This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
If the Utah Grizzlies have an MVP six games into the season, it's rookie Shane Walsh, who scored the only goal in a shootout and lifted the Grizzlies to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Eagles at the Maverik Center on Saturday.
Walsh scored the decisive goal in the shootout after the first three rounds for both teams were scoreless. Walsh faked a shot, slide the puck to his left and past Eagles goalie Nathan Lieuwen.
Walsh's first goal of the night led to an early 1-0 lead for Utah in the first period. It was the rookie's fourth goal of the season, firing a top-shelf wrister past Lieuwen.
The lead was short-lived, as Colorado forward Jesse Mychan controlled a loose puck with plenty of open ice ahead. With only Faragher standing between him and a goal, Mychan faked Faragher to one side and deposited the puck into the back of the net to even the score at 1.
Kenton Helgessen recaptured the lead for Utah in the second period. Lobbing a shot from the blue line that appeared to float through the air, it somehow found the back of the net past Lieuwen.
A scant 27 seconds remained in regulation and it appeared Utah was going to win before Colorado forward Luke Salazar spoiled the party, sending the game into overtime. —
ECHL standings
EASTERN CONFERENCE
East GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Adirondack 6 4 0 1 1 10 21 14
Manchester 6 3 2 0 1 7 24 20
Reading 6 3 2 0 1 7 17 18
Wheeling 5 2 2 1 0 5 17 12
Brampton 4 1 0 1 2 5 17 19
Elmira 6 2 4 0 0 4 9 19
South GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Atlanta 9 4 3 1 1 10 34 31
Florida 5 4 0 1 0 9 16 9
Greenville 4 2 2 0 0 4 11 11
Cincinnati 6 2 4 0 0 4 11 20
South Carolina 5 1 3 1 0 3 7 14
Norfolk 7 1 5 1 0 3 8 18
Orlando 4 1 3 0 0 2 9 17
Western Conference
Central GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Toledo 7 6 1 0 0 12 32 21
Tulsa 7 6 1 0 0 12 27 18
Fort Wayne 5 4 1 0 0 8 17 8
Quad City 6 4 2 0 0 8 15 15
Kalamazoo 6 3 2 0 1 7 14 15
Wichita 4 3 1 0 0 6 14 8
Indy 6 2 3 1 0 5 15 20
Mountain GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Utah 6 5 1 0 0 10 24 19
Colorado 7 4 1 1 1 10 26 23
Allen 7 4 3 0 0 8 24 21
Idaho 7 3 3 1 0 7 22 23
Alaska 3 2 1 0 0 4 11 7
Missouri 6 2 4 0 0 4 12 21
Rapid City 6 0 6 0 0 0 17 30
Saturday's games
Cincinnati 4, Manchester 2
Adirondack 3, Elmira 0
Atlanta 8, Orlando 2
Florida 4, South Carolina 0
Toledo 4, Norfolk 1
Allen 7, Indy 6, OT
Quad City 3, Tulsa 2
Wheeling 8, Kalamazoo 1
Utah 3, Colorado 2, SO
Idaho 3, Reading 1
Rapid City at Alaska, late
Sunday's games
Missouri at Brampton, 2 p.m.
Allen at Kalamazoo, 3 p.m.
Cincinnati at Manchester, 3 p.m.
Wichita at Greenville, 3 p.m.
Rapid City at Alaska, 7:05 p.m.