Grizzlies Preview: Allen at Utah, March 13, 2021

Allen Americans (18-9-1, .661 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (13-11-3-5 .531 Win%)March 13, 2021 | 7:10 PM | Game #33 | Maverik CenterReferee: Jacob RekuckiLinesmen: Craig Peterson, Kollin Kleinendorst.

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 2nd game of the 3 game weekend series between Utah and Allen. It’s the 7th season meeting between the clubs. Yesterday Utah received forwards Ty Lewis, Nick Henry and Travis Barron as each were reassigned from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

Last Night

Jared Pike and Matthew Boucher each scored first period goals for Utah to make it a 2-0 game but 6 unanswered Allen goals led to a 6-2 Americans win. Utah outshot Allen 33 to 22. Nick Henry led Utah with 7 shots on goal. Alex Lepkowski had 2 assists for Utah.

Matthew Boucher Has Had Successful First Pro Season

Boucher leads all rookies with 10 goals and 23 points. He is tied for the lead in rookies with 13 assists. Boucher is the Grizzlies leading scorer. He has played well against Allen, scoring 4 goals in 6 games.

Matthew Boucher League Rankings Among Rookies

Points: 21=3 – 1st

Goals: 10 – 1st

Assists: 13 – Tied for 1st

Shots: 97 – 1st.

Special Teams

Utah has a power play goal in each of their last 12 wins. The only win that didn’t produce a power play goal was the first win of the season on December 12th, 2020 at Rapid City. Utah has a power play goal in 22 of the 32 games. On the season Utah is the number 2 power play unit in the league at 23.1 percent. Pat Cannone has 11 points on the power play to lead the team (4g, 7a). Ryan Lowney has 4 goals and 6 assists on the man advantage. The 30 power play goals are the most in the league.

Last Week’s Games

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 – Utah 3 Allen 5 - Matthew Boucher, Hunter Skinner and Trey Bradley score goals.

Friday, March 5th, 2021 – Utah 0 Wichita 3 – Utah outshot Wichita 38 to 29.  

Saturday, March 6th, 2021 – Utah 3 Wichita 4 -

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

Friday, March 12th, 2021 – Allen 6 Utah 2. 

Saturday, March 13th, 2021 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Sunday, March 14th, 2021 – Allen at Utah. 1:10 pm.

All times Mountain.

Next Week’s Games

Friday, March 19th, 2021 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

Saturday, March 20th, 2021 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm

Grizzlies Among League leaders

Matthew Boucher leads all rookies in goals (10), points (23) and shots on goal (97).. Boucher is also tied for the lead with 13 assists. Cedric Pare is 3rd in shots among rookies with 72. Hunter Skinner leads the league with 2 shootout goals. Skinner is tied for the lead among defenseman with 7 goals. Ryan Lowney leads all league defenseman with 4 power play goals. Cannone is 2nd in the league with 11 power play points.

Season Series vs Allen

Utah is 1-3-0-2 vs Allen this season. Hunter Skinner leads Utah with 5 points vs Allen (3g, 2a). Matthew Boucher also has 5 points vs Allen (4g, 1a). Saturday night will be the 7th season meeting between the clubs. The teams will meet 18 times during the regular season.

Allen 6 @ Utah 2 (Mar 12 2021)

Utah 3 @ Allen 5 (Mar 3 2021)

Utah 1 @ Allen 2 (Feb 9 2021) SO

Allen 3 @ Utah 4 (Jan 31 2021)

Allen 3 @ Utah 2 (Jan 30 2021) SO

Allen 5 @ Utah 2 (Jan 29 2021)

2020-21 Number of Times Grizzlies Face Different Opponents

Allen – 18 games.

Rapid City – 16 games.

Tulsa – 12 games.

Kansas City – 11 games.

Wichita – 9 games.

Fort Wayne – 3 games at Maverik Center from June 3-5.

Wheeling – 3 games. Only 3 games vs an Eastern Conference opponent.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 13-11-3-5

Home record: 8-4-1-3

Road record: 5-7-2-2

Win percentage: .531 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Lost 5.

Standings Points: 34

Last 10: 3-6-0-1

Goals per game: 2.91 (7th in the league). Goals for: 93

Goals against per game: 3.34 (13th). Goals against: 107

Shots per game: 32.53 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.19 (5th).

Power Play: 23.1 % - 30 for 130 (2nd). – The 30 power play goals are the most in the league.

Penalty Kill: 82.1 % - 92 for 112 (Tied 9th).

Penalty Minutes: 391 (12.22 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 5 (3rd) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 5 (Tied for 10th)

Players Used: 41

Attendance: 25,955 (1,622 per game).

Record When Scoring First: 8-5-1.  Utah has scored first in 14 of the 32 games.

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (10)

Assists: Trey Bradley/Pat Cannone/Boucher (13)

Points: Boucher (23)

Plus/Minus: Matt Abt (+8) Jack Jenkins and Alex Lepkowski leads active Grizzlies at +4.

PIM: Teigan Zahn (48)

Power Play Points: Pat Cannone (11)

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (97) 

Shooting Percentage: Joe Wegwerth (18.2%) – Minimum 10 shots.

Game Winning Goals: Pat Cannone/Nick Henry (2)

Wins: Brad Barone (5)

Save %: Parker Gahagen (.930)

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.12).

Forwards: Travis Barron, Matthew Boucher, Trey Bradley, Pat Cannone, Josh Dickinson, Nick Henry, Matt Hoover, Christian Horn, Jack Jenkins, Ty Lewis, Mitch Maxwell, Cedric Pare, Jared Pike, Joe Wegwerth. AJ White.

Defenseman: Brandon Fehd, Ryker Killins, Alex Lepkowski, Ryan Lowney, Hunter Skinner, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders: Brad Barone, Kevin Carr.