. D’Astous tied a league record with 17 goals in a single postseason. Luke Martin added some insurance with a shorthanded goal 5:13 in. Dakota Raabe added to the lead 12:20 in. Kyle Betts added a shorthanded empty net goal with 2:18 left in regulation. Utah scored 2 shorthanded goals in the third period. They lead the playoffs with 5 shorthanded goals.

Trent Miner is now 6-3 in the playoffs after stopping all but 1 in the win. Rapid City’s Lukas Parik saved 27 of 31 in the loss. Ben Tardif had 2 assists to give him a league leading 22 assists through 2 rounds of the playoffs.

Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is on Friday night at Toledo’s Huntington Center. Face-off is at 5:35 pm mountain time and can be seen on FloHockey and heard on Mixlr.

3 stars

1. Charle-Edouard D’Astous (Utah) – 2 goals, 1 assist, +3.
2. Ben Tardif (Utah) – 2 assists.
3. Luke Martin (Utah) – 1 goal, +2.

Western Conference Finals

Game 1  Utah @ Toledo  Fri. May 20  7:35pm EST

Game 2  Utah @ Toledo  Sat. May 21  7:35pm EST

Game 3  Toledo @ Utah  Tue. May 20  7:10pm MST

Game 4  Toledo @ Utah  Fri. May 27   7:10pm MST

Game 5  Toledo @ Utah  Sat. May 28  7:10pm MST (if necessary)

Game 6  Utah @ Toledo  Mon. May 30  7:35pm EST (if necessary)

Game 7  Utah @ Toledo  Tue. May 31  7:35pm EST (if necessary)

MOST GOALS, ONE PLAYOFF YEAR

17 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Utah 2022 - J.F. Boutin, Peoria, 2000 – Blaine Moore, Richmond, 1995

16 – Zach O’Brien, Newfoundland, 2019 – Mark Deazeley, Toledo, 1994 – Rod Taylor, Hampton Roads, Dave Flanagan, Hampton Roads, 1991

MOST POWER-PLAY GOALS, ONE PLAYOFF YEAR

10 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Utah, 2022

9 - Chris Minard, Alaska, 2006

8 - Greger Hanson, Allen, 2016

- Kevin Colley, Atlantic City, 2003 – Grizzlies Head Coach from 2009-2013.

7 - Jason Cipolla, South Carolina, 1997

Chris Hynes, South Carolina, 1997

Mark Deazeley, Toledo, 1994

Sheldon Gorski, Louisville, 1992