Hardware stores and fish departments beware - crazed Utah Grizzlies fans are about to ambush your stock.
Guaranteeing a dramatic increase in sales of both brooms and trout along the Wasatch Front, the Grizzlies took a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead in the Turner Cup Finals by defeating the Orlando Solar Bears 4-2 Thursday night at the Delta Center.That leaves the defending champs just one victory away from both a series sweep and a repeat championship, with Game 4 scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Delta Center.
It also puts the first-year Solar Bears, who've remarkably battled back from deficits in each playoff series, in a hole that no team has ever been able to recover from in IHL history.
Still, despite all the favorable odds, Utah coach Butch Goring refuses to rest easy - or shave for that matter - until the series is officially over.
"I'm never comfortable until that fourth game is all said and done. I'm a guy who's always concerned with the opposition," said Goring, whose (Denver) Grizzlies swept the Kansas City Blades to win the Turner Cup last year. "I try to keep my guys thinking in the direction that we need four to win the series. Three gets us one step closer, that's all it tells me."
Following suit to the first two games that went into sudden-death overtime, Game 3 was a hard-fought battle that wasn't decided until right before the final buzzer.
The Grizz controlled the tempo of the game for the first two periods by again frustrating Orlando's potent offense with their tight-checking style of play. Utah's defense limited the Solar Bears to just 15 unsuccessful shots against Grizz goalie Tommy Salo in the first 40 minutes.
Meantime, the opportunistic Grizz had taken a 2-0 lead - on goals by defenseman Jeff Sharples and left winger Andrey Vasiljev - into the final intermission.
But it was evident from the opening seconds of the third period that the Solar Bears had kicked into their never-say-die mode. Orlando's Dave Barr beat Salo just 16 seconds into the final stanza to cut the lead to 2-1.
A few minutes later, Grizz rookie Brett Lievers let a shot rip from the right circle that beat Allan Bester to give Utah an insurance goal for a 3-1 lead at the 3:50 mark of the third.
The Solar Bears again bounced back, though, as Craig Fisher, who had a league-high 74 goals and 130 points in the regular season, scored from between the circles.
That's when Salo decided to take over. Doing what he's done all throughout the playoffs, the Swedish goalie made the big saves down the stretch when he needed to and proved to be the difference in yet another extremely tight game.
"We battled back as hard as we could, but whenever we did get a chance to even the score or even maybe go ahead, Salo closed the door. The difference was goaltending," said a frustrated Orlando coach Curt Fraser, who's watched his team play three solid games with nothing to show for it.
Goring was just relieved that Super Salo, who made 15 of 17 saves in the final period, was there to save the day - again.
"Thank goodness for Tommy Salo because he made some huge saves in the third period," Goring said of last season's MVP who made 30-of-32 saves. "He's a big-time save goalie - that's what's gotten us to this particular point of the playoffs."
Marc Rodgers finally sealed the game with 0.7 seconds left by scoring an empty-net goal. Rodgers was a big catalyst in the game, finishing with the goal and two assists. Defenseman Bob Beers also had two assists.
GAME NOTES: Goring said the crowd of 8,978 gave the Grizz a "sixth man on the ice." It was the 11th largest crowd in Turner Cup Finals history and largest of the postseason for Utah . . . Vasiljev, who slumped early in the playoffs, has now scored four goals in the Finals . . . The Grizzlies are now 7-0 in the Finals, including Denver's four-game sweep of Kansas City last year . . . Utah went 1-for-7 on the power play and is just 2-for-17 in the series . . . Bester ended with 27-of-30 saves. He was pulled for a few minutes after allowing Lievers' goal . . . Utah defenseman Bob Halkidis played for the first time since Game 4 against Las Vegas. He landed several solid rights in a fight against Orlando defenseman Barry Dreger late in the first period.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Turner Cup Finals
Orlando vs. Utah
(Grizzlies lead series 3-0)
Game 1 Utah 3, Orlando 2
Game 2 Utah 4, Orlando 3
Game 3 Utah 4, Orlando 2
Game 4 7 p.m. Saturday @ Utah
Game 5* 7 p.m. Tuesday @ Utah
Game 6* June 14 @ Orlando
Game 7* June 15 @ Orlando
*-if necessary