2019-2020 Utah Grizzlies Season Recap

Utah Grizzlies 2019-2020 Season Review

West Valley City, Utah – The 2019-2020 season came to an end with the cancellation of the season by the ECHL.

While the season ended prematurely it looked like the Grizzlies would be postseason bound for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons. There were many positives in head coach Tim Branham’s 7th season as head coach. Utah finished the season tied for 2nd in the tough Mountain Division with 79 standings points. They had a .637 winning percentage, which was the best in Utah Grizzlies franchise history. The previous best winning percentages were 3 separate seasons in the IHL where the team had an identical .622 winning rate. It was the 2nd season where the Grizzlies were affiliated with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.

Utah scored 207 goals and allowed only 164 this season. The +43 goal differential was the best in team history since the 1999-2000 season, where Utah had a +45 goal differential.

Forward Josh Dickinson was on fire in October. He had back to back hat tricks on October 16th vs Wichita and October 18th at Allen. It was the first time a Grizzlies skater had back to back hat tricks since Colin Vock in 2013. Dickinson won ECHL Player of the Month for October, where he had 9 goals and 2 assists in 7 games. He ended the season leading the club in shooting percentage (17.6 %) and proved to be a point a game guy as he had 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games.

October 18th’s 10-4 win over the Allen Americans was a game for the ages. It was the first 10 goal game by the Grizzlies since November 15th, 1995 vs the Chicago Wolves in the old IHL. Utah had 8 different skaters register a multiple point game. Josh Dickinson scored 3 goals. Travis Barron had 1 goal & 3 assists. Griffen Molino, Cole Cassels & Taylor Richart each had 1 goal & 1 assist and Ryan Wagner, Tim McGauley & Yuri Terao each had 2 assists.

In December Tim McGauley, Griffen Molino and Ty Lewis had a month for the ages. At the start of the month head coach Tim Branham put those 3 on the same forward line. The results were incredible as McGauley and Molino were each a +22 for the month. That was the highest plus-minus ratings by forwards in a single month in league history. McGauley had 25 points in 12 games in December (9 goals, 16 assists). Molino had 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) and combined with McGauley as co-winners of the Plus Performers of the Month. Lewis led the league with 11 December goals and was a +14 in a month where the Grizzlies went 9-1-2.

McGauley broke a single game franchise record for assists (6) and points (7) in a 8-2 win at Wichita on December 17th. The odd thing about that was McGauley wasn’t even the number 1 star of the game. That honor went to Ty Lewis, who had 4 goals and 2 assists. Griffen Molino had 1 goal and 3 assists.

On December 12th the Grizzlies acquired goaltender Martin Ouellette in a trade with the Atlanta Gladiators. Ouellette made an immediate impact as he won Goaltender of the Week in his first week with the club after stopping 51 of 53 shots against the number 1 scoring team in the league, the Newfoundland Growlers. In his first game Ouellette got a 19 save shutout on December 13th and stopped 32 of 34 the next night as Utah got 5 out of 6 standings points in a 3 game series against the defending Kelly Cup Champions. Ouellette won the league's Goaltender of the Month honors for December 2019. In 28 games in a Utah uniform Ouellette had a record of 18-5-3-2 with a 2.16 GAA and a .921 save percentage. 

Even before Ouellette joined the club, things were turning up. Utah showed up in last place in the Mountain division on November 22nd before a 5 game homestand vs Orlando and Florida. Grizzlies won 2-1 on November 22nd on a JC Brassard game winner in overtime. The next night it was Eric Williams who won 4:51 into OT. Goaltender Hunter Miska had a couple of outstanding games that weekend for Utah. Miska played in 3 games for the Grizz before going to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, where he has had an outstanding season. Miska is 16-6-3 with Colorado with a 2.48 Goals Against Average and a  924 Save percentage. Miska earned a Call-up to the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche on February 16th, 2020.

On Thanksgiving week the Grizzlies won 2 of 3 against the Eastern Conference powerhouse Florida Everblades. Joe Wegwerth got the game winner 22 seconds into overtime on November 27th. On November 30th Brandon Saigeon tied the game 4-4 with a power play goal with 2:34 left in regulation. Saigeon followed it up with the game winner in the shootout. Saigeon had 8 goals and 10 assists in 51 games.

December started with a successful road trip at Rapid City on December 6th and 7th where the Grizzlies got 3 of 4 standings points, including a 25 save shutout by Brad Barone in a 4-0 win on Rapid City’s Teddy Bear Toss night. Barone learned that revenge was a dish best served cold as he was released by the Rush a month ago and fans had to throw the teddy bears on the ice with 5 minutes left in regulation instead of the traditional throwing of the bears after the home team’s first goal.

Taylor Richart had another solid season for the Grizzlies in his 4th season as a pro. “Richey” led all league defenseman in power play goals (8) and shots (189). Taylor acted as team captain this season and represented the Grizzlies at the 2020 All-Star Classic and was captain of the Mountain Division team on January 22nd at Wichita.

Richart and Eric Williams were the only 2 players to appear in all 62 games this season. Williams had 7 goals and 16 assists and was a +19 in his first full year as a pro. Sasha Larocque had a solid first year as a pro. The 2019 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year had 1 goal and 8 assists in 40 games. Connor Yau was a +29 this season, which was tied for 2nd among all league rookies and tied for 3rd among all league defenseman. Kevin Davis had 16 assists in 41 games. JC Brassard had 3 goals and 9 assists and Josh Anderson had 2 goals and 6 assists in 23 games. Teigan Zahn was a rock on the blueline for the Grizzlies the past 2 seasons. Zahn’s season came to an end on an injury on December 30th. Zahn has acted as player/assistant coach for the past 2 seasons.

Mr. Clutch this season turned out to be Mitch Maxwell, who had 3 game winners in shootouts. On December 28th Maxwell got the game winner in the 5th round of the shootout vs Tulsa. He also got the shootout deciding goal in the traditional MLK matinee at Maverik Center on January 20th vs Tomas Sholl and the arch-rival Idaho Steelheads. Mitch repeated with the game winner on January 24th vs Allen, using the same move that defeated Idaho 4 days earlier.

Peter Tischke’s game winner in overtime on February 19th vs Rapid City capped off a 2 game weekday sweep. The rookie out of Wisconsin gained more and more confidence as the season went along. His college teammate for 3 years at Wisconsin was Ryan Wagner, who had 9 goals and 11 assists in 23 games.

Notre Dame teammates Joe Wegwerth and Jack Jenkins each impressed in their first year’s as pros. Wegwerth had 14 goals and 12 assists in 43 games. Joe had a hat trick on December 27th vs Tulsa. Jenkins hard working, blue collar style led to a solid season with 7 goals and 18 assists in 52 games.

Forward Yuri Terao had a solid season with 18 goals and 22 assists in 61 games this season. Terao “The Magician” dazzled fans all season with his speed and puck handling. Yuri was the first player born in Japan to play for the Grizzlies.

The 2020-2021 season begins in October and the Utah Grizzlies will look forward to celebrating 25 seasons of hockey. The Grizzlies would like to thank their great fans for all the support throughout the season. For updates on the Grizzlies, go to utahgrizzlies.com and follow the Grizzlies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Double Digit Goal Scorers

9 different Grizzlies players had double digit goal seasons. Ty Lewis led the way with 25 goals. Griffen Molino had 22, followed by Tim McGauley (20), Yuri Terao (18), Josh Dickinson (16), Joe Wegwerth (14), Taylor Richart (12), Travis Barron and Mitch Maxwell each had 11.

Colorado to Utah Shuttle

11 different players appeared in games for both the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and the Grizzlies this season. Goaltender Hunter Miska played in 3 games for Utah and had a .947 Save percentage. Hunter was named league Goaltender of the Week after allowing only 2 goals vs Orlando in 2 overtime wins on November 22nd and 23rd. Miska had an outstanding season for the Eagles with a .924 save percentage, a 2.48 goals against average and a record of 16-6-3. Miska even spent some time in the NHL level with the Avalanche in February. Ryan Wagner, Nick Henry, Josh Dickinson, Griffen Molino, Kevin Davis, Tim McGauley, Josh Anderson, Peter Tischke, Ty Lewis and Travis Barron also appeared in games with both teams. It has been a successful affiliation with the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles as all 3 teams in the organization were in line for a playoff spot for the second straight season before the pause.

Grizzlies Players Winning League 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.

Tim McGauley – December 2019 Player of the Month. Dec. 16-22 Player of the Week. January 2020 Player of the Month.

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

Tim McGauley & Griffen Molino – December 2019 Co winners of the Plus Performers of the Month.

Ty Lewis – Jan 13-19 Player of the Week.

Richart and Williams are the Ironmen of the Team

Taylor Richart and Eric Williams were the only 2 players to have appeared in all 62 games this season. It’s the second straight season where Richart has appeared in every game. In the last 3 seasons Richiart has played in 204 of the 206 games the Grizzlies have played since the start of the 2017-18 season.

2019-2020 Regular Season Totals

Overall record: 34-17-7-4

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

Road record: 16-10-5-2. Utah is outscoring opponents 117 to 98 on the road this season.

Last 10 games: Utah is 4-2-2-2

Goals per game: 3.34 (9th in the league).

Goals against per game: 2.65 (5th). 

Shots per game: 32.82 (8th).

Shots against per game: 27.37 (2nd). 

Utah outshot opponents in 42 of the 62 games this season.

Power play: 19.3 % (8th).

Penalty Kill: 83.6 % (Tied 7th). 

Record When Scoring First: 21-3-3 (.845 win %). League average is a .754 win %.

Team Leaders

Goals: Ty Lewis (25)

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: Taylor Richart (17) – 8 goals, 9 assists.

Shots on Goal: Taylor Richart (189)

Shooting Percentage: Josh Dickinson (17.6 %)

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

Wins: Martin Ouellette (18)

Save %: Hunter Miska (.947) Ouellette has a .921 Save %

Goals Against Average: Miska (1.62) Ouellette has a (2.16).

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).

37 Players

A total of 37 players appeared in at least 1 game for the Grizzlies this season. 32 skaters and 5 goaltenders.

Forwards: Travis Barron, Austin Beaulieu, Cole Cassels, Josh Dickinson, Mike Economos, Nick Henry, Christian Horn, Jake Jackson, Colin Jacobs, Jack Jenkins, Garrett Klotz, Felix Lauzon, Ty Lewis, Mitch Maxwell, Tim McGauley, Patrick McGrath, Dalton Mills, Griffen Molino, Brandon Saigeon, Yuri Terao, Ryan Wagner, Joe Wegwerth,

Defenseman: Josh Anderson, Ryan Black, JC Brassard, Kevin Davis, Sasha Larocque, Taylor Richart, Peter Tischke, Eric Williams, Connor Yau, Teigan Zahn

Goaltenders: Brad Barone, Mason McDonald, Hunter Miska, Martin Ouellette, Jeff Smith.

Head Coach: Tim Branham – 249 wins over 7 seasons. The winningest coach in team history.

Assistant Coach: Ryan Kinasewich – 3rd season as assistant coach. He’s the franchises all time leader in goals, assists and points.

Equipment Manager: Matthew Schwegmann – Did a great job in his first year with the club.

Trainer: Brady Cufaude – Also did a great job in his first year in Utah. Both Schwegmann and Cufaude came over from the SPHL and were outstanding behind the scenes.