WEST VALLEY CITY — Two lines plus three defensemen did not equal another win for the Utah Grizzlies. The Phoenix RoadRunners edged the badly shorthanded Grizzlies by a score of 2-1 Saturday at the E Center.
"We're shorthanded but our guys came out and showed a lot of effort the past two nights," said Grizzlies coach Jason Christie. "They worked hard like I knew they were going to, and we've got to get ready for war after the all-star break."
Christie said that reinforcements may be on the way to provide some much-needed relief to a team that has built its record to 21-16-3 through a difficult stretch. Call-ups and injuries have greatly depleted the Grizzlies talent.
"Halfway through the season there aren't a lot of teams in the situation that we're in," Christie said. "Obviously we've got to get some players in here, whether it's through trades or through the AHL."
After knocking off the same team 7-3 the previous night, the Grizzlies hoped to continue their shorthanded success, but after a scoreless first period, the RoadRunners seized control at 5:37 of the second when Mike Ouellet converted on his team's third power-play attempt.
The Grizzlies surrendered another goal just under three minutes later when Brad Wood found an opening in the Utah defense and beat Justin Eddy, who was playing in his tenth straight game, giving the RoadRuners a 2-0 lead heading into the third period.
The Grizzlies, whose record is 3-14-0 when trailing after two periods, knew that they had their work cut out for them. Still struggling with a short bench consisting of only two lines and three healthy designated defensemen on the game roster, the team has not suffered a shutout this season.
Chad Starling kept that record intact. Starling fired a slap shot from the high slot and the lamp was lit but the goal was waved off. The shot was ruled a goal after the officials agreed that the puck crossed the goal line, beneath the crossbar.
Not looking like a suffering team, the Grizzlies rallied to tie the game in the waning moments of the game. The Grizzlies out-shot the RoadRunners 10-5 in the final period and Louis Dumont nearly evened the score in the final seconds but his shot hit the post and the effort fell short.
Christie was pleased with his team's commitment through a tough 120 minutes of hockey in the two game series.
"Last night was a nice win for us. Those guys in the locker room we're fully dedicated but we fell just fell short tonight, it was a tough, tough loss."