By Jon Gilbert

| Special to The Tribune

West Valley City • The Utah Grizzlies turned in one of their most exciting games of the season with a season-high attendance of 9,225, beating the Idaho Steelheads 2-1 in a shootout Saturday at the Maverik Center.

There was no scoring in the final two periods or in overtime and only one shootout goal netted as Utah’s Andrew Engelage and Idaho’s Jerry Kuhn traded spectaculars before Mitch Wahl finally slipped his penalty shot five-hole on Kuhn, and Engelage shut out Idaho for the win.

At a glance

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Storylines Utah 2, Idaho 1 (SO)

Utah beats Idaho in a shootout thanks to Andrew Engelage’s brilliant goaltending.

» Mitch Wahl scores Utah’s only goal and gets the game’s only shootout goal.

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"Fortunately when I had to come up with a few big saves I was able to do it at a few necessary times," Engelage said.

Those times kept coming for Engelage, as he ended with 34 saves. At 18:30, Engelage had to play a little defense away from his net. While 10 yards away from the goal, Engelage’s clearance was batted down by a Steelhead player still in the zone. Engelage scrambled backward sprawled onto the ice to swipe at the puck, dispossess Idaho (20-19-2-2) and preserve the late tie.

Utah (18-20-0-1) had its own fair share of golden opportunities that Kuhn was routinely spurned. A series of diving saves and kick saves at 10:00 in the third period helped Idaho stay in it. Each goalie made a magnificent save in overtime, Engelage turning away an Idaho breakaway and Kuhn nixing Wahl at the back post on a 3-on-1 rush. It was Wahl who scored for the Grizz in the first period and was the only player to score in the overtime, his wrister dribbling through Kuhn’s legs.

"We shuffled the deck a little bit … trying to find some chemistry," Wahl said.

The result was great energy from Utah and creative puck movement that created 43 shots and many fantastic scoring opportunities.

It was the annual Guns and Hoses Night at the Maverik Center. Before the game, local police officers and firefighters played a hockey game and Utah’s commemorative jerseys were auctioned off after the game. Half of the proceeds will go to the family of deceased Ogden police officer Jared Francom, who was shot and killed in the line of duty while serving a warrant Jan. 4. His wife and two daughters were on the ice for the commemorative puck drop before the game.