Griffins rally past Grizzlies

WEST VALLEY CITY — Utah Grizzlies coach Don Hay could have been pretty upset at his team after it blew a one-goal lead in the third period and lost to Grand Rapids 3-2 Wednesday night.

But Hay was pleased with his team's effort against the Central Division-leading Griffins.

"We played a good hockey team tonight," Hay said.

The Griffins are tough, but Hay and the rest of the Grizzlies may want to think about kicking themselves after the loss. Utah led 2-1 late in the second period and had a power-play opportunity to ice the game. But Grand Rapids killed the chance and stayed alive for the third period.

Grand Rapids' Jason Williams then scored twice in the final period to give the Griffins the win. His second goal was wristed from the blue line and slid past Utah goalie Corey Hirsch after it deflected off of the shin of Utah defenseman Jeff MacMillan.

"You can't have any lapses against a team like this," Hay said. "You can against some of the lesser teams in the league but not against one of the elite teams."

Williams, who has scored 12 points in Grand Rapids' last seven games, scored the game-tying goal at the 9:05 mark of the third period. His goal came in a situation that the Grizzlies had been prepared for by Hay earlier in the day. But Utah didn't execute.

"We gave them the opportunity to get back in the game and we had a little breakdown defensively," Hay said.

Utah had a power-play chance after Williams gave the Griffins the lead but managed just one shot during their opportunity.

"They made use of their power play chance and we didn't," Hay said.

Jim Montgomery, who assisted on both of Utah's goals, said he hopes his team will do less puck-watching on defense and improve on special teams after Wednesday's loss. Utah was 1-of-4 on the power play.

"Special teams in playoff games usually decide wins and losses," Montgomery said.

Grand Rapids goalie Marc Lamothe showed why he's one of the best in the AHL as he stopped 25 of Utah's 27 shots and three in the final minute.

Defenseman Mark Wotton scored first for Utah. Jon Sim, fresh off being named the MVP of the AHL All-Star game, scored in the second period to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 lead.

The Grizzlies host the Worcester IceCats on Friday and Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Utah's Barrett Heisten was a late scratch because he had the flu . . . The Griffins' Ryan Barnes and Utah's Mike Sgroi had a short fight in the second period. The E Center crowd roared after Barnes' face was bloodied. But it was from a hard fall to the ice and not by Sgroi's fists.

---

E-MAIL: aaragon@desnews.com