Grizzlies Weekly: Utah Continues Road Trip at Wichita

Grizzlies Weekly: Road Trip Continues in Wichita

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies, proud affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, conclude the 6 game road trip with a 3 game series at Wichita on April 9-11. Friday and Saturday will start at 6:05 pm, and Sunday, April 11 will be a 3:05 pm face-off.

Ryan Lowney and Miles Gendron each scored their 7th goals of the season in Utah’s 3-2 shootout win vs Allen on April 3rd. They join former teammate Hunter Skinner in a tie for 3rd among league defenseman with 7 goals. Utah earned 3 out of 6 standings points last weekend in Allen. Utah won in a shootout on April 3rd as Trey Bradley scored the game winner.

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.

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: 19-14-4-6

Home record: 12-5-2-3

Road record: 7-9-2-3

Win percentage: .558 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 1.

Standings Points: 48

Last 10: 6-3-0-1

Goals per game: 2.91 (10th). Goals for: 125

Goals against per game: 3.28 (13th). Goals against: 141

Shots per game: 32.58 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.72 (6th).

Power Play: 18.6 % - 33 for 177 (4th).

Penalty Kill: 80.9 % - 127 for 157 (11th).

Penalty Minutes: 544 (12.65 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 5 (Tied for 5th) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 6 (Tied for 8th)

Players Used: 46.

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

Record When Scoring First: 12-5-1-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (16)

Assists: Boucher (21)

Points: Boucher (37)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (58)

Power Play Points: Pat Cannone/Ryan Lowney (12) Lowney leads team with 5 power play goals.

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (134) 

Shooting Percentage: Nick Henry (20.0%) – Minimum 20 shots.

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

Wins: Brad Barone/Kevin Carr (5)

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

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

Roster

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

Defenseman: Kevin Davis, Brandon Fehd, Cole Fraser, 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)

Thursday, April 1, 2021 – Utah 2 Allen 3 (Shootout) – Cedric Pare and Matthew Boucher scored goals. Utah outshot Allen 33 to 30. Trevor Gorsuch saved 27 of 29 through overtime.

Friday, April 2, 2021 – Utah 0 Allen 3. -Trevor Gorsuch saved 34 of 37.  

Saturday, April 3, 2021 – Utah 3 Allen 2 (Shootout) – Miles Gendron and Ryan Lowney scored goals for Utah. Trey Bradley got the game winner in the shootout. Kevin Carr earned his 5th win of the season.

This Week’s Games

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

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

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

Next Week’s Games

Wednesday, April 14, 2021 – Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Friday, April 16, 2021 – Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Saturday, April 17, 2021 – Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

1 Goal Games

23 of the 43 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests.

Recent Transactions

Forward Travis Barron and Defenseman Kevin Davis have been reassigned to the Grizzlies from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Barron appeared in 9 games with Utah earlier this season and has 3 assists. Travis has played in 4 games with the Eagles this season. Davis has appeared in 68 games with Utah over the past 2 seasons, scoring 2 goals and 36 assists. Davis had 3 assists in 5 games in the 2019 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Kevin has played in 50 games with the Eagles over the last 2 and a half seasons, scoring 3 goals and 17 assists. Charlie Gerard has been reassigned to Colorado, where he appeared in 8 games earlier this season. Gerard has 8 goals and 5 assists in 20 games for Utah this season. South Carolina traded defenseman Cole Fraser to the Grizzlies for future considerations. Fraser has 2 goals and 2 assists in 18 games with South Carolina. He also has played in 46 games with the Allen Americans. Fraser was a 5th round pick (131st overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

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

9 of the next 12 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.

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, Hunter Skinner.

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.

Grizzlies Among League leaders

Matthew Boucher leads all rookies in goals (16), assists (21), points (37) and shots on goal (134). Pare is 3rd in shots among rookies with 97 and is in points (25). Charlie Gerard is 4th in shots among rookies with 78.  Hunter Skinner leads the league with 3 shootout goals. Skinner is 2nd in goals among defenseman with 7. 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.