One down, only 10 more to go.

The Utah Grizzlies got their three-week-long road adventure off with a solid 3-2 victory against the Peoria Rivermen Tuesday at the Peoria Civic Center.It was the first of 11 straight road games for the Grizzlies, who improved to 42-21-3 with their third consecutive win over the Rivermen this season. Utah faces the Milwaukee Admirals tonight at 6 p.m.

Coach Butch Goring was pleased with the team's overall effort.

"It was one of our best efforts on the road," he said. "It was certainly a very strong win and a great way to start the road trip."

The Grizz were effective on both ends of the ice, holding the Rivermen to just 24 shots while getting off 28 of their own. Goalkeeper Tommy Salo turned in another good performance with 22 saves, allowing just two goals.

"I thought the whole hockey team played extremely well," he said of the Grizz who won their second straight game.

Utah forward Andy Brickley, who returned to action on Saturday after a back injury had kept him out since late December, tied the game in the first period at 1-all with a shorthanded goal.

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"I thought Brick played a good game," added Goring. "His shorthanded goal really helped turn things around early on."

Brickley then notched a pair of assists in the second period as the Grizz took control of the game. He assisted rookie Brett Lievers, Utah's scoring leader, for his 28th goal of the season, and Swede Andreas Johansson as the Grizz went ahead for good.

With the playoffs just a month away and being away from the Delta Center for so long, now's a time that could either make or break the defending Turner Cup champions. Goring likes the direction they're going, too.

"You're starting to see what our hockey team is all about - good defense and a little bit of offense," he said.

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