Utah Grizzlies lose again, on verge of elimination

WEST VALLEY CITY — When the Utah Grizzlies wake up this morning, they'll undoubtedly hope that Tuesday night's Game 3 was all just a bad dream, a horrific nightmare in which their worst fears and anxieties came true.

Unfortunately for them, Game 3 was real.

Very real.

Trailing its best-of-seven Kelly Cup playoff series against the Idaho Steelheads 2-0, Utah hoped to use Game 3 inside the friendly confines of the E Center to get back into the series.

Instead, the Steelheads ripped the Grizzlies to shreds.

The Grizz were seemingly powerless to do anything about it, and now they're on the brink of elimination.

Indeed, strong and powerful Idaho stormed out of the gates in pivotal Game 3 at the E Center and never looked back. The Steelheads led 3-0 after the first period and 5-0 after the second period before cruising to a dominating 6-1 victory over Utah in front of 2,366 fans at the E Center.

To say the least, it was a crushing blow for the Grizz, who now face of seemingly impossible task of having to win four games in a row to advance. Utah will face Idaho in do-or-die Game 4 on Friday at the E Center, needing to win just to force a Game 5, which would take place Saturday in Utah.

"Mentally, I don't think we were sharp enough tonight," said forward Tom May. "Playoffs, you can't let a couple bad shifts ruin a game for you. If you go out there and get scored on there, you gotta go out and do something to get your team back in — whether it's a big hit or scoring a goal."

Unfortunately for the Grizzles, a couple of bad shifts ruined Game 3 for them on Tuesday, and they struggled mightily throughout the rest of the night.

"I don't think we had momentum once tonight," said Utah coach Kevin Colley.

It all started when John Swanson put the Steelheads ahead 1-0 at the 7:33 mark in the first period. Back-to-back goals by Mark McCutcheon and Kevin DeVergilio later in the period made it 3-0, and the Grizzlies were left for dead.

"They took it to us pretty good that first period there, had a couple bounces off our mistakes and were able to put a few in on us early," said May. "And it just seemed like it deflated us, and (we) kind of didn't have that same spark, that jump that we really needed to start the game after that."

ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs

Second round (Best-of-7)

Steelheads lead 3-0

Game 1: Idaho 7, Utah 2

Game 2: Idaho 4, Utah 3

Game 3, Idaho 6, Utah 1

Game 4, Friday: at Utah, 7 p.m.

Game 5, Saturday: at Utah, 7 p.m. *

Game 6, Tuesday: at Idaho, 7 p.m. *

Game 7, April 28: at Idaho, 7 p.m. *

* if necessary

e-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com