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The clock is ticking on the Utah Grizzlies if they hope to make it 10 straight postseason appearances. Heeding the call, six players each scored as the Grizzlies beat the Alaska Aces 6-3 on Saturday night at the Maverik Center.
The win brings the Grizzlies within nine points of the Aces for fourth in the Western Conferene's Mountain Division.
"We talked about the way we wanted to play and the way we needed to play in order to have success and climb back into the playoff hunt, and we did that," Utah coach Tim Branham said. "We played hard for 60 minutes and that's a credit to the boys."
Leading by a goal in the third period, Utah scored three more times to extend the lead. C.J. Eick began the fun on a two-on-one breakaway, keeping the puck and firing past Alaska keeper Kevin Carr. Then, Utah was successful on two power play attempts as Phil Pietroniro and Cam Reid increased their lead
"We stuck to the game plan and we never gave up, and it showed on the scoreboard," Pietroniro said.
In a bizarre first period, Utah dominated the Aces, outshooting Alaska 14-5 but the score was tied at 2 at the end of the session. In fact, the Grizzlies scored the game's first goal before the Aces even registered a shot. Michael Pelech got the home team on the board, rifling in a rebound from Erik Bradford.
Utah was then presented with a power play, but the Aces scored not two short-handed goals on two-on-one breakaways. Stephen Perfetto and Daniel Moynihan blistered the net, and in the blink of an eye, Alaska captured the lead.
However, Utah would salvage a tie when Ralph Cuddemi scored his team-best 18th goal of the season.
The Grizzlies continued to apply the pressure in the second and were rewarded when Colin Martin found the back of the net following a shot by Taylor Richart to take the lead at 3-2. Tim Hofman later scored Alaska's third goal of the night.
ECHL standings
EASTERN CONFERENCE
North GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Manchester 39 25 10 2 2 54 155 122
Reading 38 22 14 1 1 46 137 109
Brampton 38 20 14 2 2 44 135 139
Wheeling 37 20 14 3 0 43 128 110
Adirondack 37 18 12 4 3 43 129 119
Elmira 37 9 23 5 0 23 87 145
South GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Florida 38 27 8 1 2 57 139 105
Orlando 41 20 15 4 2 46 149 150
South Carolina 37 21 14 1 1 44 108 94
Greenville 39 20 16 2 1 43 118 131
Atlanta 40 16 18 5 1 38 138 149
Cincinnati 38 17 17 4 0 38 104 111
Norfolk 38 12 22 4 0 28 98 137
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Toledo 38 30 7 0 1 61 156 103
Tulsa 44 23 17 4 0 50 130 128
Fort Wayne 38 22 12 4 0 48 146 116
Quad City 39 20 17 0 2 42 114 122
Kalamazoo 40 18 18 1 3 40 109 134
Wichita 35 14 19 1 1 30 99 124
Indy 40 13 24 1 2 29 102 150
Mountain GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Allen 42 25 14 2 1 53 157 119
Idaho 40 23 12 3 2 51 140 129
Colorado 40 23 13 1 3 50 140 123
Alaska 38 21 12 1 4 47 129 121
Utah 40 17 19 3 1 38 123 141
Missouri 39 15 17 2 5 37 121 138
Rapid City 38 13 18 7 0 33 118 140
Saturday's games
Manchester 6, Elmira 1
Kalamazoo 6, Fort Wayne 3
Wheeling 2, Reading 1
Florida 5, Orlando 2
Atlanta 4, South Carolina 0
Adirondack 7, Norfolk 4
Indy 3, Cincinnati 0
Wichita 4, Allen 0
Idaho 5, Tulsa 2
Missouri 5, Quad City 2
Utah 6, Alaska 3
Colorado 6, Rapid City 3.