Grizzlies Preview: Feb 26, 2020 Utah at Idaho

Utah Grizzlies (33-16-8, 74 points) @ Idaho Steelheads (31-17-7, 69 points)

CenturyLink Arena. Wednesday February 26, 2020. 7:00 pm MST. Classic Country AM 1370/104.3 FM HD2.

It’s the first game of a big 3 game series at CenturyLink Arena with arguably the biggest rivalry in the league.

Grizzlies are in 2nd place with 74 points as they are 5 points ahead of Idaho. Utah has a winning percentage of .649 while Idaho has a .625 win rate. Utah has won 6 of their last 8 games and are coming off a 3-2 homestand, where they outscored opponents 9-5.

Grizzlies Defense Has Dominated

Utah has allowed only 6 regulation goals in the last 7 games. Utah has allowed just 1 goal in a game 20 times this season. Grizz also have 3 shutouts this year. This season the Grizz are 2nd in goals allowed per game (2.54) and shots allowed per game (26.93). They have outscored opponents 192 to 145 this season.

Scoring First Is Important

Utah is 21-3-1 when scoring first this season, a .860 winning percentage. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies perspective, they have only scored first in 25 of the 57 games.

Mason McDonald Returns to Club, Dalton Mills Re-Signed

Goalie Mason McDonald has returned to the Grizzlies roster after a stint with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He didn’t appear in any games with the Eagles. For Utah this season he has a record of 7-5-3 with a 2.78 GAA and a .890 save percentage.

Homestand Recap

Utah went 3-2 over the 5 games, outscoring opponents 9 to 5. Tim McGauley, Ryan Wagner and Griffen Molino had 2 goals in the homestand, while Josh Dickinson, Yuri Terao and Peter Tischke had 1 goal. Tischke’s overtime game winning goal on Feb. 19 was the biggest highlight of the 5 games. Taylor Richart and Ty Lewis led the assists column with 3 each.

Last game: Feb. 24: KC 0 Utah 3

Martin Ouellette had a 17 save shutout to lead Utah to the victory. Ryan Wagner had 2 goals, Tim McGauley added a shorthanded goal and Eric Williams had 2 assists. Utah ended the season series with a 4-3-0-1 record vs Kansas City.

Grizz Looking for Some Wins in Boise

Utah has 2 wins vs Idaho this season. They won 5-4 on November 1st at CenturyLink Arena and won 2-1 in a shootout on January 20th. The road team won the first 5 games of the season series while the home team has won the last 3. 6 of the 8 games have been 1 goal contests. Yuri Terao, Travis Barron and Griffen Molino each has 2 goals vs Idaho this year. Taylor Richart leads with 3 assists. Idaho goaltender Tomas Sholl has been public enemy number 1 to Grizzlies fans as he has allowed 7 goals in 7 games vs Utah with a .966 save percentage and a 0.98 Goals Against Average.

Utah 1 @ Idaho 2 (Feb 8 2020)

Utah 0 @ Idaho 4 (Feb 7 2020)

Idaho 1 @ Utah 2 (Jan 20 2020) SO

Idaho 1 @ Utah 0 (Nov 3 2019)

Idaho 3 @ Utah 2 (Nov 2 2019) OT

Utah 5 @ Idaho 4 (Nov 1 2019)

Idaho 3 @ Utah 1 (Oct 12 2019)

Idaho 3 @ Utah 2 (Oct 11 2019)

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Forward Tim McGauley leads league in assists (42). Tim is 2nd in plus-minus (+35) and is also 2nd in points (62). Griffen Molino is 4th in points (59), 5th in assists (37) and 3rd in plus-minus (+32). Taylor Richart is tied for 2nd in goals by a defenseman (12). He also leads all blueliners in shots on goal (175). Richart leads league in defenseman power play goals (8). Yuri Terao has 5 game winning goals, tied for 2nd most among rookies. Connor Yau is 2nd in plus-minus among rookies (+26). Mason McDonald leads the league in shootout wins (3). Martin Ouellette is 3rd in the league in wins (22).

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 90 goals at home so far this season. Grizz have outscored opponents 90 to 66 at Maverik Center and have a record of 18-7-2-2.

Upcoming Promotions

March 13th Allen at Utah – AFCU Friday.

March 14th Allen at Utah – Military Night (Specialty jersey’s). Beer Fest. Lucky’s Family Night.

March 15th Allen at Utah – 1 pm face-off.

2019-2020 Regular Season Totals

Overall record: 33-16-5-3

Home record: 18-7-2-2. Utah has outscored opponents 90 to 66 at home this season.

Road record: 15-9-3-1. Utah is outscoring opponents 102 to 79 on the road this season.

Last 10 games: Utah is 6-3-0-1.

Goals per game: 3.37 (9th in the league).

Goals against per game: 2.54 (2nd). 

Shots per game: 33.14 (9th).

Shots against per game: 26.93 (2nd). 

Utah has outshot opponents in 41 of the 57 games this season.

Power play: 19.7 % (7th).

Penalty Kill: 83.8 % (7th). 

Record When Scoring First: 21-3-1 (.860 win %). League average is a .758 win %.

Team Leaders

Goals: Ty Lewis/Griffen Molino (22)

Assists: Tim McGauley (42) – Leads league.

Points: McGauley (62) – 2nd in league.     

Plus/Minus: McGauley (+35) – 2nd in league.

PIM: Patrick McGrath (86)

Power Play Points: Tim McGauley/Taylor Richart (15) – All 15 of McGauley’s points are assists. Richart has 8 goals and 7 assists on P.P.

Shots on Goal: Taylor Richart (175)

Shooting Percentage: Josh Dickinson (18.4 %)

Game Winning Goals: Yuri Terao/Griffen Molino (5)

Wins: Martin Ouellette (18)

Save %: Hunter Miska (.947) Ouellette has a .928 Save %

Goals Against Average: Miska (1.62)

Hat Tricks This Season

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

Tim McGauley – 1 (December 6th).

Joe Wegwerth – 1 (December 27th).

Ty Lewis – 1 (January 13th).

4 Goal Game – Ty Lewis – 1 (December 17th).