3 Observations From Friday Night In The ECHL

Once a season gets underway, it’s always fascinating to see which team(s) will remain undefeated before suffering their first loss, and how long it will take others to get their first win.

Two top teams were knocked off the mountain of the unbeaten, and another is still looking to free themselves from the prison of the winless. There was also a serious injury in another game, something no one likes to see. Here are three observations from Friday night’s action in the ECHL.

Two Unbeaten Teams Go Down

No team has ever gone 72-0, so it’s only a matter of time before that first loss comes.

It happened to both of last season’s Kelly Cup finalists on Friday. The Florida Everblades (4-1-0) fell 3-0 in South Carolina to the Stingrays (3-1-0). The Kansas City Mavericks (4-1-0) lost 4-1 to the Fort Wayne Komets, also 4-1-0.

The Stingrays came out firing on the first night of Cancer Awareness Weekend, outshooting the Blades 16-4 in the first period. South Carolina tallied two of its three goals on the power-play, and built the 3-0 lead in the final minutes of the second period.

Florida almost had a goal with 21 seconds left in the third. Everblades goalie Cam Johnson was pulled for the extra attacker, and Jesse Lansdell scored to cut the deficit to 3-1. However, the goal was disallowed due to an extreme kicking motion, ensuring the Stingrays’ shutout.

The Komets were just as decisive at Kansas City in their 4-1 victory, outshooting the Mavericks 39-17. Brannon McManus struck the first blow with a goal at 6:50 of the first period, and extended the lead to 2-0 in the second before Cade Borchardt got the Mavericks on the board at 13:17 of the middle frame.

Grizzlies Win Home Opener

The Utah Grizzlies (3-1-0) played their first three games away from the Maverik Center. Grizzlies fans were excited to see their team up close and personal Friday night, and Utah obliged with a 5-1 victory over the Allen Americans (0-4-1) in front of 5,800 spectators.

Allen scored first when Liam Gorman redirected an Andrew Nielsen shot 6:06 into the opening period. It was the second consecutive game in which the Americans scored first, only to lose the lead.

The Grizzlies took over after that with five unanswered goals, including two in less than a minute late in the first period.

The win was Utah’s third straight. Allen has struggled to score on the road, with opponents holding a 13-3 advantage on the scoreboard in two losses away from home.

Neil Shea had eight shots on goal to lead all skaters, notching a goal and two assists. Shea has scored a goal in each of Utah’s four games this season. Bryan Yoon had an assist to extend his point streak to four, while goaltender Adam Scheel made 25 saves.

It was the Grizzlies’ 30^th home opener, going 15-13-0-2 over that span.

An Unfortunate Injury

Hockey isn’t for the faint of heart, but you never like to see someone get seriously injured.

That happened in Friday’s Idaho Steelheads-Tahoe Knight Monsters matchup in Stateline, Nevada.

After knocking off Idaho the previous night, the Knight Monsters were handed a 6-1 defeat in front of 2,975 of their home fans at Tahoe Blue Event Center.

The Steelheads erupted for four goals in the first period. The night got even worse for Tahoe when Samuel Mayer crashed into the end boards. The game was delayed while Mayer was attended to before being taken off on a stretcher. The two teams headed to the locker room while the ice was re-surfaced. The final 7:05 of the first period resumed before both teams took a two-minute timeout and the second period began.

Here’s hoping that Mayer is OK and will make a speedy recovery.