West Valley • The Utah Grizzlies simply haven’t been very good at home this season, and head coach Tim Branham let his team know about it following Wednesday night’s loss to the Tulsa Oilers.
Message received.
Playing inspired and passionate hockey, the Grizzlies put together quite possibly their best 60-minute effort all season, flying around the ice to a 5-2 victory against the Oilers.
Utah’s power play was on full display on the night, registering three goals with the man advantage off the sticks of Jon Puskar, Austin Ortega, and Brendan Harms. But it was Utah’s hard work on the defensive end that shone brightest, holding in check Tulsa’s potent offense. Quite simply, Utah outworked the Oilers from start to finish.
Turning point
Utah goalie Sean Maguire had to face only 24 shots but made a spectacular save on a Tulsa breakaway, preserving a 1-1 tie.
First star
Austin Ortega notched his seventh goal of the season, on a power play, giving the Grizzlies a 2-1 lead. Ortega also had an assist.
Second star
Brendan Harms scored the Grizzlies’ third power-play goal of the night and had two assists.
Third star
Utah’s Brad Navin, who had been held without a goal since Nov. 1, fired a blistering top-shelf goal for a 3-1 lead.
Quoteworthy
“We haven’t been happy with the way we’ve been playing and we took it to heart,” Ortega said. “We had a meeting about our effort and tonight we were a completely different team. Our effort and hard work paid off.”
What’s next
Tulsa and Utah play the third game of their series at 7 p.m. Saturday.
