WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – The Idaho Steelheads (29-16-3) looked to mount a late comeback, but the effort fell short in a 4-3 loss to the Utah Grizzlies (29-13-5) on Friday night from Maverik Center.
The Steelheads and Grizzlies started the night with an extra sense of urgency and physicality, but it took just over three-quarters of a period to find the opening tally. At 15:10, Grizzlies forward J.T. Henke wrapped a rebound around the netminder to take a 1-0 lead.
The Steelheads found an answer early in the second period at 2:17 when forward Alex Dahl fed forward Reid Petryk for a one-time shot in the slot to level the score at 1-1. Henke picked up his second goal of the night at 11:28 on the power play, and Grizzlies defenseman Turner Ottenbreit doubled the advantage 3-1, at 18:32 with a shot from the blue line off the left post.
The comeback bid for the Steelheads began at 11:43 of the third period when forward Steve McParland was opened above the right circle for a one-time shot into an open net to draw within one, 3-2. Grizzlies forward Caleb Herbert scored in an empty net at 18:49 with the netminder pulled to double the lead, but Steelheads forward A.J. White kept the comeback alive with a tally in the high slot with the Idaho net empty at 19:30, cutting the lead back to one at 4-3. However, the Grizzlies held off a late opportunity to edge out the win.
Grizzlies goaltender Kevin Carr (16-5-2) halted 20 of 23 shots in the win, while Steelheads netminder Tomas Sholl (15-9-0) stopped 30 of 33 shots in the loss.
The Steelheads and Grizzlies finish their weekend series on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 7:05 p.m. from Maverik Center. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on 1350AM KTIK and ECHL TV.
The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7:10 p.m. to open a three-game weekend against the Rapid City Rush. Single-game tickets and season ticket packages are on sale, with full-season packages starting as low as $300 per seat. Contact the Idaho Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information or log on to idahosteelheads.com.
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