Multi-point games from Flichel, McKnight not enough to win

The Steelheads (11-8-2) saw their four-game win streak come to an end Friday night against the Utah Grizzlies (8-9-2) in front of 3,982 fans at Qwest Arena; Utah came out on top, 5-3. The scoring was opened by Will Bodine for Utah at 6:37 of the first period; the assists went to James Sixsmith and Tom May. The score became 2-0 for the Grizzlies when Tim Verbeek scored his third in two games less than two minutes later, with an assist being credited to Evan Kotsopoulos. Steve Gainey scored the first of the game for the Steelheads to make it 2-1 at 12:17 of the first. On the night of the annual Marine Corps Toys for Tots Teddy Bear Toss, Gainey?s goal allowed fans to throw stuffed toys onto the ice for charity. Matt McKnight and Derek Paget picked up assists. Paget, part of the Steelheads? 2004 Kelly Cup Championship, made his return to the Idaho lineup this evening after four years away from the game. Nikiforov made it 3-1 Utah when he scored at 12:41; assists went to Evan Stoflet and Mike Walsh. Idaho pulled to within one before the end of the first, when Kris Sparre scored his fourth, assisted by Marty Flichel and McKnight. There was no scoring in the second period, but plenty of action. The period yielded four fights: Paget, Sparre, Matt Stephenson, and Kyle Radke received fighting majors for Idaho, while Bodine, Sixsmith, Kotsopoulos, and Greg McCauley received fighting majors for Utah. The game turned when Mark Pavli capitalized on a turnover for the Grizzlies, and scored his first professional goal to put his team ahead 4-2 at 10:49 of the third. Utah went up 5-2 when Nikiforov scored at 13:36, with an assist going to Sixsmith. With one minute to go in the contest, Darrell Hay scored for the Steelheads, with assists going to Gainey and Flichel. Matt Climie fell to 6-5-0 with the loss, and stopped 19 of 24 shots. Michael Mole stopped 39 of 42 Steelheads shots, just as he did Wednesday night, and improved to 6-9-2 with the victory.