Grizzlies Get Wild West Friday Victory at Maverik Center
West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies scored three third period goals as they defeated the Bloomington Bison 5-3 on Wild West night at Maverik Center.
Utah took a 1-0 lead on a Tyler Gratton power play goal 7:25 into the contest. Gratton leads Utah with 8 power play goals this season. Utah is 14 for 40 on the power play over their last 11 games. Bloomington’s Chris Ortiz tied the game 12:04 in. Utah retook the lead on an Evan Friesen goal 14:07 in on a Reed Lebster pass. Utah led 2-1 after one period.
Bloomington’s Zakary Karpa scored 16:22 into the second period to tie the contest. Utah outshot Bloomington 15 to 9 in the second period and 33 to 24 for the contest. The score was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes of play.
Utah’s Reed Lebster scored a highlight goal 1:50 into the third period to give Utah a 3-2 lead. Reilly Connors extended Utah’s lead on a pass from Danny Dzhaniyev 5:59 in. Karpa scored his second of the game for the Bison 11:15 in to make it a 4-3 game. Luke Manning added some insurance for Utah 17:39 in to give the Grizzlies a 5-3 lead. Manning has a goal in back-to-back games after returning from a lower body injury. The Grizzlies held on for the two-goal win as they get their 4th home victory of the season.
The Grizzlies have scored 30 goals in their last 5 and they have scored 50 goals in their last 11 contest. Utah has scored 5 or more goals in 4 of their last 5 games.
Aiden Hansen-Bukata and Danny Dzhaniyev each had 2 assists for the Grizzlies, whose record goes to 18-24-5 on the season.
Dominic Basse saved 21 of 24 to earn his 5th victory of the season. Basse has earned a standings point for Utah in 6 of his last 9 starts.
The series continues on Saturday night at 7:10 pm. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
3 stars
- Reed Lebster (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 5 shots.
- Reilly Connors (Utah) – 1 goal, 2 shots.
- Zakary Karpa (Bloomington) – 2 goals.
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