LOVELAND, Colo. – Rookie Josh MacDonald scored on a breakaway in three-on-three overtime and the Utah Grizzlies opened the season with a 4-3 win over Colorado.
The goal was the second of the night for the 21-year-old who tied the game at one for Utah on a power-play score 1:31 into the second period as Ryan Walters drew an assist and Phil Pietroniro added his first pro point in his first goal game with a helper.
“We wanted to come out hard,” said MacDonald. “Everyone says how difficult it is to win in this building and losing a couple of guys to injury, we used that as motivation. We pushed ourselves harder and we never gave up. That’s what I like about this team.”
Utah made it 2-1 at 8:43 of the second period on another power-play goal as Matt Berry fed Andrew O’Brien on a backdoor pass. Cam Wojtala also added an assist.
Utah trailed 1-0 after one period despite drawing two of three power-plays in the first 20 minutes and outshooting Colorado 10-6 as the Eagles cashed in on their only five-on-four.
The Grizzlies made it 3-1 29 seconds into the third period as Barry Almeida scored on a second attempt after Berry raced down ice.
The Eagles battled to tie with a power-play goal in the third and then made it 3-3 with 27
seconds left and an extra-attacker. Utah killed two full minutes shorthanded in overtime before getting the game-winner.
“You’re going to see that a lot this year with this team,” said MacDonald. “We have a lot of depth and a lot of character and hopefully we can keep this going.”
Utah goaltender Ryan Faragher didn’t allow a five-on-five goal in the game and stopped 38 of 41 overall for the win. “His focus before the game is incredible, he quarterbacks us,” said MacDonald.
With Utah Grizzlies team release