Grizzlies Preview: Big 4 Game Series Begins on Tuesday Night

Rapid City Rush(29-23-3-1, 62 points, .554 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (23-21-5-6, 57 points, .518 Win%)

Maverik Center. May 4, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr.

It’s the first game of a big 4 game series at Maverik Center between the division rivals. It’s the 13th season meeting between the clubs and Utah has a record of 8-2-1-1 vs RC. Utah is home for 11 of the last 17 games.

Recent Transactions

Nick Henry and Parker Gahagen Return to Club

Forward Nick Henry was reassigned to the Grizzlies from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and Parker Gahagen was released from an ATO with the Eagles and returns to Utah. Henry played in 4 games with Utah earlier this season, scoring 4 goals and 3 assists. Nick scored the game winning goal 50 seconds into overtime on February 20th vs Rapid City. The next afternoon he had a hat trick in a 4 point performance (3 g, 1a). Gahagen played in 4 games with Utah earlier this season and had a record of 1-1-1 with a 2.12 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. Parker was also really good in 3 games with the Eagles, going 2-0, allowing only 5 goals in 3 games and had a .939 save percentage.

Defenseman Michael Prapavessis and forward Christian Horn were released on May 3rd. Prapavessis had 1 goal and 4 assists in 20 games with Utah. Horn had 2 goals and 5 assists in 24 games. Defenseman Luke Bafia was claimed off waivers from Kansas City and was signed by the Grizzlies on April 30. Bafia played in 37 games with Kansas City this season, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists. Bafia’s first professional goal was at Maverik Center on January 18th vs Utah. Luke played his college hockey at Western Michigan University from 2017-2020.

Season Series vs Rapid City

It’s the 13th of 16 meetings between the division rivals. Utah is 8-2-1-1 vs Rapid City this season. Trey Bradley and Ryan Lowney each has 3 goals and 5 assists vs the Rush. Jack Jenkins has 8 points (4g, 4a) in 9 games. Matthew Boucher has 7 points in 7 games. Ty Lewis has 6 assists in 4 games. Charlie Gerard has 4 goals and 2 assists in 6 games vs RC. Nick Henry has 4 goals and 1 assist in 2 games.

Utah 0 @ Rapid City 7 (Mar 20 2021)

Utah 5 @ Rapid City 4 (Mar 19 2021) SO

Rapid City 3 @ Utah 4 (Feb 21 2021)

Rapid City 4 @ Utah 5 (Feb 20 2021) OT

Rapid City 3 @ Utah 2 (Feb 19 2021) SO

Utah 4 @ Rapid City 5 (Jan 23 2021) OT

Utah 3 @ Rapid City 2 (Jan 22 2021)

Rapid City 2 @ Utah 3 (Jan 2 2021)

Rapid City 3 @ Utah 4 (Jan 1 2021)

Rapid City 3 @ Utah 6 (Dec 31 2020)

Utah 3 @ Rapid City 1 (Dec 12 2020)

Utah 4 @ Rapid City 6 (Dec 11 2020)

April Recap

Utah was on the road for 11 of the 14 games in the month. Utah went 5-7-1-1 in 14 games. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 10 points in April (5 goals, 5 assists). Charlie Gerard had 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists).The highlight of the month was Utah winning 2 of 3 games at Allen on April 23-25. In 6 April games Garrett Metcalf went 3-3 with a 2.17 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. Kevin Carr and Peyton Jones each won 1 game in the month.

April Scoring Leaders

Goals: Boucher and Gerard – 5.

Assists: Ryan Lowney, Cedric Pare, Ty Lewis, Boucher – 5.

Plus/minus: Lowney, Pare (+4).

Players who appeared in all 14 games in April: Boucher, Gerard, Lowney, Pare, AJ White, Matt Hoover, Teigan Zahn.

Last Week’s Games

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 – Utah 2 Wichita 6 – Travis Barron and Cedric Pare scored goals for Utah. Utah outshot Wichita 35 to 25.

Friday, April 30, 2021 – Utah 3 Tulsa 6 – Tulsa scored 5 goals in the first 6:44 of the game. Utah scored 3 of the last 4 goals in the game. Utah scored 1 goal in each of the 3 periods last night. Ryan Lowney scored his 9th goal of the season in the first period. Hayden Hodgson scored his first goal in a Utah uniform m

Saturday, May 1, 2021 – Utah 0 Tulsa 2 – Utah outshot Tulsa 29 to 17. Hayden Hodgson led Utah with 5 shots.

This Week’s Games

Tuesday, May 4, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Wednesday, May 5, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Friday, May 7, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Saturday, May 8, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

All times Mountain.

Next Week’s Games

Friday, May 14, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, May 15, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

Sunday, May 16, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

Lots of Shots

Utah has taken 184 shots over the last 5 games (36.8 per). Utah leads the league in shots per game at 33.65.

Grizzlies Scoring First

Utah has scored first in 7 of their last 10 games.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 23-21-5-6

Home record: 13-6-3-3

Road record: 10-15-2-3

Win percentage: .518 (5th in Western Conference).

Streak: Lost 3. 

Standings Points: 57

Last 10: 4-5-1

Goals per game: 2.78 (13th). Goals for: 153

Goals against per game: 3.22 (12th). Goals against: 177

Shots per game: 33.65 (1st).

Shots against per game: 29.60 (3rd).

Power Play: 16.5 % - 36 for 218 (8th).

Penalty Kill: 82.8 % - 168 for 203 (8th). Utah is 20 for 23 on the penalty kill over the last 5 games.  

Penalty Minutes: 755 (13.73 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 6 (Tied for 7th) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8 (11th)

Players Used: 49. Luke Bafia and Kevin Davis appeared in their first Grizzlies game last Friday night. Davis last night entered his 3rd season appearing in games with Utah, while Bafia is making his home debut on Tuesday night.

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

Record When Scoring First: 16-7-2-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (20)

Assists: Boucher (25)

Points: Boucher (45)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (81)

Games Played: Cedric Pare (54)

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

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (180) – 4th in league.  

Shooting Percentage: Pat Cannone (13.0 %) – Minimum 30 shots.

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

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

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.931) – Minimum 4 games

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (1.97). – Minimum 4 games

Roster

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

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

Goaltenders: Parker Gahagen, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Pat Cannone (1)

Assist Streaks: 0

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Cannone (2).

Boucher Enjoying the Home Cooking Maverik Center

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

Pat Cannone Has Been on Point

Cannone has a point in 8 of his last 11 games. Pat has missed the last 6 games.

Multiple Point games

10 - Matthew Boucher

6- Charlie Gerard, Trey Bradley

5 - Riley Woods, Cedric Pare.

4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner, Ryan Lowney.  

3 - Miles Gendron, Matt Hoover, AJ White, Ty Lewis.

2 - Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, Joe Wegwerth, Travis Barron, Mitch Maxwell.

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

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.