Grizzlies Fall 5-2 in Wichita
Wichita, Kansas – Derek Daschke had 1 goal and 1 assist and Cole Gallant had 2 assists to lead the Utah Grizzlies but it wasn’t enough as the Wichita Thunder got goals from five different skaters as they end a six game winless streak with a 5-2 victory over the Grizzlies on a Wednesday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.
Wichita scored first as Ryan Finnegan got his sixth goal of the season 8:16 in. Joe Carroll gave the Thunder a 2-0 lead as scored on a centering pass from Luke Grainger 17:16 in. Wichita led 2-0 after 20 minutes of frame as they outshot Utah 16 to 5 in the period and 39 to 28 for the contest.
Utah got on the board early in the second period as Mick Messner scored from the slot on a 5 on 3 power play 3:37 in. Utah went 1 for 2 on the power play and were 1 for 1 on the penalty kill. Grizzlies defenseman Derek Daschke scored from the left point to tie the game 5:30 in. Daschke leads Utah with 13 points this season (3 goals, 10 assists). Wichita quickly responded with Kobe Walker scoring the eventual game winner 6:03 in on a pass from Michal Stinil, who is now tied with Toledo’s Brandon Hawkins for the league lead with 20 points. The Thunder extended the lead to 4-2 as Jay Dickman scored exactly 11 minutes into the second frame.
Thunder defenseman T.J. Lloyd scored his first pro goal 15:49 into the third period on a backhand shot from the left wing to complete the scoring.
Cole Gallant’s 2 assist performance for Utah tonight gives him 8 assists in his last 5 games. Gallant was also a +1 as he was the only Grizzlies player with a positive +/- rating. Gallant is a +5 on the season, which leads the club. Craig Armstrong led Utah with 6 shots on goal.
Wichita had a very balanced scoring attack as the only player with a multiple point game was defenseman Braden Hache, who had 2 assists. 12 of the 18 skaters for the Thunder had a point in their win as their record goes to 7-7-1 on the season. Utah falls to 5-5-1.
The time of game was 2 hours 7 minutes, which was the fastest Grizzlies game this season.
The Grizzlies road trip continues in Wichita on Thursday night at 6:05 pm. Utah returns to Maverik Center for a three game series against the Indy Fuel on November 27, 29-30. Face-off all three nights are at 7:10 pm and tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
3 stars
- Joe Carroll (Wichita) – 1 goal, +2, 8 shots.
- T.J. Lloyd (Wichita) – First pro goal, 5 shots.
- Braden Hatch (Wichita) – 2 assists, +3, 3 shots.
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