Grizzlies Preview: Grizz Begins Road Trip in Lonestar State

Utah Grizzlies(21-17-5-6, 53 points, .541 win %)@Allen Americans(29-16-2-1, 61 points, .635 win%)

Grizzlies Game #50. Allen Event Center. April 23, 2021. 6:05 pm MST. Mixlr.

Referee: Nolan Bloyer

Linesman: Mitchell Hunt, Jordan Solomon. 

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

Grizzlies begin a 6 game road trip tonight at Allen. It’s the first of a three game series. Tonight is the 12th time these teams will meet during the regular season.

Last Week’s Games

Wednesday, April 14, 2021 – Kansas City 5 Utah 4 (Overtime) – Charlie Gerard had 2 goals. Cole Fraser tallied a goal in his first Grizzlies home game. Matthew Boucher tied the game with 7.8 seconds left in regulation. Utah outshot Kansas City 40 to 29. Ty Lewis had 1 assist and was a +3. Boucher, Ryan Lowney and Travis Barron were each a +2. Kansas City defenseman Willie Corrin had 2 goals and 1 assist. Brodie Reid scored the game winner for KC with 3:15 left in overtime.

Friday, April 16, 2021 – Kansas City 2 Utah 1 – KC’s Jared VanWormer scores GWG with 11 seconds left in regulation. AJ White scored a 2nd period power play goal. Utah outshot KC 41-35.

Saturday, April 17, 2021 – Kansas City 1 Utah 4 – Travis Barron 1 goal, 1 assist. AJ White had 2 assists. Peyton Jones saved 31 of 32 for his 5th win of the season. 

All times Mountain.

This Week’s Games

Friday, April 23, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, April 24, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Sunday, April 25, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 1:05 pm. – Grizzlies are 9-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series.

Next Week’s Games

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm.

Friday, April 30, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, May 1, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 21-17-5-6

Home record: 13-6-3-3

Road record: 8-11-2-3

Win percentage: .541 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 1.

Standings Points: 53

Last 10: 4-4-1-1

Goals per game: 2.86 (11th). Goals for: 140

Goals against per game: 3.18 (11th). Goals against: 156

Shots per game: 33.47 (3rd). Utah has taken 239 shots in the last 6 games.

Shots against per game: 30.08 (5th).

Power Play: 17.5 % - 35 for 200 (5th).

Penalty Kill: 81.9 % - 145 for 177 (9th).

Penalty Minutes: 610 (12.45 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 5 (Tied for 8th) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 7 (Tied for 8th)

Players Used: 47.

Attendance: 43,020 (1,721 per game).

Record When Scoring First: 14-6-2-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (19)

Assists: Boucher (24)

Points: Boucher (43)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+10)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (67)

Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney/Pat Cannone (13) AJ White leads team with 6 power play goals.

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (166) – 3rd in league.  

Shooting Percentage: AJ White (14.3%) – Minimum 30 shots.

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

Wins: Brad Barone/Kevin Carr/Peyton Jones (5)

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.960) – Minimum 3 games

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (1.24). – Minimum 3 games

Roster

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

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

Goaltenders: Kevin Carr, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Matthew Boucher, Michael Prapavessis, Travis Barron, Pat Cannone (1)

Assist Streaks: Cedric Pare (3) Hayden Hodgson (2) Barron, AJ White (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Pare, Cannone (3) Hodgson, AJ White (2).

Boucher Enjoying the Home Cooking Maverik Center

Matthew Boucher has a point in 9 of his last 13 games. Boucher has a point in 11 of his last 12 home games.  

Pat Cannone Has Been Great

Cannone has a point in 8 of his last 11 games.

Cedric Pare Had a Great Week

Pare had a point in all 3 games last week vs Kansas City. Pare is 5th among all league rookies with 28 points. He leads Utah with 48 games played.

Multiple Point games

10 - Matthew Boucher

5 - Trey Bradley, Riley Woods, Cedric Pare

4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner, Charlie Gerard.

3 - Miles Gendron, Matt Hoover, Ryan Lowney, AJ White.

2 - Ty Lewis, Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, Joe Wegwerth, Travis Barron.

1 - Jack Jenkins, Mitch Maxwell, Alex Lepkowski, Braylon Shmyr, Ian Scheid, Matt Abt, Ryker Killins, Josh Dickinson, Brayden Gelsinger, Brandon Fehd, Hayden Hodgson.

Many Home Games to End Season

Utah is at home for 11 of the final 17 games in the regular season. Utah begins a 6 game road trip this weekend at Allen on April 23-25.

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.

Metcalf Outstanding in Goal

Grizzlies signed goaltender Garrett Metcalf on March 16th. He has appeared in 4 games with Utah, saving 96 of 100 shots with a 1.24 goals against average. 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.

#Boucher4ROY

Matthew Boucher has put together a season worthy of the league’s Rookie of the Year honors. Boucher currently leads all league rookies in goals (19), assists (24), points (43) and shots on goal (166). He not only leads the league in all those categories but he has a wide margin in a few of them. Boucher leads the team and all league rookies with 10 multiple point games.

Among Rookies

Goals – 19 (1st) – 2nd is Wichita’s Jay Dickman with 13.

Assists – 24 (1st) – 2nd is Orlando’s Joseph Garreffa with 23.

Points – 43 (1st) – 2nd is Dickman with 33.

Shots on goal – 166 (1st) – 2nd is Dickman with 125.

4 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons

Matthew Boucher (19), Cedric Pare (12), Charlie Gerard (10) and Pat Cannone (10) each have a double digit goal season. AJ White has 9 goals on the year.

Utah Series vs Allen

It’s the 12th season meeting between the clubs. Utah is 3-4-1-3 vs Allen this season. All 3 of Utah’s wins vs Allen have come in the 3rd game of a series. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 10 points (6g, 4a). Hunter Skinner, now with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, had 7 points (3g, 4a) in 8 games. Cedric Pare has 5 goals vs Allen. Trey Bradley and Ryan Lowney each have 2 goals vs the Americans. These clubs will meet for a big 4 game series at Maverik Center on May 19, 21-23.

Utah 3 @ Allen 2 (Apr 3 2021) SO

Utah 0 @ Allen 3 (Apr 2 2021)

Utah 2 @ Allen 3 (Apr 1 2021)

Allen 1 @ Utah 5 (Mar 14 2021)

Allen 5 @ Utah 4 (Mar 13 2021) OT

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)

Recent Transactions

Defenseman Miles Gendron was reassigned to Colorado of the AHL on April 19. Gendron is tied for 3rd in the league for goals by a defenseman with 7. Grizzlies released goaltender Trevor Gorsuch. Gorsuch was 2-2 in 6 games for Utah with a .912 save percentage and a 2.89 goals against average.

May I Interest You in a 1 Goal Game?

28 of the 49 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests. 8 of the last 10 games have been decided by 1 goal.

Grizzlies Among League leaders

Matthew Boucher leads all rookies in goals (19), assists (24), points (43) and shots on goal (166). Boucher’s 43 points rank 7th overall in the league. Pare is 3rd in shots among rookies with 108 and is 5th in points (26) and 3rd in goals (12). Charlie Gerard is 4th in shots among rookies (90). Hunter Skinner leads the league with 3 shootout goals. Ryan Lowney, Miles Gendron and Skinner are tied for 3rd in goals among defenseman with 7 each. Lowney leads all league defenseman with 5 power play goals. Cole Fraser is 4th in penalty minutes with 96.