Dog-gone it! Grizz lose again

WEST VALLEY CITY — Every dog has their day — and a lot of dogs had theirs on Saturday at the E Center. But it was a certain canine crowd from Long Beach that ended up having the most fun.

The Ice Dogs — ignoring the fact that the homestanding Grizzlies were hosting the Pooch On The Pond promotion — beat up on the Utah team for the second night in a row, winning Saturday by a score of 6-2.

Fans were invited to bring their dogs to the game and No More Homeless Pets In Utah was on hand to show off adoptable dogs in their program. But all the barking from the seats wasn't enough to throw the Ice Dogs off their game.

The Grizzlies offense got off to an early start as Jimmie Kraft netted his sixth goal of the season just over a minute into the game, putting a shot past Long Beach netminder Mike Brown. Unshaken by the Grizzlies early offensive production, the Ice Dogs scored twice in the first period, including a short-handed goal.

The visitors from Long Beach extended their lead to 3-1 at 16:26 of the second period, but Utah got right back into it just over a minute later as Andy Sertich assisted on Blake Robson's goal. Sertich continued his ECHL all-star season, extending his personal and team season-high scoring streak to eight games.

Robson's fifth goal of the season made it a one-goal game going into the final period, but the Grizzlies couldn't find the net for the rest of the night.

"We had our chances but we just couldn't get it going," said Utah coach Jason Christie. "It really hurt us. It was frustrating."

Utah's frustration was obvious — the Grizzlies had plenty of scoring chances but only converted twice. The Ice Dogs sealed the win in the third period with three unanswered goals, all on power plays.

Long Beach was three for six on the power play, while Utah failed to connect on any of its five chances.

The Ice Dogs also out-shot the Grizzlies 41-37. Utah goaltender Rob McVicar's record fell to 16-17-1-3 on the season.

The Grizzlies trail the Victoria Salmon Kings in the points column for the final playoff spot in the division, but the Grizzlies have a slightly higher winning percentage and have played fewer games.

"Obviously we've got to get better all around," Christie said of the frustrating loss. "They (Long Beach) capitalized on their chances, we didn't and that was the difference in the game."

The Grizzlies continue their home stand Wednesday against Fresno.