By Steve Luhm

| The Salt Lake Tribune

West Valley City • Slumped in the chair behind his desk Friday night, the Utah Grizzlies’ Kevin Colley looked and sounded like a coach whose team had just lost its sixth straight game.

"Obviously not good enough," Colley said after Idaho’s 2-0 ECHL victory at the Maverik Center. "They beat us to the loose puck battles. They wanted it more.

At a glance

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Highlights

Idaho hands the Utah Grizzlies their sixth straight loss Friday at the Maverik Center, 2-0.

» Steelheads goalie Jerry Kuhn stops 40 shots and records his second shutout of the season.

» Utah has scored five goals during the losing streak.

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"On the other hand, we’re feeling sorry for ourselves. Our confidence is pretty low and, right now, we’re a weak-minded club."

The Steelheads rode the sharp goaltending of Jerry Kuhn and a second-period goal by David Fredriksson to victory.

Idaho’s Chad Nehring added an empty-net goal with 30 seconds left to spoil a winning effort by Utah goalie Andrew Engelage.

He stopped 31 of the 32 shots by the Steelheads, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Since a 7-1 start this season, Utah’s record has slipped to 8-15 since Nov. 5.

"It’s just not enough right now," Colley said. "... I know we’re capable of more."

Once again, the Grizzlies’ biggest problem was offense.

Although they fired 40 shots at Kuhn, they were shut out for the third time in the last 15 games.

During its losing streak, Utah has scored a grand total of five goals.

Colley cites an outbreak of injuries and call-ups for part of the problem, saying it has forced players to spend too much time on the ice and limited their familiarity with each other.

"It’s been six or seven weeks of playing shorthanded," Colley said. "I’m not making excuses for these guys. We don’t do that here. ...

"But they’re constantly playing with different teammates. There’s no chemistry on the ice right now and they have to find it quick."

The Grizzlies’ best chance to score came in a dominating first period, when they outshot Idaho, 15-7, but could not beat Kuhn.

In the third period, Utah played 4-on-3 for 55 seconds and 5-on-4 for another 1:35 but failed to convert.

"Adversity is staring us in the eyes," Colley said. "You can’t run from it or you’re going to get deeper and deeper and deeper. You’ve got to face it like men. We’ve got to work our way out of it."