Grizzlies Weekly: Road Trip Continues in the Black Hills

Grizzlies Weekly: Road Trip Continues in the Black Hills

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies road trip concludes this Friday and Saturday as they take on the Rapid City Rush for a big 2 game series. Face-off both nights is at 7:00 pm.

Utah is in 2nd place in the Mountain division with 76 points and a record of 33-17-6-4. In February they played 15 games in 29 days. Grizz had a record of 8-4-1-2 for the month. Utah has a +41 goal differential this season, 2nd best in the division and 3rd best in the Western Conference behind only Allen and Toledo.

There has been a ton of close games this season as Utah has played in 18 games past regulation. Utah has also been an elite defensive team this season. They are 4th in goals allowed per game (2.58) and 2nd in shots allowed per game (27.13).

The annual Tip-A-Grizz charity event is on March 3rd at 6:30 pm on the 4th floor at Maverik Center. Grizzlies player will serve as waiters

Next homestand for the Grizzlies is on March 13th-15th vs Allen. March 13th is an AFCU Friday. March 14th is Military Night as it’s the Grizzlies way of saying thanks and honoring those who have served our great nation. The Grizz will wear specialty jersey’s that will be auctioned off after the game. It’s also a Lucky’s Family Night and Beer Fest.

March 15th is the game that was rescheduled from the originally scheduled March 11th game. Any tickets you have for the march 11th game is good to use for March 15th. Face-off on the 15th is at 1:00 pm.

Tickets for every Grizzlies game is available at utahgrizzlies.com, the Maverik Center box office or by calling (801) 988-8000.

Recent Transactions

Forward Nick Henry and Defenseman Josh Anderson were each reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on March 1st. Henry played for Utah on February 28th and 29th at Idaho. Henry has appeared in 38 games for Colorado this season. Anderson has 2 goals and 4 assists in 23 games this season.

On February 27th Forwards Ryan Wagner, Tim McGauley, Josh Dickinson and defenseman Peter Tischke were each reassigned to the AHL’s Eagles. Wagner had an amazing week. He scored 2 goals for Utah on February 24th vs Kansas City, added 2 more on February 26th at Idaho and on March 1st had 2 goals for the Colorado in their 3-1 victory over Milwaukee. McGauley leads the league with 42 assists. Dickinson was the league’s Player of the Month for October 2019 and Tischke scored the game winning goal in overtime on February 19th vs Rapid City.

Goaltender Jeff Smith was traded to the Orlando Solar Bears for Future Considerations on February 27th. Smith has played in 2 games for Orlando since the trade and has stopped 39 of 44 shots.

Last Week’s Games

Feb. 29: Utah 0 Idaho 4

Idaho outshot Utah 29 to 27. Yuri Terao had 7 shots on goal, while Ty Lewis and Taylor Richart had 4 shots.

Feb. 28: Utah 1 Idaho 2 (Overtime)

Marc-Olivier Roy won it for Idaho 1:01 into OT to give Idaho the extra standings point. Idaho has won 8 of the 10 series meetings this season though 8 of the 10 games have been 1 goal contests. Ty Lewis scored his 23rd goal of the year 5:14 in. Both teams were 0 for 1 on the power play. It was a great goaltending matchup as Martin Ouellette saved 28 of 30, while Tomas Sholl saved 24 of 25.

Feb. 26: Idaho 4 Utah 3 (Shootout)

Ryan Wagner had 2 goals and Mitch Maxwell had 1 goal in a 4-3 shootout loss to Idaho. Wagner’s 2nd goal tied the game with 55 seconds left in the 3rd period. Maxwell now has 2 goals and a shootout game winner on his resume vs Idaho this season. Martin Ouellette stopped 32 of 35 shots. For Idaho Brett Supinski had 1 goal and 1 assist and AJ White had 2 assists. Both Supinski and White had shootout goals for Idaho. Utah outshot Idaho 38 to 36.

Feb. 24: Utah 3 Kansas City 0

Ryan Wagner had 2 goals. Tim McGauley had a 3rd period shorthanded goal. Utah outshot Kansas City 34 to 17.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Forward Tim McGauley leads league in assists (42). Tim is 3rd in plus-minus (+35) and is also 4th in points (62). Griffen Molino is 5th 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 (178). Richart leads league in defenseman power play goals (8). Yuri Terao has 5 game winning goals, tied for 2nd most among rookies. Connor Yau has the best plus-minus rating among rookies (+27) and 5th among all league defenseman. 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. Boy Scout Sleepover.

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

March 15th Allen at Utah – 1 pm start.

2019-2020 Regular Season Totals

Overall record: 33-17-6-4

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

Road record: 15-10-4-2. Utah is outscoring opponents 106 to 89 on the road this season.

Last 10 games: Utah is 5-2-1-2

Goals per game: 3.27 (Tied 10th in the league).

Goals against per game: 2.58 (4th). 

Shots per game: 32.95 (10th).

Shots against per game: 27.13 (2nd). 

Utah has outshot opponents in 42 of the 60 games this season.

Power play: 19.0 % (8th).

Penalty Kill: 83.6 % (Tied 7th). 

Record When Scoring First: 21-3-2 (.848 win %). League average is a .754 win %.

Team Leaders

Goals: Ty Lewis (23)

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 (182)

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 .925 Save %

Goals Against Average: Miska (1.62) Ouellette has a (2.05).

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).