Grizzlies Weekly: Homestand Continues vs Allen

Grizzlies Weekly: 10,397 Fans Saw Grizz Complete 3 Game Sweep

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies will host the Allen Americans for a 3 game series on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. Face-off all 3 evenings is at 7:10 pm. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

The Grizzlies are on a 4 game winning streak as they just completed a 3 game sweep against Rapid City at Maverik Center. The 2 biggest home crowds of the season were at Maverik Center last weekend. A crowd of 7,382 saw Utah win 6-4 on January 27. The following night was Guns and Hoses night at Maverik Center, where as a crowd of 10,397 saw Jordan Martel score 2 goals, including the game winner 8:04 into the third period to lead Utah to a 4-3 victory. It was the largest home crowd since 10,529 saw the Grizz face the Tulsa Oilers on January 19, 2019.

Brandon Cutler had a night for the ages on January 27 vs Rapid City, where he scored 4 goals and 2 assists in a 6-4 victory. It was the 2nd time this season a Grizzlies skater has scored 6 points in a game (Andrew Nielsen 6 assists at KC on Nov. 5, 2022). Cutler has 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) in his last 5 games. Cutler has a point in 5 straight games.

Andrew Nielsen has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) during a current 4 game point streak. Nielsen is 3rd among all league defenseman in points (31) and is tied for 3rd with 24 assists. Nielsen is also among defenseman league leaders in power play goals (5) and power play assists (14).

Utah went 8-3-1 in 12 games in January and goaltending was spectacular all month. In his last 6 starts Trent Miner has a record of 5-0-1 with a 1.64 goals against average and a .957 save percentage (222 for 232). Miner got the win in each of the first 2 games of the Rapid City series. Lukas Parik played last Saturday and saved 35 of 38 to earn his 4th win of the season.

Games This Week

• Wednesday, February 1, 2023 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm. Bud Light College Night.
• Friday, February 3, 2023 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm. Heart Health Night.
• Saturday, February 4, 2023 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm. Black History Night.

You can catch every game on FloHockey and audio on the Grizzlies YouTube channel.

All Times Mountain

Games Last Week

Wednesday, January 25, 2023 – Rapid City 1 Utah 3 – Andrew Nielsen had 1 goal and 1 assist. Trent Miner saved 31 of 32 in net. Cameron Wright scored his 6th game winning goal of the season 16:06 into the second period. Brandon Cutler added an empty net goal for his 5th of the season. Both teams had 32 shots on goal. Utah was 1 for 4 on the power play and 5 for 5 on the penalty kill.

Friday, January 27, 2023 – Rapid City 4 Utah 6 – Brandon Cutler scored 4 goals and 2 assists. Andrew Nielsen had 1 goal and 2 assists. Tarun Fizer 1 goal, 1 assist. Cameron Wright had 2 assists. Utah was 3 for 7 on the power play. RC was 2 for 6. Grizz outshout the Rush 38 to 31. Trent Miner saved 27 of 31 to earn his team leading 8th win of the season. Attendance was 7382, which is the biggest crowd of the 2022-2023 season to date.

Saturday, January 28, 2023 – Rapid City 3 Utah 4 – A season high crowd of 10,397 saw Jordan Martel score 2 goals, including the game winner 8:04 into the third period. Kyle Pouncy scored his first goal of the season. Andrew Nielsen scored a power play goal. Lukas Parik saved 35 of 38 in the win. Tarun Fizer and Cam Strong each had 2 assists. Utah went 1 for 6 on the power play. Rapid City was 1 for 7.

Bear Bites: Team Notes

Utah had their best home crowd this season of 10,379. It was the Grizzlies largest crowd since January 19, 2019 vs Tulsa, where they had an attendance of 10,529. Attendance was 17,779 over their last 2 games. Utah averaged 6,513 fans in 4 home games in January 2023. Utah went 8-3-1 in 12 games in January. Utah’s power play is 13 for 49 (26.5 %) over the last 12 games. Utah’s penalty kill is 56 for 61 over their last 13 games (91.8 %). The Grizzlies are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Utah is 12-3 when scoring first. Utah is 6-0 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 14-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 7-3-1 in one goal games. 

Utah Grizzlies 2022-2023 Roster

Forwards (13): Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Tarun Fizer, Keaton Jameson, Jordan Martel, Vladislav Mikhalchuk, Tyler Penner, Dakota Raabe, Christian Simeone, Cam Strong, Zach Tsekos, Johnny Walker, Cameron Wright.

Defenseman (10): Victor Bartley, Joey Colatarci, Brycen Martin, Connor McDonald, Andrew Nielsen, Kyle Pouncy, James Shearer, Jordon Stone, Cory Thomas, Aaron Thow.

Goaltenders (3): Garrett Metcalf, Trent Miner, Lukas Parik.  

2022-2023 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 19-20-1

Home record: 9-8

Road record: 10-12-1

Win percentage: .488

Streak: Won 4

Standings Points: 39

Last 10: 7-2-1

Goals per game: 2.80 (24th)  Goals for: 112

Goals against per game: 3.35 (16th) Goals Against: 134

Shots per game: 28.53 (26th)  

Shots against per game: 35.03 (26th)

Power Play: 38 for 183 – 20.8 % (Tied 11th)

Penalty Kill: 143 for 173 – 82.7 % (Tied 9th)

Penalty Minutes: 643. 16.08 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 3.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 5.

Record When Scoring First: 12-3.

Opposition Scores First: 7-16-1.  

Record in One Goal Games: 7-3-1. 

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT                  TOTAL       

Utah Grizzlies     30         45                   35                   2                      112                                       

Opposition           45         40                   48                   1                      134

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Cameron Wright (12). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (24). 

Points: Nielsen/Wright (31).

Plus/Minus: Zach Tsekos (+3). 

PIM: Nielsen (119)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (19)

Power Play Goals: Nielsen/Johnny Walker (5)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (14).  

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (139).  

Shooting Percentage: Tsekos (21.1 %) 8 for 38.   

Game Winning Goals: Wright (6)

Wins: Trent Miner (8)

Save %: Miner (.915).

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.90)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Andrew Nielsen (3) Jordan Martel, Kyle Pouncy (1)

Assist Streaks: Tarun Fizer (3) Dylan Fitze, Andrew Nielsen (2) Victor Bartley, Cam Strong (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Cutler (5), Nielsen (4) Fizer (3) Fitze (2)

Best Grizzlies Home Attendances in the 2022-2023 Season

10,397 – January 28, 2023 – RC at Utah.

7382 – January 27, 2023 – RC at Utah.

6927 – December 30, 2022 – Idaho at Utah.

6494 – December 17, 2022 – KC at Utah.

6349 – November 18, 2022 – Idaho at Utah.

6325 – December 28, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. – Best Grizzlies Wednesday home crowd in 10 years.