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West Valley City • The goal for the Utah Grizzlies this weekend was simply this: sweep the Alaska Aces and in so doing, tie their division foes for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Mountain D0ivision.
The Aces, however, had different plans. Alaska defeated the Grizzlies in overtime, 3-2, after rebounding from a 2-1 deficit behind the strength of goalie Kevin Carr's 29 saves.
"In the third period we didn't play with enough hunger to keep the puck out of the back of our net, and same in overtime," Utah coach Tim Branham said. "Kevin Carr made some great saves and that's what goalies are supposed to do. We need to come back Saturday with the same effort we demonstrated in the first period and carry it for 60 minutes."
With the Aces trailing by a goal, they began to apply offensive pessure on the Grizzlies and were rewarded for their efforts when Tim Coffman tied the contest. With overtime looming, Aces forward Ryan Trenz sealed Utah's fate, claiming the two points on the table and relegating Utah to one.
Although Alaska's Tim Wallace broke a scoreless tie, the Grizzlies recovered with a pair of goals to claim a 2-1 lead. With nothing separating Jon Puskar from a goal except Aces goalie Kevin Carr, Alaska defenseman Nolan Descoteaux pulled Puskar to the ice.
That's when the fans in attendance were treated to hockey's most exciting play: the penalty shot. And Puskar didn't disappoint, beating Carr high glove-side. Minutes later, Austen Brassard blazed up the ice and fired a successful shot past Carr to give Utah its first lead of the night.
Despite neither team registering a goal in the first period, it was the Grizzlies, with crisp and efficient passing, who controlled the first frame. Utah stifled Alaska's offense, holding the Aces to a meager six shots on goal, and didn't allow a shot for the first nine minutes of play. Utah had two stellar chances to get on the board but Alaska goalie Kevin Carr made a pair of mesmerizing saves, denying Zac Larraza and Brassard. —
ECHL standings
EASTERN CONFERENCE
North GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Manchester 57 31 16 6 4 72 216 198
Brampton 56 32 17 3 4 71 204 194
Adirondack 55 29 16 6 4 68 195 172
Reading 56 32 21 1 2 67 204 166
Wheeling 55 28 21 6 0 62 187 175
Elmira 57 11 38 7 1 30 124 217
South GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Florida 54 37 12 2 3 79 200 155
Greenville 57 32 20 4 1 69 198 193
Orlando 57 28 20 6 3 65 212 207
Cincinnati 59 30 25 4 0 64 164 172
South Carolina 58 30 25 2 1 63 177 173
Atlanta 55 21 26 6 2 50 181 215
Norfolk 55 21 30 4 0 46 158 203
Western Conference
Central GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Toledo 55 39 13 2 1 81 231 153
Fort Wayne 55 33 15 5 2 73 205 165
Quad City 56 31 22 1 2 65 173 169
Kalamazoo 57 29 24 1 3 62 166 181
Tulsa 59 26 28 5 0 57 166 189
Wichita 54 16 34 3 1 36 147 212
Indy 56 15 36 3 2 35 138 223
Mountain GP W L OL SL Pts GF GA
Colorado 58 40 14 1 3 84 228 166
Allen 58 36 17 3 2 77 231 168
Idaho 57 32 18 5 2 71 191 175
Alaska 55 28 19 2 6 64 179 178
Missouri 55 26 22 2 5 59 179 184
Utah 57 26 24 5 2 59 177 199
Rapid City 57 21 28 8 0 50 178 207
Friday's games
Kalamazoo 5, Brampton 4
Manchester 3, Reading 2
Norfolk 5, Elmira 2
Florida 7, Atlanta 2
Wheeling 3, Indy 2, OT
Tulsa 3, Wichita 2
Allen 3, Missouri 1
Alaska 3, Utah 2, OT
Colorado 5, South Carolina 4
Idaho 3, Rapid City 1
Saturday's games Manchester at Reading, 5 p.m.
Atlanta at Florida, 5 p.m.
Greenville at Orlando, 5 p.m.
Kalamazoo at Toledo, 5:15 p.m.
Elmira at Norfolk, 5:15 p.m.
Wheeling at Fort Wayne, 5:30 p.m.
Adirondack at Cincinnati, 5:35 p.m.
Tulsa at Wichita, 6:05 p.m.
Allen at Missouri, 6:05 p.m.
Indy at Quad City, 6:05 p.m.
Alaska at Utah, 7 p.m.
South Carolina at Colorado, 7:05 p.m.
Idaho at Rapid City, 7:05 p.m.