This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
With time dwindling in the season if they hope to supplant the first place Idaho Steelheads, the Utah Grizzlies avenged Wednesday's loss to the Tulsa Oilers, taking game two of the three game series 4-3.
Facing a one goal deficit entering the second period, Utah responded with a vengeance and lit up the scoreboard with three goals in the span of ten minutes. Only 56 seconds had expired when TJ Syner leveled the contest at 2-2 off a rebound as Oilers goalie Jussi Olkinuora was unable to secure the puck.
Forward Erik Higby would take things from there, recording his 13th and 14th goals of the season. His first was on a two on one breakaway as he lobbed a wrist shot into the back of the net. The second the game-winner was off a blistering slapshot from the right wing.
"We came out strong in that period and it was huge" head coach Tim Branham said." We had a lot of good downline play and Higby had a great game. It was a playoff like game against a good team and we found a way to win."
Although Tulsa forward Phil Brewer would cut the Oilers deficit to one, Utah clamped down defensively in the third, holding Tulsa to two shots on goal, tying a season record.
The Grizzlies tallied 17 shots to Tulsa's 10 in the first period, yet found themselves on the wrong side of a 2-1 score. Things got off to a promising start as Charles Sarault received a pass from Shayne Taker and awaited a crease in the Oilers defense, then launched a shot to put the home team up 1-0. Tulsa responded with two goals in less than two minutes to play in the frame. The first came on a power play as Connor Kucera deflected a shot from the blue line. And with a mere 2.5 seconds to play, a three-on-one surge resulted in Shawn Bates scoring.
ECHL standings EASTERN CONFERENCE
East GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Manchester 67 37 21 4 5 83 206 198
Adirondack 65 35 24 2 4 76 176 166
Reading 66 33 24 5 4 75 205 179
Elmira 66 35 27 3 1 74 189 194
Norfolk 65 28 32 4 1 61 184 207
North GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
y-Toledo 65 42 18 2 3 89 202 155
Wheeling 66 34 24 3 5 76 201 194
Kalamazoo 65 32 28 4 1 69 206 217
Brampton 64 18 35 7 4 47 156 234
South GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
South Carolina 65 38 18 6 3 85 198 148
Florida 64 41 21 0 2 84 197 153
Orlando 64 31 24 4 5 71 206 204
Atlanta 65 31 27 5 2 69 172 203
Greenville 65 28 28 8 1 65 187 215
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Missouri 64 49 10 3 2 103 215 140
Allen 65 36 22 3 4 79 199 187
Tulsa 63 32 26 3 2 69 166 167
Wichita 65 16 37 6 6 44 140 222
Midwest GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Fort Wayne 65 36 21 6 2 80 217 178
Cincinnati 65 33 23 5 4 75 196 182
Quad City 64 32 26 4 2 70 175 183
Indy 67 31 33 3 0 65 162 181
Evansville 65 26 30 7 2 61 185 217
West GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Idaho 64 35 21 5 3 78 181 162
Utah 66 35 25 3 3 76 204 191
Colorado 63 33 26 3 1 70 194 169
Rapid City 65 27 31 3 4 61 160 193
Alaska 65 25 33 4 3 57 176 216
Friday's games
Kalamazoo 6, Wheeling 4
Reading 4, Manchester 3
Elmira 5, Brampton 2
Florida 7, Greenville 2
Norfolk 4, Orlando 3, OT
Indy 5, Cincinnati 1
Toledo 6, Fort Wayne 3
Quad City 3, Evansville 1
Utah 4, Tulsa 3
Colorado at Idaho, late
Rapid City at Alaska, late