Grizzlies Preview: Wichita at Utah, January 18th, 2020

Wichita Thunder (18-18-7) at Utah Grizzlies (21-11-7). Maverik Center. Saturday January 18, 2020. 7:00 pm MST.  Classic Country 1370, 104.3 FM HD-2. ECHL.TV.

West Valley City, Utah – It’s the 19th annual Guns N Hoses Night at Maverik Center as the Utah Grizzlies host the Wichita Thunder.

There are 2 Police vs Fire charity games starting at 12:30 PM at Maverik Center. It is just one of the many ways the Grizzlies show support for the local first responders. Doors open to the public at 11:30 AM. The purchase of a ticket to the Grizzlies game also allows you to attend either of the charity games. The Grizz will be wearing specialty Guns N Hoses jerseys that will be auctioned off after their 7 pm game.

Utah won 4-1 last night, outshooting the Thunder 49 to 12. Sasha Larocque scored his first professional goal in the third period. Grizzlies also got goals from Mitch Maxwell, Eric Williams and Tim McGauley. Josh Dickinson had 2 assists and was a +3 on the night in his first home game back after a 2 month stint in the AHL.

Tonight is the 6th season meeting between the clubs. Utah has a record of 4-1, outscoring the Thunder 22 to 8. One of the things Utah has done lately is take a ton of shots on goal. In the last 10 games Utah has outshot opponents 420 to 273. In 5 meetings this year Utah has outshot Wichita 173 to 101. That’s a 34.6 to 20.2 per game average, a difference of 14.4.

Ty Lewis leads the Grizzlies with 18 goals. He normally wears number 10 but will be number 28 for Guns N Hoses night.

Wichita defenseman Patrik Parkkonen leads all league defenseman with 26 assists. Thunder have 7 players who have 10 or more goals this season with Chris Crane, Beau Starrett and Stefan Fournier leading the way with 13 each.

Face-off is at 7 o clock at Maverik Center for the Saturday night showdown. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com, the Maverik Center box office or call (801) 988-8000.

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 68 goals at home so far this season.

2019-2020 Regular Season Totals

Overall record: 21-11-5-2

Home record: 12-5-2-1. Utah has outscored opponents 68 to 49 at home this season.

Road record: 9-6-3-1. Utah is outscoring opponents 71 to 59 on the road this season.

Last 10 games: Utah is 6-2-1-1.

Goals per game: 3.56 (6th in the league).

Goals against per game: 2.77 (4th). 

Shots per game: 33.08 (Tied 7th). Utah is averaging 42.0 shots per game in the last 10 games.

Shots against per game: 27.56 (3rd). 

Power play: 19.2 % (8th).  

Penalty Kill: 83.8 % (9th). 

Scoring By Period

First Period: Utah 32 Opponents 33.

Second Period: Utah 55 Opponents 38.

Third Period: Utah 47 Opponents 30.

Total Scoring: Utah 139 Opponents 108.

Record When Scoring First: 13-2-1 (.844 win %). Opponents have scored first in last 7 games.

Team Leaders

Goals: Ty Lewis (18)

Assists: Tim McGauley (32) – Leads League.  

Points: McGauley (49) – Leads League.  

Plus/Minus: McGauley (+35) – Leads league.

PIM: Patrick McGrath (86)

Power Play Points: Travis Barron (10) Richart and McGauley each have 9 points.

Shots on Goal: Taylor Richart (123)

Game Winning Goals: Yuri Terao (5)

Wins: Martin Ouellette (11)

Save %: Hunter Miska (.947) 

Goals Against Average: Miska (1.62)