Grizzlies ignite offense in victory over Houston

WEST VALLEY CITY — The explosion of a latent offense finally detonated Friday night at the E Center in the 11th game of the Utah Grizzlies' season.

Before 4,207 fans, a flood of pent-up firepower produced a 6-1 shellacking of a Houston team that had given up eight goals Thursday night at home against Milwaukee and then traveled from Texas to Utah.

Utah veteran center Jarrod Skalde, one of two Grizzlies with three points in the game, predicted Houston will be in better shape tonight after a less-hectic day today. The Grizzlies and the defending Calder Cup-champion Aeros go at it again tonight at 7 in the E Center. Utah then makes a one-game trip to San Antonio for a 4 p.m. game Sunday.

The Grizzlies had their best period of the season in the first on Friday.

Period?

Heck, it was their best game of the season all in one period as they scored three times — more than they'd scored in any full game to date. And the first two goals came on the power play, doubling Utah's power-play goal total for the season.

How's that for a breakout?

"No matter how long you play," said Skalde, "you can get down on your confidence."

That first power-play goal seemed to lift the weight of the first 10 games from the Grizzlies.

"Our power play has just been awful all year," Skalde said. "It's amazing how all of a sudden it breaks out. We really just need this confidence, something to put our hat on.

"It was great. Just to get a power-play goal for this team is a great feeling."

He and coach Don Hay both said the nice thing about this team, now 3-5-1-2 to Houston's 3-6-1-0 record, is that nobody got down on themselves, and they managed to keep from pressing.

"This team has always been together," Hay said.

Skalde agreed: "It took 10 games to get some breaks, and I thought we worked hard to get our breaks."

Hay added, "We are a team. We stick together, and we really work together."

It was a defensive show on offense for the Grizzlies.