By jon gilbert

| Special to the Tribune

West Valley City • The Utah Grizzlies were well on their way to an embarrassing loss. They trailed the Idaho Steelheads 4-0 with three minutes left to go in the second period. They had played nearly 40 minutes of listless, mistake-prone hockey. So how exactly did the Grizz end up 5-4 shootout winners Monday at the Maverik Center?

"We literally didn’t show up for 40 minutes," Utah captain Nick Tuzzulino said. "In the third period … the game plan was to pressure them as much as possible, and it worked out."

At a glance

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Storylines Bad start, good finish

The Utah Grizzlies survive themselves and put together a thrilling comeback to beat the Idaho Steelheads 5-4 in a shootout.

» Utah trails Idaho 4-1 before scoring three goals in 2:45 to force overtime.

» Mitch Wahl has three points, including the game-tying goal at 17:15 in the third period.

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It started with Tuzzolino’s power-play blast from the high slot at 17:04 in the second. It seemed to lack impact considering the way Utah (19-20-0-4) had played up until that point. And 14 minutes into the third period, with the score still 4-1, there was little hope. Then Mitch Wahl drew the Grizzlies a goal closer at 14:30. When Logan MacMillan slotted home a rebound 28 seconds later, hope was renewed.

Wahl had put Utah in the four-goal hole. Trying to move the puck from the zone on a power play from behind the net, Wahl’s stick was banged by Idaho’s Jacob Cepis, causing the puck to slip from Wahl’s stick, behind Utah goalie Andrew Engelage and into the net, credited as an unassisted score for Cepis. With his team down 4-3 with 5:02 left, Wahl was ready to make amends.

"I said to myself, ‘You’re a man, you’re a pro. Go out and redeem yourself,’ " Wahl said.

Wahl picked up the puck at Utah’s blue line and charged toward Idaho’s zone. With four defenders between him and the net, Wahl raced on, cutting through the defenders and slipping a backhander past Idaho goalie Jerry Kuhn to tie the game at 17:15 in the third.

Five minutes of overtime were scoreless. Engelage stopped all four shots he faced in the shootout and Kory Falite — in his first game as a Grizzlie — and Paul McIlveen netted their penalties for the win.

It was the second straight shootout win for Utah over Idaho (20-19-2-3). The Grizzlies won Saturday 2-1 thanks to a five-for-five shootout shutout for Engelage.