Grizzlies Win Season Opener 5-3
West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies got 1 goal and 1 assist from Kyle Betts & Brandon Cutler and Trent Miner saved 32 of 35 as they defeated the Tulsa Oilers 5-3 in front of an opening night crowd of 6526 at Maverik Center on Saturday night.
Nathan Burke got the first goal of the contest 5:45 in on a rebound from a Ryan Sandelin shot. Kyle Betts scored shorthanded 7:22 in. Michael Underwood got his first professional point with an assist. The Oilers got on the board on the power play 7:48 as Karl Boudrias scored from the left point. Utah led 2-1 after 20 minutes of play.
Brandon Cutler extended Utah’s lead to 3-1 as he scored 1:24 into the second period. Grizzlies captain Josh Wesley got the assist for his first point in a Utah uniform. Both teams had 13 shots in the second period as the Grizzlies led 3-1 heading to the third.
Kyle Mayhew gave Utah a 4-1 lead as he scored 6:18 in unassisted. Mayhew was a +4 for Utah in the win. Tulsa scored their second power play of the night as Dante Sheriff redirected a Boudrias shot 11:44 in to cut into Utah’s lead 4-2. Michael Farren scored shorthanded for Tulsa 18:08 in make it a one-goal contest. Utah’s Keoni Texeira scored with 11 seconds left to complete the scoring as the Grizzlies win the first of 10 regular season meetings with Tulsa.
Trent Miner got the win in net for the Grizzlies as he saved 32 of 35. It’s his 34th career win with the Grizzlies. Tulsa’s Gage Alexander got the loss as he saved 27 of 32. Tulsa outshot Utah 35 to 32.
Utah is now 14-13-2 all-time in regular season openers. Tulsa falls to 5-4-1 in their ECHL era.
The series continues at Maverik Center on Sunday afternoon at 3:10 pm. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
3 stars
- Kyle Betts (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist.
- Trent Miner (Utah) – 32 of 35 saves.
- Brandon Cutler (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist.
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