Grizzlies Earn Standings Point in 7-6 OT Loss
West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies got 1 goal and 3 assists from Evan Friesen and Reed Lebster in a 7-6 overtime loss to the Idaho Steelheads on a Tuesday night at Maverik Center.
Brendan Hoffmann scored 4:28 into the contest to give Idaho a 1-0 lead. Hoffmann scored again 9:12 in to extend the Steelheads lead. Utah got on the board on an Aiden Hansen-Bukata power play goal 13:35 in. Luke Manning tied the game as he scored 18:04 in. Manning was appearing in a game for the first time in the 2026 calendar year. The score was tied 2-2 after one frame.
Idaho took a 4-2 lead on goals from Jade Miller 45 seconds in and a power play goal by Hoffmann 2:50 in. Utah’s cut into the lead on an Evan Friesen goal 11:26 in. Friesen has a goal in 4 straight games. Reilly Connors tied it up on a great pass from Noah Ganske 12:42 in. After the Connors goal Idaho pulled Beni Halasz, who saved 9 of 13 in favor of former Grizzly Jake Barczewski, who stopped 13 of 15. Reed Lebster scored his team leading 27th goal to give Utah a 5-4 lead 14:57 in. Later in the period Idaho tied the game on Robbie Holmes 7th of the year 15:43 in. The score was deadlocked 5-5 after 40 minutes of play.
Idaho’s Nick Canade scored on a give and go with Jade Miller picking up the assist 4:29 into the third period. Utah tied it up on a 6 on 4 power play goal as Tyler Gratton redirected a Friesen shot off his leg with 1:08 left in regulation. Utah went 2 for 4 on the power play as they are now 13 for 17 on the power play over their last 10 games.
Idaho’s Francesco Arcuri won the game in overtime on a Hoffmann pass 2:08 in. 6 of Idaho’s last 8 games have been decided past regulation.
Utah’s offense has been rolling lately as they have scored 25 goals in their last 4 games and 45 goals in their last 10 games.
The Grizzlies host the Bloomington Bison for a three-game series on February 13-14 at 7:10 pm and February 16th at 3:10 pm. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
3 stars
- Brendan Hoffmann (Idaho) – 3 goals, 1 assist, +1, 6 shots.
- Reed Lebster (Utah) – 1 goal, 3 assists, 2 shots.
- Jade Miller (Idaho) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 2 shots.
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