Grizzlies home from long trip

WEST VALLEY CITY — For the first time in the new year, the Utah Grizzlies (13-19-4-3, last AHL West) will skate at home in the E Center tonight at 7.

The Grizzlies ended their seasonlong eight-game road trip in strong fashion, with a 2-2 tie Friday at Grand Rapids and an impressive 4-1 win at third-place Milwaukee (17-11-4-2) Saturday afternoon. It was the first time in seven games that Utah had downed Milwaukee.

Tonight and Wednesday in the E Center, Utah faces those same Milwaukee Admirals on West Valley City ice, attempting to reach or beat the .500 mark at home. Utah is 7-8-1-3 in the E Center this season.

The Admirals, however, are a better road team than home team. They are 8-7-2-0 at home but a whopping 9-4-2-2 on the road.

Admiral goalie Wade Flaherty, longtime veteran of the NHL, AHL and old IHL, among others, is fifth in the AHL with an 8-2-1-1 record and 1.81 goals-against average. He played 45 games and had a 22-13-6 record for the Grizzlies in 2001-02. Flaherty has played in 120 games for San Jose, New York, Tampa Bay, Florida and Nashville in the NHL over a 15-year pro career.

On the offensive side, Utah center Jarrod Skalde, coming off his second hat trick of the season, is ninth in AHL scoring with 35 points, 15 goals and 20 assists. Center David Gove, with 17 points, and wingers Justin Cox with 15 and Rob Valicevic with 14 are next for Utah.

Milwaukee is led in scoring by Darren Haydar with 24 points and Mathieu Darche and Tony Hrkac with 21 each. Three other Admirals (Simon Gamache, Timofei Shishkanov and Curtis Murphy) have 20 points each.

While the Grizzlies remain anemic on the power play, second-to-last in the league with 11.17 success, they are third in the AHL in penalty-killing percentage, stopping 89.74 percent of opponent chances.

Tonight is designated as "Derek Parra Night" by the Grizzlies, who will honor the Olympic gold-medal speed skater. Parra's autobiography, "Reflections in the Ice — Inside the Heart and Mind of an Olympic Champion," will officially go on sale at the game.

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