Fade to black. Gone to the 'Dogs . . .
It could happen tonight. The Utah Grizzlies' season could just fizzle away with a fourth and final loss to the Long Beach Ice Dogs.It could be the last pro hockey game in the Delta Center for some time. Hockey fans wouldn't miss that - they've always hated the building. But being swept out of the second round of the IHL playoffs is no way for the two-time defending champions to make the transition to the new West Valley City Events Center that's being built expressly for them.
"Today is a very difficult mood," coach Butch Goring said after Thursday's optional practice in the Delta Center, perhaps the last one ever there. "Everybody's still reeling from (Wednesday's) game (a second straight 4-1 loss to Long Beach), still hurting. Hopefully, (tonight) we'll be able to launch another attack."
If Utah wins tonight (puck drop at 7), it would force Game 5 Saturday at 7 in the Delta Center. If needed, Games 6 and 7 will be next week in Long Beach. A Utah loss ends the dynasty.
The Grizz must attack, get better shots and scoring opportunities. They must do it with intelligence rather than frenzy and still get it done in 60 minutes. "We have to stop pressing and just play, and whatever happens, happens instead of trying to make something happen, which is what's got us in trouble," says Goring, whose club has scored one goal in each of the last three losses to the 'Dogs.
"We have to get a two-goal lead," says goalie Don Beaupre. "One goal isn't enough."
How can such a slump hit a veteran team when it should be peaking? How can a team with only one rookie get so out-of-synch from one series (a 3-0 sweep of Kansas City) to the next (0-3 to Long Beach)? "I think sometimes vets will take it upon themselves to try to be leaders, which is only natural," says Goring, "and consequently, you end up doing more than you need to do. As the series has progressed, we've become more frustrated with ourselves.
"We continue to try hard, work hard, and pick inopportune times to press, and it's cost us hockey games."
"We need to play with emotion and excitement," says defenseman Jeff Sharples, who says the Grizz are not "uptight." They need to be smarter and more intense, he says.
Goring also says the Grizz have to play smarter, and the way to progress from dumb to smart in one crucial game, he says, is, "I think you can concentrate."
Facing a survival test against a team that's beaten them eight of the last 10 times they've played, Goring said he will not tell his team to play it loosey-goosey, to relax and let it all hang out. "No, I don't think we're going to come out with that approach at all," he said. "We need to approach it like it's any other game, to play a solid game and to play with some patience and to play with the intensity that's required in a playoff game. I don't think we've done all those things.
"I don't think we should go in with a what-have-we-got-to-lose attitude, 'cause that's what you will do. You will lose," says Goring, suddenly an expert on that subject.