Grizzlies Weekly: 4 Big Home Games This Week

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies, proud affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, have a big 4 home series against the Tulsa Oilers on March 24th, 26th and 27th at 7:10 pm and Sunday, March 28th at 1:10 pm.

It’s the first time the Oilers will be at Maverik Center this season. They were originally going to play at Maverik Center on December 18th and 19th but the games were postponed. The December 18th game will be made up on March 26th and the game on December 19th will be made up on March 27th. It will be Tulsa’s only trip to the Salt Lake Valley in the regular season. The Grizzlies will play 5 road games at Tulsa later in the season.

The Grizzlies have hit the halfway point of the regular season, having played 36 of the 72 games on the schedule. The Grizzlies will play 18 home games in the second half. In April, the Grizzlies host Kansas City on April 14th, 16th-17th. Those are the only 3 home games in April as Utah will play 11 games away from home. In May the Grizzlies host the Rush on May 4th-5th and 7th-8th. Utah also hosts Allen on May 19th, 21st-23rd and ends the regular season by hosting Fort Wayne on June 2nd, 4th and 5th.

Tickets for every game this week and all season long are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. For continuing updates on the 2020-21 season, follow the Grizzlies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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

Friday, March 19th, 2021 – Utah 5 Rapid City 4 (Shootout) – Hunter Skinner scored shootout game winner. Charlie Gerard had 2 goals. Jack Jenkins and Matt Hoover added goals for the Grizz.

Saturday, March 20th, 2021 – Utah 0 Rapid City 7 – Utah had 30 shots on goal.

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

Wednesday, March 24th, 2021 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm

Friday, March 26th, 2021 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm. This is the make-up game for the December 18th postponement.

Saturday, March 27th, 2021 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm. Make-up game for the December 19th postponement.

Sunday, March 28th, 2021 – Tulsa at Utah. 1:10 pm. Utah is 4-0 on Sundays at home.

Next Week’s Games

Friday, April 1st, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, April 2nd, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Sunday, April 3rd, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

All times Mountain.

Halfway Through the season

Utah Grizzlies Highlights for the first half

• Matthew Boucher winning league Player of the Week from January 18th-24th. Boucher leads all league rookies and Grizzlies skaters with 11 goals, 16 assists, 27 points and 110 shots on goal. Boucher leads the team with 6 multiple point games.
• Pat Cannone had a great month of January, where he had 12 points (5g, 7a) in 13 games. He had a point in 9 of the 13 contests. Cannone had a point in 15 of his first 19 games this season. Pat is tied for 3rd in the league with 11 power play points.
• Grizzlies have played their best hockey on Sunday afternoon’s at Maverik Center. Utah’s biggest margin in a win was a 6-1 victory vs Wichita on February 14th. Utah is 4-0 on Sunday afternoon home games, outscoring opponents 19-8.
• Nick Henry’s overtime game winner on February 20th vs Rapid City. In that game Ryan Lowney was the number 1 star with 2 goals and 2 assists.
• Nick Henry’s Hat Trick on February 21st vs Rapid City helped Utah take 2 of 3 in a weekend series. It is  the only 3 goal game for Utah in the first half.
• Grizzlies have 11 different players who have scored at least 2 goals in a game. No one has more than 1 game with 2 goals or more. Joe Wegwerth and Ian Scheid each had 2 goals in the same game on December 31st, 2020, a game Utah won 6-3 vs Rapid City. Utah is 9-0-1 when a player scores 2 goals or more in a game.
• Grizzlies swept Rapid City in a 3 game series on December 31st, 2020 through January 2nd, 2021. Utah is 8-2-1-1 vs the Rush this season.
• Utah had 51 shots on goal vs Allen on March 13th is tied for the most in the league for a single game this season.
• Utah has played in many close games. 20 of the 36 games have been decided by 1 goal.
• Grizzlies power play was outstanding in the first half. They scored a power play goal in 13 of the 15 wins. Utah has a power play goal in 23 of the 36 games. Pat Cannone leads the team with 11 power play points (4 goals, 7 assists) and Ryan Lowney had 10 power play points (4g, 6a).
• There was a line brawl on February 28th at Wheeling with 9.1 seconds left that also involved a goalie fight between Utah’s Kevin Carr and Wheeling’s Francois Brassard. Odd stat: Goaltender Kevin Carr has 25 penalty minutes this season, which is the 5th most on the club, trailing only Teigan Zahn (48), Mitch Maxwell (38), Matthew Boucher (34) and Matt Hoover (26).
• 19 year-old Defenseman Hunter Skinner scored 7 goals and 10 assists in 25 games. He leads the league with 3 shootout goals. Skinner scored his first 2 professional goals on Sunday, January 31st vs Allen, a game Utah won 4-3.
• Ryan Lowney and Miles Gendron each scored 6 goals, tied for 3rd most among defenseman in the league.
• Forward Riley Woods had 16 points (4g, 12a) in 14 games. He is currently with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
• Number 1 stars: There have been 14 different Grizzlies players who have been named the number 1 star of the game. Trey Bradley (January 22nd at RC & March 14th vs Allen) and Ryan Lowney (February 20th vs RC and February 27th at Wheeling) are the only 2 Grizzlies players to have been awarded the number 1 star on 2 different occasions. Matthew Boucher has been named the number 2 star 3 different times. 4 different Grizzlies have the lead by being named the number 3 star on 2 different nights (Jenkins, Gerard, Cannone and Bradley).
• Diego Cuglietta won the league’s Player of the Week honor for the first weekend of the regular season as he scored 1 goal and 3 assists vs Rapid City on December 11th and 12th.
• Sandy, Utah native Jared Pike scored 3 goals for Utah in the first half of the season. On March 16th Utah signed goaltender Garrett Metcalf, who was born and raised in Salt Lake City.
• Utah has used 44 different players through 36 games. To put that in perspective, last season in 62 games, Utah used 37 players. There are 27 different players who have scored a goal this season for Utah, with Matthew Boucher leading the team with 11. There are 12 players who have 10 or more points in the first half of the season.
• Among the 44 Grizzlies players in the first half, there have been 11 players who have played in at least 1 AHL game this season. Matt Abt, Travis Barron, Josh Dickinson, Parker Gahagen, Miles Gendron, Charlie Gerard, Nick Henry,  Peyton Jones, Ty Lewis, Ian Scheid, Riley Woods.
• Goaltender Parker Gahagen had a .930 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average in 5 games with Utah. He is currently with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Brad Barone had a .935 save percentage in his first 6 games of the season. Barone leads the team with 5 wins.

Grizzlies 3 goal game

Nick Henry, February 21st vs RC.

2 goal games

Joe Wegweth – December 31st vs RC.

Ian Scheid – December 31st vs RC

Trey Bradley – January 22nd at RC.

Hunter Skinner – January 31st vs Allen.

Riley Woods – February 5th at KC

Miles Gendron – February 6th at KC.  

Matthew Boucher – February 14th vs Wichita.

Ryan Lowney – February 20th vs RC.  

Cedric Pare – March 13th vs Allen.

Charlie Gerard – March 19th at RC.

Multiple Point games

6 - Matthew Boucher

5 - Trey Bradley, Riley Woods.

4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner,Cedric Pare.

3 - Miles Gendron, Charlie Gerard.

2 - Ryan Lowney, Ty Lewis, Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, Matt Hoover, Joe Wegwerth.

1 - AJ White, Jack Jenkins, Mitch Maxwell, Alex Lepkowski, Braylon Shmyr, Ian Scheid, Matt Abt, Ryker Killins, Josh Dickinson, Travis Barron, Brayden Gelsinger.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 15-12-4-5

Home record: 9-4-2-3

Road record: 6-8-2-2

Win percentage: .542 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: lost 1.

Standings Points: 39

Last 10: 3-6-1

Goals per game: 2.97 (5th). Goals for: 107

Goals against per game: 3.44 (13th). Goals against: 124

Shots per game: 32.89 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.47 (6th).

Power Play: 21.4 % - 31 for 145 (2nd).

Penalty Kill: 80.0 % - 100 for 125 (13th).

Penalty Minutes: 448 (12.44 per game).

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

Players Used: 44 – Michael Prapavessis and Trevor Gorsuch each made Grizzlies debut last weekend at RC.

Attendance: 29,644 (1,648 per game).

Record When Scoring First: 10-5-1. 

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (11)

Assists: Boucher (16)

Points: Boucher (27)

Plus/Minus: Matt Abt (+8) Jack Jenkins leads active Grizzlies at +5.

PIM: Teigan Zahn (48)

Power Play Points: Pat Cannone (11)

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (110) 

Shooting Percentage: Nick Henry (20.0%) – Minimum 15 shots.

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

Wins: Brad Barone (5)

Save %: Parker Gahagen (.930)

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.12).

Current Roster

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

Defenseman: Brandon Fehd, Miles Gendron, Alex Lepkowski, Ryan Lowney, Michael Prapavessis, Hunter Skinner, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders: Brad Barone, Kevin Carr, Trevor Gorsuch, Garrett Metcalf.

Grizzlies Have Been a Consistent Winner

Grizzlies have a .544 winning percentage through 36 games this season. Last year the Grizzlies were on pace to make the postseason with a .637 winning percentage, the best in team history. Utah has made the playoffs in 11 of their last 12 seasons that completed with the playoffs (were on pace for 12 of 13 last season). In the 25 seasons the Grizzlies have a .500 winning % or better in 20 of those years. In the club’s first season in Utah, the Grizzlies won the IHL Turner Cup in the 1995-96 season.