Grizzlies Preview: Utah at Kansas City, Feb. 6, 2021

Utah Grizzlies (8-4-3-2, 21 points) at Kansas City Mavericks (7-8-2-1, 17 points)February 6, 2021 | 6:05 PM | Game #18 | Cable Dahmer Arena   Referees: Nolan Bloyer (#31)Linesmen: Mitchell Hunt (#84), Karl Von Hassl (#55). 

Where to See and Hear the Game  

You can catch every game on Flohockey.TV, the new home for ECHL.TV. The games can also be heard on Mixlr, the new broadcast home for Grizzlies hockey.Watch Live:  https://www.flohockey.tv/Listen Live: https://mixlr.com/utah-grizzlies

The Match-up

It’s the last of the 2 game weekend series at Kansas City. It’s the 2nd game of 3 straight road contests as Utah will be at Allen on Tuesday, February 9th. Utah is 2-1-1 vs Kansas City this season. Last year Utah was 4-3-0-1 vs the Mavericks.   

Last Night: Hot Start Led to Grizzlies Victory

Utah won 4-2 last night as Riley Woods had 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and Pat Cannone had 2 assists. Brad Barone saved 38 of 40 in the win. Utah went 2 for 4 on the power play. Hunter Skinner got Utah on the board 1:02 into the game. Cedric Pare and Woods added late first period goals as Utah led 3-0 after 1. Woods 2nd goal of the game 12:59 into the third period added the insurance Utah needed. KC outshot Utah 40 to 32.

Power Play is Number 1 in the League

Utah is 7 for 24 on the power play over the last 6 games. Pat Cannone leads the club with 7 power play points (2 goals, 5 assists). Utah has a power play goal in 11 of their 17 games this season. They have also scored 2 goals that were within 5 seconds after a power play ended. Utah is the number 1 power play unit in the league at 21.5 percent.

Good Starts Last 2 Games 

Utah got off to a 3-0 lead in the first period last night. Utah led 2-0 against Allen 6 minutes into last Sunday’s game, where Utah won 4-3. How important is getting off to a fast start in the first periods? In the 8 Utah wins, they have outscored opponents 13 to 3 in the first period.

Shot Count Last Night

Kansas City outshot Utah 40 to 32 last night. Going into last night’s game Utah led the league in shots allowed per game, while Kansas City was 12th out of 13 teams in shots per game. Utah fell from first to third in shots allowed but it didn’t have a negative effect in the final score as Brad Barone saved 38 of 40 to earn his 3rd win of the season.

Riley Woods, What Can You Say

Woods was the number 1 star in last night’s 4-2 win after a 2 goal, 1 assist performance. Woods has a point in 6 of his 7 games in Utah. 4 of the 7 games have been multi-point contests. 4 of his 20 shots have found the back of the net. Last season Woods scored 13 goals and 24 assists in 43 games with the Newfoundland Growlers. Last season Woods had 10 games with 2 or more points, with his best effort coming against Adirondack on February 7th, 2020, where he had 2 goals and 3 assists in a 7-4 Growlers win. Woods had a point in 23 of the 43 games last season.

Hunter Skinner Scored Again

Skinner has 3 goals in his last 2 games. The 19 year old has 7 points (3g, 4a) in 6 pro games. Hunter was drafted in the 4th round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. Skinner played with Team USA in the 2021 World Juniors, a tournament where USA won Gold.

Point Streaks and Trends

Riley Woods has a point in 6 of the 7 games played. Woods has 4 multi-point games in the 7 he’s played. Pat Cannone has a point in 5 straight games. Cannone has a point in 11 of his 15 games. Hunter Skinner has a point in 3 straight games and a point in 5 of his 6 pro games. Ryan Lowney has a point in 5 of his last 6 games. Matthew Boucher has 4 multi point games in his last 9 contests. Cedric Pare has a goal in 2 straight.

Cannone and Boucher Were Runner’s Up for Awards

Pat Cannone was the runner-up for the league Player of the Month award in January. In 13 January games, Cannone had 5 goals and 7 assists. Matthew Boucher was runner-up for January Rookie of the Month. In 11 games, Boucher had 3 goals and 8 assists. It was Boucher’s first month as a professional. He played the last 2 seasons with the University of New Brunswick.

This Year vs KC

Utah is 2-1-1 vs KC this season.

Utah played KC in a 3 game series on January 15th-16th and 18th at Maverik Center.

Utah won 4-1 on January 15th as Pat Cannone had 1 goal and 2 assists.

Kansas City won 5-4 in overtime on January 16th. KC’s Brodie Reid had 2 goals and 2 assists. The Mavericks won 5-2 on January 18th as they led 4-0 after the first period. Reid has 6 goals and 3 assists in 4 games vs Utah.

Pat Cannone (2 goals, 4 assists) leads Utah with 6 points and Matthew Boucher has 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists). Cedric Pare, AJ White and Riley Woods each has 2 goals vs KC.

No One Has Played in All 17

Kris Myllari was out of the lineup for Utah last night. There are 0 players who have appeared in all 17 games this season. Garrett Johnston, Cedric Pare, Christian Horn and Myllari have played in 16 of the 17. Last season Taylor Richart and Eric Williams played in all 62 games for the Grizzlies.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 8-4-3-2

Home record: 5-2-1-1

Road record: 3-2-2-1

Win percentage: .618 (3rd in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 2.

Standings Points: 21

Last 10: 4-2-2-2. Standings points in 8 of last 10.

Goals per game: 3.12 (5th in the league).

Goals against per game: 3.12 (9th). 

Shots per game: 32.29 (6th).

Shots against per game: 29.74 (3rd).

Power Play: 21.5 % - 14 for 65 (1st). – Utah has 6 power play goals in the last 4 games. 

Penalty Kill: 79.0 % - 49 for 62 (13th).

Shorthanded Goals: 4 (Tied for 2nd) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 3 (Tied for 9th)

Record When Scoring First: 7-2-1.  Utah has scored first in 10 of the 17 games.

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Charlie Gerard/Pat Cannone/Cedric Pare (5)

Assists: Cannone (10)

Points: Cannone (15)

Plus/Minus: Matt Abt (+8) Jack Jenkins leads among active Grizzlies at +7.

PIM: Teigan Zahn (24)

Power Play Points: Cannone (7)

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (42) 

Shooting Percentage: Riley Woods (20.0 %) 4 goals on 20 shots.

Game Winning Goals: Cedric Pare (2)

Wins: Peyton Jones (4)

Save %: Parker Gahagen/Brad Barone (.930)

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.12).

2020-21 Roster

Forwards: Matthew Boucher, Trey Bradley, Pat Cannone, Diego Cuglietta, Matt Hoover, Christian Horn, Jack Jenkins, Mitch Maxwell, Cedric Pare, Jared Pike, Yuri Terao, Joe Wegwerth. AJ White, Riley Woods.

Defenseman: Miles Gendron, Garrett Johnston, Ryker Killins, Alex Lepkowski, Ryan Lowney, Kris Myllari, Hunter Skinner, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders: Brad Barone, Evan Buitenhuis. 

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Tim Branham – 257 wins over 7 + seasons. The winningest coach in team history.

Assistant Coach: Ryan Kinasewich – 4th season as assistant coach. He’s the franchises all time leader in goals, assists and points.

Equipment Manager: Matthew Schwegmann – 2nd season in Utah, 3rd in ECHL and 4th professionally.

Athletic Trainer: Collin Lee: First year Grizzlies trainer. Previously worked with the South Carolina Stingrays training staff.