Grizzlies Preview: March 3, 2021 Utah at Allen

Utah Grizzlies (13-7-3-5, .607 Win %) at Allen Americans (16-9-1 .635 Win%)March 3, 2021 | 6:05 PM | Game #29 | Allen Events CenterReferees: Sean MacFarlaneLinesmen: Mitchell Hunt, Dan Kovachik

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 5th of 18 meetings this season between the Grizzlies and Americans. It’s the 4th game of the Grizz road trip as they were at Wheeling last weekend and will head to Wichita later this week for a Friday and Saturday 2 game series at Intrust Bank Arena.

Grizzlies vs Americans Season Series

Utah is 1-1-0-2 vs Allen this season. These teams will meet for a 3 game series at Maverik Center on March 12th-14th. Hunter Skinner leads Utah with 4 goals vs Allen (2g, 2a). 5 other Grizzlies have 3 points vs Allen. Brad Barone was the starting goaltender in 3 of the 4 games vs Allen and has a 1.87 Goals against average and a .929 save percecntage. Ty Lewis had 4 goals and 3 assists in 4 games vs Allen last season, including a 3 goal and 2 assist performance on January 13th, 2020.

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)

Wheeling Series Last Weekend

Riley Woods and Pat Cannone each had 4 points last weekend in Wheeling. Each had a point in all 3 games. Cannone has a point in 9 straight games, while Woods has a point in 9 of 11 games with Utah. AJ White had a point in all 3 games, scoring a power play goal on February 27th and 28th. Trey Bradley had 3 assists on February 27th in the 4-3 Utah win. Wheeling won 5-2 on February 26th and 6-1 on February 28th.  

Matthew Boucher Making Case for Rookie of the Year

Boucher was the league’s player of the Week from January 18th-24th. He has 20 points in 22 games this season. Boucher leads the team in points and goals.

Matthew Boucher League Rankings Among Rookies

Points: 20 – 1st

Goals: 8 – 1st

Assists: 12 – Tied 2nd.

Shots: 84 – 1st.

February Recap

Utah went 6-3-0-3 in February. They had standings points in 9 of 12. Ryan Lowney (3g, 7a) and Trey Bradley (2g, 8a) each had 10 points in the month. Matthew Boucher led Utah with 5 February goals. AJ White, Riley Woods and Pat Cannone had 7 points in the month.

Bradley and Cannone Leads Team in Assists  

Trey Bradley is tied with Pat Cannone for the team lead with 13 assists on the season. He had 3 helpers in the 4-3 win last Saturday. Bradley had a point in 8 of the 12 games played in February.

Special Teams

Utah has 7 power play goals in the last 4 games. 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 21 of the 28 games. On the season Utah is the number 1 power play unit in the league at 24.6 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.

Recent Transactions

Forward Ty Lewis returns to the Grizzlies after being reassisgned from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Lewis had 5 assists in 2 games with Utah earlier this season against Rapid City on February 20th and 21st. Lewis has played in 4 games with the Eagles this season. Last season Lewis led the club with 25 goals. Ty had 4 goals and 3 assists vs Allen in 4 games last season, including a 3 goal, 2 assist performance on January 13th, 2020.

Lots of Close Games

17 of the 28 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests.

Grizzlies Among League leaders

Matthew Boucher leads all rookies in goals (8) and points (20). His 12 assists are tied for 2nd among rookies. Boucher’s 87 shots on goal lead all rookies and Cedric Pare is 3rd in shots among rookies with 64. Hunter Skinner leads the league with 2 shootout goals. Ryan Lowney leads all league defenseman with 4 power play goals and 10 power play points.  

Matthew Boucher Making Case for Rookie of the Year

Boucher was the league’s player of the Week from January 18th-24th. He has 20 points in 22 games this season. Boucher leads the team in points and goals.

Matthew Boucher League Rankings Among Rookies

Points: 20 – 1st

Goals: 8 – 1st

Assists: 12 – Tied 2nd.

Shots: 84 – 1st.

Last Week’s Games

February 26th, 2021 – Utah 2 Wheeling 5 – Pat Cannone and Matthew Boucher each scored first period goals.

February 27th, 2021 – Utah 4 Wheeling 3 – Ryan Lowney GWG with 5:01 left in the 3rd period.

February 28th, 2021 – Utah 1 Wheeling 6 – AJ White scored a power play goal.

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

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm. 

Friday, March 5th, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, March 6th , 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm.

All times Mountain.

Next Week’s Games

Friday, March 12th, 2021 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm.

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

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

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 13-7-3-5

Home record: 8-3-1-3

Road record: 5-4-2-2

Win percentage: .607 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Lost 1.

Standings Points: 34

Last 10: 4-3-0-3

Goals per game: 3.04 (6th in the league). Goals for: 85

Goals against per game: 3.18 (10th). Goals against: 88

Shots per game: 32.25 (5th).

Shots against per game: 29.36 (5th).

Power Play: 24.6 % - 28 for 114 (1st). – Utah has 7 power play goals in the last 4 games. 10 for 32 last 6 games. 

Penalty Kill: 81.4 % - 79 for 97 (10th).

Penalty Minutes: 351 (12.54 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 5 (3rd) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4 (Tied for 8th)

Players Used: 39

Attendance: 24,039 (1,603 per game).

Record When Scoring First: 8-3-1.  Utah has scored first in 12 of the 28 games.

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (8)

Assists: Trey Bradley/Pat Cannone (13)

Points: Boucher/Cannone (20)

Plus/Minus: Matt Abt (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (48)

Power Play Points: Pat Cannone (11)

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (87) 

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).

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: AJ White (2)

Assist Streaks: Riley Woods (3), Pat Cannone (2).

Point Streaks: Cannone (9) – Longest streak by a Grizzlies skater this season. Woods (3). White (