Grizzlies Weekly: Home Opening Weekend

Grizzlies Weekly: Home Opening Weekend Dec. 18-19

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies will be at Maverik Center for the start of a 5 game homestand with a 2 game series vs Tulsa on December 18th and 19th. Face-off for both games will be at 7:10 pm.  

Last weekend the Grizzlies split a 2 game series at Rapid City. Rush won 6-4 on December 11th in the season opener. Joe Wegwerth, Cedric Pare and Miles Gendron each had 1 goal and 1 assist in the opener. The next night Utah won 3-1 as former lake Superior State stars Diego Cuglietta and Brayden Gelsinger each had 1 goal and 1 assist.  

Cuglietta had 1 goal and 3 assists last weekend. His 4 points is tied for the league lead. Diego scored 8:18 into the third period to break a 1-1 tie last Saturday. 1 minute 12 seconds later Mike McNicholas scored his first in a Utah uniform to finish the scoring in the win. Goaltender Peyton Jones earned his first professional win by stopping 21 of 22 shots.

Capacity will be limited to 1,800 for each game to start the season. Fans will be required to wear masks and at least 6 feet social distancing.

This week begins a 5 game homestand as the Grizzlies will be home on December 18th – 19th vs Tulsa and December 31st and January 1st-2nd vs Rapid City.

FloHockey is the live streaming home for the ECHL and the Utah Grizzlies. Get the FloSports iOS and Android apps to watch the event live and on-the-go. For more information go to https://www.flohockey.tv/. Audio streaming for every Grizzlies game is available on Mixlr,  (https://mixlr.com/utah-grizzlies).

Tickets for every Grizzlies game is available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. The current capacity at Maverik Center will be 1,800 to start the season. For continuing updates on the season, follow the Grizzlies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2nd Window of Games on the 2020-21 schedule were released earlier on Monday. There are 11 more games added, including 6 games at Maverik Center. The Grizzlies will host Kansas City on January 15th, 16th and the annual MLK game at 5:10 pm on January 18th. Utah will also be at home on January 29th, 30th and 31st for a baseball style 3 game weekend series with 7:10 pm games on Friday and Saturday with a 1:10 pm Sunday start against the Allen Americans.

2nd Wave of the 2020-21 Schedule

Friday, January 15th, 2020 – Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm

Saturday, January 16th, 2020 – Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm

Monday, January 18th, 2020 – Kansas City at Utah. 5:10 pm

Friday, January 22nd , 2020 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm

Saturday, January 23rd , 2020 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm

Friday, January 29th, 2020 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm

Saturday, January 30th, 2020 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Sunday, January 31st, 2020 – Allen at Utah. 1:10 pm.

Friday, February 5th, 2020 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, February 6th, 2020 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm

Tuesday, February 9th, 2020 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Tommy Besinger, Diego Cuglietta, Brayden Gelsinger, Charlie Gerard, Matt Hoover, Christian Horn, Jack Jenkins, Mitch Maxwell, Mike McNicholas, Cedric Pare, Jared Pike, Denis Smirnov, Yuri Terao, Joe Wegwerth.

Defenseman: Matt Abt, Miles Gendron, Edwin Hookenson, Tanner Jago, Garrett Johnston, Alex Lepkowski, Kris Myllari, Ian Scheid, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders: Brad Barone, Peyton Jones.

This Week’s Games (Both games can be seen on Flohockey.tv and Mixlr

December 18th, 2020 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm.

December 19th, 2020 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Schedule From December 11th, 2020 - January 14th, 2021

Friday, December 11, 2020 – Utah 4, Rapid City 6.

Saturday, December 12, 2020 – Utah 3, Rapid City 1.

Friday, December 18, 2020 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Saturday, December 19, 2020 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Thursday, December 31, 2020 – Rapid City at Utah. 5:00 pm.

Friday, January 1, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Saturday, January 2, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Friday, January 8, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 7:05 pm.

Saturday, January 9, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 7:05 pm.

Sunday, January 10, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 4:05 pm.

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: 7 players tied with 1 goal apiece.

Assists: Diego Cuglietta (3)

Points: Cuglietta (4) – Tied for league lead.

Plus/Minus: Garrett Johnston (+3)

PIM: Matt Abt (4)

Power Play Points: Miles Gendron (2) – 1 goal, 1 assist.

Shots on Goal: Charlie Gerard (11) – leads league.

Shooting Percentage: Cuglietta, Michael McNicholas, Brayden Gelsinger (25.0 %)

Game Winning Goals: Cuglietta (1)

Wins: Peyton Jones (1)

Save %: Jones (.875)

Goals Against Average: Jones (3.50).

Overall record: 1-1

Home record (2019-20): 18-7-2-2. Utah has outscored opponents 90 to 66 at home.

Road record: 1-1.

Last 10 games: Utah was 4-2-2-2 last year in the last 10 games.

Goals per game: 3.50 (3rd in the league).

Goals against per game: 3.50 (Tied 8th). 

Shots per game: 31.50 (6th).

Shots against per game: 28.50 (4th). 

Power Play: 22.2 % - 2 for 9 (2nd)

Penalty Kill: 83.3 % - 5 for 6 (Tied 9th).