Grizzlies Fall 6-4 at Wichita
Wichita, Kansas – The Utah Grizzlies got one goal and one assist from Evan Friesen and Stepan Timofeyev but it wasn’t enough as the Wichita Thunder got a 6-4 home victory with two goals from Peter Bates on a Thursday night at INTRUST Bank Arena.
Wichita led 3-0 after 20 minutes of play. Kyle Jeffers scored 2:39 in to get the Thunder on the board. Ryan Finnegan added a power play goal 11:01 in and Peter Bates extended Wichita’s lead 17:27 in. Wichita outshot Utah 13 to 8 in the first period.
Utah climbed back to tie the game with 3 goals in a span of 3 minutes 59 seconds. Neil Shea scored a power play goal 1:06 into the second period. Shea has a goal in three straight games. Stepan Timofeyev scored 90 seconds later on a pass from Danny Dzhaniyev. Jack Ricketts tied the game nine seconds after he came out of the penalty box on a great effort 5:05 in. Ricketts has a goal in 4 of his last 8 games. Wichita retook the lead as Peter Bates redirected a TJ Lloyd shot 16:48 in. The Thunder led 4-3 after 40 minutes of play.
Kirby Proctor extended the Thunder’s lead exactly 5 minutes into the third period. Utah scored 12 seconds later as Evan Friesen got his first of the season. Utah had some third period power plays but couldn’t get the tying goal. Michal Stinil scored an empty net goal for Wichita 19:28 in to complete the scoring.
The forward line of Dzhaniyev, Friesen and Timofeyev each had a productive night. Dzhaniyev had 2 assists and was a +1. Friesen and Timofeyev were each a +1 and had 1 goal and 1 assist. Timofeyev has 1 goal and 4 assists in his last three games.
Wichita goaltender Roddy Ross saved 26 of 30 as he earned his third professional win. Utah’s Dylan Wells stopped 18 of 23. Utah was 1 for 6 on the power play, Wichita was 1 for 5.
The series continues on Friday night at 6:05 pm at INTRUST Bank Arena. The Grizzlies next home game is November 14 vs Idaho for Pucks and Pups night at Maverik Center. Face-off is at 7:10 pm and tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
3 stars
- Peter Bates (Wichita) – 2 goals, +3, 5 shots.
- Stepan Timofeyev (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 5 shots.
- Kirby Proctor (Wichita) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 2 shots.
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