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If the ECHL's Kelly Cup playoffs were to begin on Thursday, the Utah Grizzlies would be facing the Tulsa Oilers in the Western Conference postseason.

If so, the Oilers will remember to defend Barry Almeida.

Almeida scored three times in the final three minutes of the game and finished with four goals as the Grizzlies won, 5-2, and extended its lead in the West Division to five points over Idaho.

Almeida tied the game at 2 at 11:25 in the third period with a power play goal. He broke the tie at 17:20, then added two empty-netters in the final two minutes as Tulsa tried to rally by pulling its goalie for an extra forward.

T.J. Syner finished with three assists, all on the final three goals of the game. Shayne Taker had two assists for the Grizzlies.

"As a team, it's important to stick to the game plan and it worked," Almeida said. "Those were all unselfish plays by my linemates that led to the goals."

A poor turnover in Utah's defensive zone led to a goal by Oilers forward Dan DeSalvo to give the visitors a 2-1 lead before Almeida took over.

The Grizzlies wasted little time in establishing a 1-0 lead as Jon Puskar flashed brilliance in dekeing two defenders and beating Tulsa goalie Kevin Carr. However, the lead evaporated less than a minute later as Adam Pleskach's one-timer got by Utah goalie Ryan Faragher to level the contest.

A key moment occurred in the second period when Taker and teammate Jason Binkley were sent to the penalty box, resulting in a five-on-three power play for the Oilers. However, Utah's three defensemen limited Tulsa to a lone shot on goal, preserving a 1-all tie. —

ECHL standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE

East GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA

Manchester 37 22 12 0 3 47 109 100

Adirondack 33 22 9 1 1 46 97 76

Elmira 35 20 15 0 0 40 100 107

Reading 36 17 14 2 3 39 110 96

Norfolk 39 14 23 1 1 30 100 130

North GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA

Toledo 34 20 10 1 3 44 98 82

Wheeling 35 15 16 2 2 34 105 114

Kalamazoo 36 14 19 2 1 31 97 125

Brampton 35 12 17 4 2 30 98 122

South GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA

Florida 38 26 11 0 1 53 121 81

Atlanta 36 22 12 2 0 46 106 109

South Carolina 36 20 13 2 1 43 98 78

Greenville 37 18 13 6 0 42 111 116

Orlando 35 16 14 2 3 37 117 116

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA

Missouri 34 29 3 1 1 60 119 59

Allen 35 20 14 1 0 41 102 99

Tulsa 32 16 12 2 2 36 88 81

Wichita 36 9 22 1 4 23 69 120

Midwest GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA

Fort Wayne 32 19 11 2 0 40 105 85

Quad City 35 17 15 1 2 37 94 102

Indy 37 17 18 2 0 36 88 98

Cincinnati 34 15 14 3 2 35 98 96

Evansville 34 13 17 3 1 30 97 117

West GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA

Utah 35 20 13 2 0 42 113 100

Idaho 37 16 16 4 1 37 102 107

Rapid City 33 16 14 2 1 35 85 93

Colorado 35 16 17 2 0 34 89 89

Alaska 35 12 18 2 3 29 92 110

Wednesday's games

Evansville 4, Rapid City 2

Florida 4, Brampton 2

Fort Wayne 4, Cincinnati 1

Utah 5, Tulsa 2

Thursday's games

Alaska at Greenville, 5 p.m.

Norfolk at Elmira, 5:05 p.m.