Game Preview: Utah at Tulsa, December 19th.

Utah Grizzlies (12-8-4-1) at Tulsa Oilers (11-15-2). BOK Center. Thursday December 19, 2019. 6:00 pm MST.  Classic Country 1370, 104.3 FM HD-2. ECHL.TV.  

It’s the second game of a 3 city, 4 game in 5 day road trip that starts and ends in Wichita. It’s the 1st meeting between the two clubs. Grizzlies are 7-1-2 in the last 10 games and they have a standings point in 7 straight.

Last Game: Utah 8 Wichita 2

It was a historic night for Tim McGauley, who had 1 goal and 6 assists. The 6 assists is the most in Grizzlies history, dating back at least to their IHL days in the 1990s. Tim’s 7 points is the most by a player in this league this season. He is the 18th player in league history to have at least 6 assists in a game. McGauley however wasn’t even number 1 star for the game. That goes to Ty Lewis, who had 3 goals and 2 assists. Lewis scored the 4th hat trick by a Grizzlies skater this season. Number 3 star on Tuesday was Griffen Molino, who had 1 goal and 4 assists. Molino and McGauley were a +4 on the night, while Lewis was a +3. Grizzlies were 3 for 3 on the power play and were 5 for 5 on the penalty kill. Utah had a shorthanded goal as well when Molino scored late in the 2nd period.

Great +/- Totals for M & M Boys

Tim McGauley leads the league in plus/minus at +20. Griffen Molino is tied for 2nd in the league at +18. Molino has 4 goals and 11 assists for 15 points and is a +13 in 6 games in December. McGauley has 6 goals and 8 assists for 14 points in 6 games in December and is a +12.

Ty Lewis is on a Roll

Lewis has 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 3 games. He is a +8 in his last 3 games.

Ouellette Named Goaltender of the Week

New Grizzlies goaltender Martin Ouellette was named league Goaltender of the Week for what he did last Friday and Saturday against Newfoundland. Ouellette and the Grizzlies shut out the number 1 scoring team in the league last Friday, where Martin stopped all 19 shots. Ouellette allowed only late 3rd period power play goals in a 3-2 win, where he saved 32 of 34. For the 2 games, Ouellette stopped 51 of 53. He was acquired on December 9th from the Atlanta Gladiators for future considerations. He has won each of his 3 starts with the Grizz. Ouellette is in his 6th season professionally. He has a career record in the ECHL of 107-51-12 with 11 shutouts, a 2.56 GAA and a .912 save percentage. He has also seen action in 27 career American Hockey League games with Syracuse and Lehigh Valley where he is 14-5-1 with two shutouts, a 2.15 goal-against average and a .930 save percentage.

So Many Close Games

Utah has 9 games decided past regulation. 16 of the 25 games this season have been decided by 1 goal.

Getting Off to Good Starts

Grizzlies have scored first in 9 of their last 11 games.

Rio Tinto Kennecott Partners with the Grizzlies

For every goal scored at home this season Rio Tinto Kennecott will donate $100 to UCAIR, the Utah Clean Air Partnership. The Grizzlies have scored 39 goals at home so far this season.

Recent Transactions

Defenseman Kevin Davis and Josh Anderson as well as Forward Felix Lauzon were assigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Davis is 1 of 3 Grizz blueliners to have played in every game. Anderson was with the team for all 3 games last week after spending the entire month of November and first week of December with the Eagles. Lauzon has 2 goals and 6 assists for the Grizzlies this season.

Many Shorthanded Goals

Grizzlies have 6 shorthanded goals this season. They have a shorty in 3 of their last 4 games and 5 of them after Thanksgiving. Those 6 shorthanded goals are tied for the league lead with 2 other clubs. Utah is also 1 of only 3 teams to have not allowed a shorty.

2019-2020 Regular Season Totals

Overall record: 12-8-4-1

Home record: 7-4-2.

Road record: 5-4-2-1.

Last 10 games: Utah is 7-1-2 

Goals per game: 3.44 (9th in the league).

Goals against per game: 2.96 (7th). 

Shots per game: 30.60 (14th).

Shots against per game: 27.80 (2nd). 

Power play: 20.4 % (Tied 6th).  

Penalty Kill: 84.8 % (7th). 

Scoring By Period

First Period: Utah 22 Opponents 20.

Second Period: Utah 33 Opponents 26.

Third Period: Utah 27 Opponents 23.

Total Scoring: Utah 86 Opponents 74.

Team Leaders

Goals: Josh Dickinson/Griffen Molino (9)

Assists: Tim McGauley  (18)

Points: McGauley (26)

Plus/Minus: McGauley (+20) – Leads league.

PIM: Patrick McGrath (84) – 2nd in league

Power Play Points: Travis Barron (9)

Shots on Goal: Taylor Richart (74)

Game Winning Goals: Yuri Terao (3)

Wins: Jeff Smith/Martin Ouellette (3)

Save %: Martin Ouellette/Hunter Miska (.947) – 3 games.

Goals Against Average: Ouellette (1.33) – 3 games.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Forward Tim McGauley leads the leaguein plus/minus (+20). Griffen Molino is tied for 2nd in plus/minus (+18) Patrick McGrath is 2nd in the league in penalty minutes with 84. Taylor Richart’s 8 goals are tied for the league lead among defenseman. Richart has 5 power play goals, tied for the most among defenseman.

Upcoming Promotions

December 27th Tulsa at Utah – AFCU Friday.

December 28th Tulsa at Utah – Lucky’s Family Night.

December 30th Tulsa at Utah – Maverik Monday – Buy one get one free tickets with Maverik Adventure Card.

Grizzlies Player Awards

Josh Dickinson – October 2019 Player of the Month. He also was ECHL Player of the Week from October 14-20, where he had back to back hat tricks.

Hunter Miska – November 18-24 Goaltender of the Week.

Martin Ouellette – December 9-15 Goaltender of the Week.

Grizzlies Reschedule February game vs KC

The regularly scheduled Friday February 21st game at Maverik Center has been moved to Sunday, February 23rd at 5:00 pm. Tickets that were distributed for the game on the 21st will be good to use for the 23rd.

2 Have Played Them All

2 Players have appeared in all 25 regular season games. Taylor Richart and Eric Williams. Both are defenseman. Davis is now in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles and missed his first game of the season on Tuesday.

Hat Tricks This Season

Josh Dickinson – 2 (October 16th, 18th).

Tim McGauley – 1 (December 6th).

Ty Lewis – 1 (December 17th).