The Utah Grizzlies lost their top scorer and their starting center - Danton Cole and Micah Aivazoff - when the parent-club New York Islanders called them up to the NHL Friday morning.
Their absence didn't even phase the Grizz, though, as they clobbered the Phoenix Roadrunners 4-0 in front of 8,109 fans at the Delta Center Friday night.It was the first shutout of the year for the Grizz, who have been tough to score on since last year's IHL MVP, Tommy Salo, joined the team a week ago.
"Shutouts are very seldom just the goalkeeper, it takes the entire team," said Utah coach Butch Goring. "Salo was certainly there when we needed him. I thought he played a very strong game."
Along with the addition of Salo, a big factor in the Grizz's recent success has been their ability to find the net first.
Center Chris Taylor put the Grizz up 1-0 with an even-strength goal at the 6:27 mark of the first period.
Utah put two more past Phoenix goaltender Frederick Beaubien in the second period as defender Jason Herter and winger Barry Nieckar each scored goals to give the Grizz a 3-0 advantage.
Left winger Andrei Vasiljev, who has had the hot stick of late, smacked in his 12th goal of the season late in the third period to give Utah its final 4-0 score. Vasiljev, now the Grizz's leading scorer with 20 points, recorded a hat trick on Monday and scored four points Wednesday.
Utah, 11-4-2 with 24 points, has won three straight by an overwhelming margin of 22-4. Phoenix, meantime, has dropped five in a row to fall to 6-9-1.
The Grizz won't have much time to celebrate this victory, though, as the two teams will faceoff against each other in a rematch tonight at 7 p.m. in the Delta Center.