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The Utah Grizzlies skated to a 4-2 victory over the Tulsa Oilers on Friday night at the Maverik Center and reached the .500 mark for the first time in more than a month in ECHL action.
"The difference is we're winning the battles on the ice and we're getting huge contributions from everyone," Grizzlies coach Tim Branham said. "Guys are doing whatever it takes to keep the puck out of our net and that's kudos to our defensive corps. Offensively, we have a lot of talent and the guys are playing with huge amounts of confidence."
Utah seized control early and had a 4-0 lead before the game's halfway point.
Erik Bradford began the scoring with a nifty wrist shot that beat Tulsa goalkeeper Keegan Asmundson's high glove-side for a 1-0 Grizzlies lead.
The Grizzlies pounced on short-handed Oilers who couldn't avoid the penalty box and scored a flurry of goals. Colin Martin, Taylor Richart and Tim Daly each scored during the second period, and Tulsa replaced Asmundson early with Jay Williams.
"Everyone is working hard and having fun and it's easy when you're working for your teammates," Daly said. "We're taking it one day at a time and bringing energy to the rink and are committed to getting better every day. We're not going to let up."
Tulsa fought back in the third. Danick Paquette and Phil Brewer each scored to stop Grizzlies goalie Troy Redmann's bid for a shutout with a pair of goals.
For the 11th time in 12 games, the Grizzlies outshot their opponents this time besting the Oilers 33-29 and for the fourth time in five games, scored four or more goals. ECHL standings
Eastern Conference
North GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Manchester 42 26 10 3 3 58 167 133
Reading 40 23 14 1 2 49 144 113
Wheeling 39 22 14 3 0 47 140 118
Brampton 40 21 14 2 3 47 140 144
Adirondack 39 19 13 4 3 45 133 126
Elmira 40 9 26 5 0 23 90 153
South GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Florida 40 28 9 1 2 59 146 112
Greenville 43 23 16 3 1 50 135 142
Orlando 42 21 15 4 2 48 153 153
S.Carolina 40 22 15 2 1 47 118 105
Cincinnati 41 18 19 4 0 40 114 120
Atlanta 42 16 19 6 1 39 143 160
Norfolk 40 14 22 4 0 32 108 145
Western Conference
Central GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Toledo 40 30 8 1 1 62 166 115
Ft. Wayne 41 24 13 4 0 52 153 122
Tulsa 47 23 20 4 0 50 135 137
Quad City 41 21 18 0 2 44 120 130
Kalamazoo 42 20 18 1 3 44 116 139
Wichita 38 15 21 1 1 32 108 139
Indy 42 14 25 1 2 31 104 154
Mountain GP W L OL SOL Pts GF GA
Allen 45 26 15 2 2 56 164 130
Colorado 43 25 14 1 3 54 151 132
Idaho 42 24 13 3 2 53 145 134
Alaska 39 22 12 1 4 49 133 124
Utah 42 19 19 3 1 42 133 145
Missouri 42 17 18 2 5 41 133 148
Rapid City 40 14 19 7 0 35 123 142
Friday's games
Kalamazoo 2, Brampton 1, SO
Reading 5, Adirondack 1
Fort Wayne 3, Elmira 2
Florida 5, South Carolina 4
Norfolk 6, Manchester 5, SO
Indy 2, Rapid City 0
Wheeling 5, Quad City 2
Greenville 8, Atlanta 3
Missouri 4, Cincinnati 2
Utah 4, Tulsa 2
Colorado 8, Wichita 2
Idaho at Alaska, late
Saturday's games
Fort Wayne at Reading, 5 p.m.
Elmira at Adirondack, 5 p.m.
Brampton at Wheeling, 5:05 p.m.
Florida at South Carolina, 5:05 p.m.
Rapid City at Toledo, 5:15 p.m.
Manchester at Norfolk, 5:15 p.m.
Quad City at Indy, 5:35 p.m.
Cincinnati at Missouri, 6:05 p.m.
Tulsa at Utah, 7 p.m.
Wichita at Colorado, 7:05 p.m.
Idaho at Alaska, 9:15 p.m.