This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Paying tribute to the local fire and police departments, the Utah Grizzlies were decked out in specialty "Guns 'N Hoses" jerseys as they squared off against the Rapid City Rush on Saturday night at the Maverik Center.
Playing in front of a near-capacity crowd, both teams emblazoned the scoreboard but it was Utah that provided the most thunder, defeating the Rush en route to its seventh consecutive home victory, 5-4.
Two players garnered the limelight for the Grizzlies: Anaheim Ducks prospect Kenton Helgesen and rookie Josh MacDonald. The duo would each complete two-thirds of a hat trick.
Helgesen's two goals were his initial in a Grizzlies uniform, and the second proved to be the game-winner. The first score came with two minutes remaining in the first after a beautiful cross-ice pass by captain Brent Gwidt.
And with only five seconds remaining in the second and a bevy of traffic in front of the net, Helgessen persistently kept batting the puck at Rush goalie Danny Battochio until one finally trickled through to give the Grizzlies a healthy 5-3 lead, which they needed as Rapid City would score in the third to make things interesting.
"That kid was huge for us tonight and he continues to get better and better," Grizzlies coach Tim Branham said of Helgesen. "That line was huge for us tonight and it was huge for us last night. It provided three of our five goals."
Only six minutes had expired in the game and MacDonald had already scored twice.
The first was on a nifty wrap-around past the pads of Battochio. The second occurred when teammate Ryan Walters threaded the needle of the Rapid City defense to an open MacDonald, who promptly deposited the puck into the back of the net.
The other Utah goal came courtesy of the stick of Erik Higby one minute into the second period. It was Higby's eighth goal of the season.
Two of Rapid City's four goals came courtesy of forward Mikhail Stefanovich, and Brian O'Rourke and Benjamin Dieude-Favel provided the other two.
ECHL standings
EASTERN CONFERENCE
East GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Manchester 45 28 12 1 4 61 136 120
Adirondack 41 26 11 2 2 56 116 91
Elmira 44 23 20 1 0 47 118 136
Reading 44 20 17 4 3 47 128 116
Norfolk 46 19 25 1 1 40 126 150
North GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Toledo 41 26 11 1 3 56 124 96
Kalamazoo 41 17 19 4 1 39 117 138
Wheeling 41 17 19 2 3 39 120 131
Brampton 41 14 19 5 3 36 106 138
South GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Florida 43 30 12 0 1 61 137 88
Atlanta 44 25 16 2 1 53 127 130
South Carolina 43 22 16 3 2 49 121 105
Greenville 45 21 18 6 0 48 130 144
Orlando 41 17 18 2 4 40 126 135
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Missouri 41 34 5 1 1 70 145 83
Allen 44 25 16 2 1 53 132 125
Tulsa 39 20 15 2 2 44 108 99
Wichita 45 10 27 4 4 28 91 154
Midwest GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Fort Wayne 40 24 14 2 0 50 129 101
Indy 46 23 21 2 0 48 110 117
Cincinnati 42 20 17 3 2 45 122 121
Quad City 42 19 19 2 2 42 110 126
Evansville 42 15 22 4 1 35 121 150
West GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Utah 44 26 16 2 0 54 147 129
Idaho 45 22 18 4 1 49 124 120
Colorado 42 22 18 2 0 46 125 107
Rapid City 41 17 21 2 1 37 100 120
Alaska 43 16 22 2 3 37 112 138
Saturday's games
Reading 3, Adirondack 2
Greenville 2, Florida 1
Elmira 4, Wheeling 3, SO
Idaho 2, Atlanta 1, SO
South Carolina 6, Norfolk 1
Toledo 2, Fort Wayne 1
Indy 3, Evansville 2
Cincinnati 3, Quad City 2, OT
Tulsa 5, Allen 2
Missouri 5, Wichita 2
Utah 5, Rapid City 4
Colorado 7, Alaska 2
Sunday's games
Wheeling at Brampton, Noon
Idaho at Atlanta, 12:05 p.m.
Fort Wayne at Kalamazoo, 2 p.m.
Tulsa at Allen, 3:05 p.m.
Quad City at Toledo, 3:15 p.m.