Miner leads Grizzlies to 4-1 Victory
West Valley City, UT - The Utah Grizzlies defeated the Idaho Steelheads at Maverik Center on Monday afternoon thanks to a stellar performance from goaltender Trent Miner. The Grizzlies wore special SpongeBob SquarePants jerseys in the 4-1 victory on sensory friendly day.
Cam Strong got the party started 14:12 into the first period after taking a pass from Jordan Martel and driving to the net for his 5th goal of the season. The Grizzlies and Steelheads would both go 0/1 on the power play in the opening frame. Utah’s Cory Thomas and Idaho’s Nick Canade fought 16:26 into the first.Â
Just 48 seconds into the second period, Keaton Jameson pickpocketed Idaho’s Matt Register in the offensive zone and cashed in for his 8th goal of the season to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead. Down by 2, the Steelheads would apply the pressure in the second period, but Utah held firmly onto the lead. Idaho wound up getting a 5 on 3 opportunity late in the period after Utah got into a bit of penalty trouble, but the Grizzlies penalty kill prevailed, and Trent Miner made some key saves to keep Idaho off the board.
The Steelheads thought they had a goal midway through the third period, but it was ruled goaltender interference and a no-goal on the ice and we remained at a 2-0 score. Cameron Wright then added to the Grizzlies lead 12:51 into the final frame notching his 9th goal of the year with assists coming from Aaron Thow and Victor Bartley. The Steelheads got a power play late and Jack Becker spoiled Miner’s shutout bid, scoring his 8th of the year to make it a 3-1 game 16:21 into the period. Owen Headrick and Jordan Kawaguchi got the assists. Idaho attempted a late push but Utah’s Tarun Fizer put the game on ice with an empty net goal with 31 seconds to go making it a 4-1 Grizzlies lead. Fizer’s goal now puts him at 10 on the season.Â
Trent Miner was fantastic, stopping 46 of the 47 shots he faced, earning him first star honors. Cam Strong and Keaton Jameson were the second and third stars respectively, each having a goal in Monday’s contest.
The Grizzlies will be back in action on Friday in Tulsa against the Oilers at BOK Center. Puck drop will be at 6:05 MST, you can catch the game on FloSports or the audio feed on the Grizzlies YouTube channel.
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