RAPID CITY, SD – The Utah Grizzlies defeated the Rapid City Rush 5-2 Friday night at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
Grizzlies goaltender Kevin Boyle turned aside 31 of 33 shots as he stopped several odd-man rushes in the third period.
The win is Utah’s fourth-straight as they improved to 33-28-5-2 to clinch their 19th season of .500 or better in 22 seasons in Utah.
“I thought Boyle was really good,” Utah Head Coach/General Manager Tim Branham said. “We need to limit our turnovers tomorrow if we want to get a win.
Forward Michael Pelech broke a 1-1 tie with two goals in four minutes and 14 seconds to give Utah a 3-1 lead in the second period.
Tim Daly threw a puck to the net that was tipped home by Zac Larraza to make it 4-1 with 5:06 left in regulation.
Utah added a 195-foot empty-netter with 1:32 left on a shot by Marc-Andre Levesque.
The Grizzlies made it 1-0 1:55 into the first period on a delayed penalty as Gabriel Verpaelst scored his first goal for Utah as the Grizzlies crashed the net in front.
The Grizzlies play their final road game of the regular season Saturday in Rapid City at 7 p.m.
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