Grizzlies Fall in 8-7 Slugfest at Idaho

Grizzlies Fall in 8-7 Slugfest at Idaho 

Boise, Idaho – The Utah Grizzlies went 4 for 5 on the power play and Brandon Cutler and Brett Stapley each had 1 goal and 3 assists but it wasn’t enough as the Idaho Steelheads got a 3 goal and 2 assist performance from Lynden McCallum as they defeated the Grizzlies 8-7 on a wild night at Idaho Central Arena.  

Idaho’s Jordan Kawaguchi scored 3:11 into the contest to take a 1-0 lead. The goal was scored 1 second after the end of a power play. Nathan Burke tied it 1-1 exactly five minutes into the game. Alex Beaucage gave Utah a 2-1 lead on a power play goal 13:27 in. Idaho got 2 goals from Lynden McCallum in the final five minutes of the first period as the Steelheads led 3-2 after 1 frame.  

McCallum completed the hat trick 32 seconds into the second period. It is McCallum’s second career Hat Trick. Idaho extended the lead to 5-2 as Matt Register scored his 7^th of the campaign from the left point. After Register’s goal Utah pulled goaltender Will Cranley, who saved 11 of 16, in favor of Dante Giannuzzi, who stopped 10 of 13. Idaho made it a 6-2 game as Willie Knierim scored 4:43 in. Idaho scored 5 goals in a 9 minute 25 second stretch to turn a 2-1 Utah lead into a 6-2 Idaho advantate. Later in the middle frame Alex Beaucage scored his second power play goal of the night on a rocket 18:43 into the frame to make it a 6-3 game.  

Early in the third period Idaho captain AJ White scored 5:11 in to make it a 7-3 Steelheads lead. Utah got a power play exactly 10 minutes into the third period. Dylan Fitze scored 10:08 in. Fitze scored again 19 seconds later to make it a 7-5 contest. Brandon Cutler scored his team leading 25^th of the year 12:33 in to make it a one-goal game. Idaho’s Demetrios Koumontzis scored what turned out to be the game winner 15:39 in on a pass from Colton Kehler. Utah got a power play with 1:29 left in regulation as a fan threw an orange Chuck-A-Puck on the ice after Idaho’s fans were warned earlier in the game. Brett Stapley scored with 1:08 left in the game to make it 8-7. The Steelheads held on for the win as their record goes to 11-1-1 over their last 13 games. Utah outshot Idaho 20 to 9 in the third period and 40 to 29 for the contest. 

Utah’s power play went 4 for 5 on the night. The 4 power play goals are a season high. The 15 combined goals tie for the most in a game in the league this season. The 7 Utah goals tie a season high mark. They also scored 7 goals on December 9, 2023 vs Allen and on February 24, 2024 at Kansas City in the opener of the road trip. It’s the fourth time this season where Idaho has scored 8 goal in a game.  

Idaho goaltender Jake Kielly stopped 33 of 40 in the win as his record goes to 6-1.  

The final game of the three-game series is on Saturday night at 7:10 pm. Utah is home for 9 of their next 13 games. Next home game for the Grizzlies is on Friday, March 8 vs Rapid City at 7:10 pm. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com.  

Grizzlies players with a multiple point game 

Dylan Fitze and Alex Beaucage each scored 2 goals.  

Kyle Mayhew had 4 assists. It’s his second 4 assist performance at Idaho this season. Mayhew is now 2^nd among league rookie defenseman with 31 assists.  

Brandon Cutler and Brett Stapley each had 1 goal and 3 assists. Stapley leads Utah with 12 multiple point games this season. Cutler and Stapley each had 7 assists in the month of February. 

Robbie Stucker had 2 assists. It was his first multiple point game as a Grizzly.  

3 Stars  

1. Lynden McCallum (Idaho) - 3 goals, 2 assists, +2, 5 shots.  

2. Matt Register (Idaho) - 1 goal, 2 assists.  

3. Demetrios Koumontzis (Idaho) - 1 goal, 1 assist, +4, 4 shots.