Lions Defeat Grizz 6-4 in First Ever Meeting

Lions Defeat Utah 6-4 in First Ever Meeting

West Valley City, Utah – The Trois-Rivieres Lions got 2 goals and 1 assist from John Parker-Jones and 1 goal and 1 assist from Anthony Beauregard as they defeated the Utah Grizzlies 6-4 in front of a crowd of 4309 at Maverik Center.

Parker-Jones gave the Lions the lead 11:04 in. Utah tied the game as Johnny Walker redirected an Andrew Nielsen shot for a power play goal 14:40 in. The score was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.

Nicolas Lariviere scored on a rebound from an Alex Breton shot 16:10 into the second to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. 1 minute 32 seconds later Cedric Montminy scored on a centering pass from James Phelan to extend the Trois-Rivieres lead. After 2 periods Trois Rivieres leads 3-1.

Utah’s Dakota Raabe cut into the lead 8:28 into the third frame on a 4 on 4 goal. 53 seconds later Beauregard scored for the Lions to make it a 4-2 game. John Parker-Jones scored his 2nd of the game 15:39 in unassisted to extend the Lions lead. Utah made it interesting as Zach Tsekos scored with 1:50 left in regulation on a nice pass from Raabe. 1 minute 6 seconds later Utah’s Tarun Fizer scored his 7th of the season. Fizer and Tsekos are each tied for the club lead with 7 goals. Fizer’s power play tally was Utah’s 2nd of the night and it make it a one goal game. Trois Rivieres closed out the game with an empty netter with 17 seconds left as Lariviere scored his 2nd of the game.

Andrew Nielsen had 2 power play assists for Utah. Nielsen now leads the league with 10 power play assists on the season. Raabe and Tsekos each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Trent Miner saved 20 of 25 in the loss. Joe Vrbetic stopped 27 of 31 in the win for the Lions, who are now 7-6-1 on the season. Utah falls to 6-8.

The series continues on Saturday night at 7:10 pm as it’s the Grizzlies second annual Pride Night presented by FedEx. The series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 3:10 pm. Take advantage of the Grizzlies Black Friday offer with buy one get one free tickets at utahgrizzlies.com/blackfriday. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

3 stars

1. John Parker-Jones (Trois-Rivieres) – 2 goals, 1 assist, +4.
2. Anthony Beauregard (Trois-Rivieres) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +3.
3. Cedric Montminy (Trois-Rivieres) – 1 goal.