GLENS FALLS, NY – Garrett Metcalf saved 23 of 24 and Gehrett Sargis and Bailey Conger each had 1 goal and 1 assist to lead the Utah Grizzlies to a 4-1 victory over the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday night at Cool Insuring Arena.
Neither team scored in the first period as Utah outshot Adirondack 8 to 7. Mason Mannek got Utah on the board 4:58 into the second period. Mannek now has goals in 2 straight games. Brandon Cutler got an assist to extend his point streak to 4 games.
Sargis made it 2-0 as he scored from the right wing 14:39 into the second. Sargis got his first ECHL goal after scoring 35 goals in the SPHL and 85 goals in the FHL over the last 7 seasons. Sargis threw a pass to Conger in front of the net as he fired it behind his back for a highlight goal to make it 3-0 Utah. It was Conger’s first pro goal. Conger and Sargis were each a plus-3 on the night. Utah led 3-0 after 2 periods. Andrew Nielsen had an assist on all 3 goals in the second period. Nielsen celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday.
Thunder got on the board 1:06 into the third period as Tyler Irvine scored 4-on-4. Utah picked up some insurance as Charle-Edouard D’Astous made it 4-1 for his 8th of the season 2:35 into the third period. D’Astous has a point in 6 straight games and he has a point in 8 of the 10 games this season.
There were 2 fights in the third period. Utah’s Brian Bowen fought Jimmy Mazza 3:13 into the third. 25 seconds later Utah’s Austin Crossley got in a fight with Alex Carrier.
Metcalf made his first start of the season and stopped all but 1 in the win. Metcalf won 4 games last season for Utah. Adirondack’s Mareks Mitens saved 18 of 22. Neither team scored on the power play as Utah went 0 for 2 and Adirondack was 0 for 6.
The Grizzlies have been consistent offensively to start the season. Utah has 3 or more goals in all 10 games. They have won 7 of their last 8, outscoring the opposition 33 to 18.
Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. is the rubber match of the 3-game series. Utah is 11-1-1 in the last 13 games played on Sunday. It’s also the 3rd game of the series and Utah is 17-2-0-1 in the last 20 instances where they have played games in three consecutive days. Next homestand for the Grizzlies is on November 19-21 vs Kansas City.
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.