Grizzlies Weekly: Grizz On Road for 4 Game Trip

Grizzlies Weekly: Grizz Got 5 of 6 Points Last Week

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies head for the road for a 4 game, 3 city in 5 day trip that is bookended by games at Wichita, starting the road trip on Tuesday, December 17th at 6 pm.

Grizzlies got 5 out of a possible 6 standings points against the defending champion Newfoundland Growlers last week at Maverik Center. Grizz got back to back outstanding efforts from goaltender Martin Ouellette, who got a 19 save shutout in his Grizzlies debut on Friday the 13th. Ouellette stopped 32 of 34 last Saturday night in a 3-2 win. Ouellette stopped 51 of 53 on the weekend.

Griffen Molino ended the week with 3 goals, 2 assists and was a +4 in 3 games. In fact in his last 5 games, Molino is a +9. He was named number 1 star last Friday as Molino scored 2 goals and 1 assist in a 4-0 victory. He is 2nd on the team at +14 on the season.

Last homestand saw a very successful Star Wars Night last Saturday. Friday the 13th was the Teddy Bear Toss Presented by Ford as well as KSL Quarters for Christmas Night.

Next homestand for the Grizzlies is on December 27th, 28th and 30th against the Tulsa Oilers.

Tickets are available now at utahgrizzlies.com, the Maverik Center box office or by calling (801) 988-8000. You can also get tickets at any Smith’s Tix location.

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.

Last Week’s Games

December 14th: Utah 3 Newfoundland 2

Yuri Terao had 2 goals and Ty Lewis had 1 goal and 1 assist in a 3-2 win as the Grizz picked up 5 out of 6 standings points against the defending Kelly Cup Champions. Martin Ouellette stopped 32 of 34 shots in the win.

December 13th: Utah 4 Newfoundland 0

Grizzlies shut out an opponent for the second time in a 3 game stretch. It was the first time Newfoundland was shut out all season. In fact it was the first time Newfoundland scored less than 2 goals in a game all year. In his Grizzlies debut goaltender Martin Ouellette stopped all 19 shots he saw. Griffen Molino had 2 goals and 1 assist. Ty Lewis had 1 goal and 1 assist. Travis Barron also added a goal. Utah outshot Newfoundland 32 to 19. Newfoundland was 0 for 5 on the power play, while Utah was 0 for 2.

December 11th: Newfoundland 4 Utah 3 (Overtime)

Tim McGauley and Griffen Molino each had 1 goal and 1 assist in the Grizzlies 4-3 loss in OT as Joseph Duszak scored the game winner 1:37 into the extra session. Taylor Richart had 2 assists for the Grizz and Joe Wegwerth added a game tying goal 11:12 into the third period to make it a 3-3 game. Brad Barone stopped 21 of 25 in net for Utah.

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.

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 in 21 games with the Grizzlies.  

Grizzlies Among League Leaders: Forward Tim McGauley is tied for 2nd in the league in plus/minus at +16. Patrick McGrath is 2nd in the league in penalty minutes with 77.

So Many Close Games

Last game for the Grizzlies was a 1 goal game. 6 of the last 9 games have been decided in either overtime or a shootout. Utah has 9 games decided past regulation. 16 of the 24 games this season have been decided by 1 goal. 9 of the past 12 games have been 1 goal games with 6 of those ending in OT or shootout.

2019-2020 Regular Season Totals

Overall record: 11-8-4-1

Home record: 7-4-2.

Road record: 4-4-2-1.

Last 10 games: Utah is 7-1-2 

Goals per game: 3.25 (11th in the league).

Goals against per game: 3.00 (7th). 

Shots per game: 30.50 (14th).

Shots against per game: 28.04 (4th). 

Power play: 18.2 % (11th).  

Penalty Kill: 84.0 % (10th). 

Scoring By Period

First Period: Utah 20 Opponents 20.

Second Period: Utah 30 Opponents 25.

Third Period: Utah 24 Opponents 22.

Total Scoring: Utah 78 Opponents 72.

Team Leaders

Goals: Josh Dickinson (9)

Assists: Tim McGauley  (12)

Points: Griffen Molino/McGauley (19)

Plus/Minus: McGauley (+16) – Tied 2nd in the league.

PIM: Patrick McGrath (77) – 2nd in league

Power Play Points: Travis Barron (8)

Shots on Goal: Taylor Richart (72)

Game Winning Goals: Yuri Terao (3)

Wins: Jeff Smith (3)

Save %: Martin Ouellette (9.62) – 2 games.

Goals Against Average: Ouellette (1.00) – 2 games.

Previous Week's Record: Utah went 2-0-1

This Week's Games: Utah is at Wichita on December 17th, at Tulsa on December 19th, at Kansas City on December 20th and at Wichita on December 21st.