Outliers win in OT force game 5 in Grand Junction

PARK CITY, U.T. -  Forward Erick Bachtle’s overtime  goal kept the Utah Outliers hockey club alive in a 5-4 home win at the Black Rock Event Center over the Grand Junction River Hawks on Tuesday, forcing a winner-take-all Game Five for the Mountain Division Final.

Grand Junction jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period before Utah alternate captain Mags Sagadiev sliced in a goal with about four and a half minutes remaining in the frame.

Outliers head coach Richard Bohan explained that a less-than-ideal start never discouraged his group. He said, “That’s not the way you draw it up, going down three in 12 minutes. We gathered ourselves and chipped away at it.”

The second period flipped the contest on its head. Forward Tyler Kedzo slipped in the squad’s second goal, cutting the gap about a minute and a half into the middle inning. Forward Zachary Palik tied the score about seven and a half minutes later. Foreshadowing his extra time heroics, Bachtle nabbed the go-ahead goal with two minutes to go.

A River Hawks marker within the last minute of regulation catapulted the matchup to its exciting O.T. finish. Bohan called that a pain, saying “Giving up the late goal stung, but the kids rallied during the intermission, and we got the winner.”

The series wraps up with Game Five on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Friday back in Grand Junction.