Grizzlies Weekly: Utah Begins 6 Game Road Trip on Thursday

Grizzlies Weekly: Boucher Wins Player of the Week

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies, proud affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, begin a 6 game road trip with a 3 game series at Allen on April 1st-3rd. All 3 games will start at 6:05 pm mountain time.  

Matthew Boucher was named the league’s Player of the Week for March 22-28 after scoring 4 goals and 4 assists in 4 games vs Tulsa. He was the number 1 star on March 24th, where he had 3 goals in the 3rd period for his first professional hat trick.

Defenseman Hunter Skinner, now with the Hartford Wolf Pack, signed an NHL Entry-level contract with the New York Rangers on March 29th. Skinner played in 26 games with the Grizzlies and had 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists). Skinner was drafted in the fourth round, 112th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Rangers.

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 home game all season long are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000 or (801) 988-8022. For continuing updates on the 2020-21 season, follow the Grizzlies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 18-13-4-5

Home record: 12-5-2-3

Road record: 6-8-2-2

Win percentage: .563 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 2.

Standings Points: 45

Last 10: 5-4-1

Goals per game: 3.00 (6th). Goals for: 120

Goals against per game: 3.33 (13th). Goals against: 133

Shots per game: 32.75 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.60 (6th).

Power Play: 19.8 % - 32 for 162 (2nd).

Penalty Kill: 81.3 % - 113 for 139 (11th).

Penalty Minutes: 492 (12.30 per game).

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

Players Used: 46.

Attendance: 36,828 (1,674 per game).

Record When Scoring First: 11-5-1. 

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (15)

Assists: Boucher (20)

Points: Boucher (35)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (54)

Power Play Points: Pat Cannone/Ryan Lowney (11)

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (125) 

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

Game Winning Goals: Pat Cannone/Nick Henry/Matthew Boucher/Cedric Pare (2)

Wins: Brad Barone (5)

Save %: Parker Gahagen (.930) – Minimum 3 games

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.12). – Minimum 3 games

Current Roster

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

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

Goaltenders: Kevin Carr, Trevor Gorsuch, Garrett Metcalf.

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

Wednesday, March 24th, 2021 – Tulsa 2 Utah 4. Matthew Boucher scored 3 goals in the 3rd period. Trevor Gorsuch stopped 30 of 32 Tulsa shots. Matt Hoover had 1 goal and 1 assist.

Friday, March 26th, 2021 – Tulsa 3 Utah 1. Mitch Maxwell scored his first goal of the season. Utah outshot Tulsa 35-25.

Saturday, March 27th, 2021 – Tulsa 3 Utah 6. 6 different Grizz forwards scored goals. Trevor Gorsuch saved 38 of 41 to get his 2nd win of the series. Matthew Boucher had 1 goal and 2 assists and Cedric Pare had 1 goal and 1 assist.

Sunday, March 28th, 2021 – Tulsa 1 Utah 2 (OT). Cedric Pare scored overtime game winner. Garrett Metcalf saved 24 of 25 in pro debut. Pat Cannone scored game tying goal 12:44 into the period. Utah is now 5-0 on Sundays at home.

This Week’s Games

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

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

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

Next Week’s Games

Friday, April 9th, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, April 10th, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, April 11th, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 3:05 pm.

All times Mountain.

Recent Transactions

Travis Barron and Ty Lewis were each reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Barron has 3 assists in 9 games, while Lewis has 2 goals and 8 assists in 14 games. Hayden Hodgson was acquired on March 27th from Wheeling for future considerations. He made his team debut last night, wearing number 39. Defenseman Hunter Skinner was loaned to the Hartford Wolf Pack on March 25th. Skinner, 19, has 7 goals and 10 assists in 25 games for Utah. Goaltender Brad Barone was traded to the Rapid City Rush on March 24th. Barone in 2 seasons with Utah had a record of 9-5-2-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 2.74 goals against average.

Local Boy in Net

Grizzlies signed goaltender Garrett Metcalf on March 16th and he made his professional debut on March 28th vs Tulsa. Metcalf stopped 24 of 25 and got the win. He was named the number 1 star of the game. He was born in Salt Lake City on March 5th, 1996. Metcalf was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the 6th round, 179th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He played with Long Island University in the 2020-21 season and had a 2-7 record with a .901 save percentage and a 4.02 GAA. Metcalf also played in 2 seasons at Mercyhurst University in 2019 and 2020. Garrett has good size at 6’4” and 190 pounds.

Many April Road Games

After the 4 game series with Tulsa 12 of the next 15 games will be away from Maverik Center. The only 3 home games for Utah in April will be on the 14th, 16th-17th vs Kansas City.

Grizzlies Among League leaders

Matthew Boucher leads all rookies in goals (15), assists (20), points (35) and shots on goal (125). Pare is 3rd in shots among rookies with 90 and 5th in points (23). Hunter Skinner leads the league with 3 shootout goals. Skinner is 2nd in goals among defenseman with 7. Ryan Lowney and Pat Cannone are tied for 4th with 11 power play points. 

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.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Cedric Pare (2), Pat Cannone (1).

Assist Streaks: Matthew Boucher (3), Ryan Lowney (2), AJ White, Charlie Gerard (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Boucher (3), Pare, Lowney, Cannone, White (2)

Hat Tricks This Season:

Matthew Boucher (1) – March 24th, 2021 vs Tulsa

Nick Henry (1) – February 21st, 2021 vs Rapid City.

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.

Grizzlies Players Winning League Awards in 2020-21

Diego Cuglietta – Player of the Week for weekend of December 11-13.

Matthew Boucher – Player of the Week January 18-24.

Matthew Boucher – Player of the Week March 22-28.

Players Who Have Appeared in AHL Games This Season

Riley Woods, Miles Gendron, Charlie Gerard, Nick Henry, Ian Scheid, Matt Abt, Ty Lewis, Parker Gahagen, Peyton Jones, Josh Dickinson, Travis Barron.

Multiple Point games

8 - Matthew Boucher

5 - Trey Bradley, Riley Woods, Cedric Pare

4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner.

3 - Miles Gendron, Charlie Gerard, Matt Hoover, Ryan Lowney.

2 - Ty Lewis, Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, 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, Brandon Fehd.