Grizzlies Preview: Heroes Weekend at Maverik Center

Allen Americans(39-21-2-1, 81 points, .643 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (30-22-5-6, 71 points, .563 Win%)

Maverik Center. May 21, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr/FloSports.

It’s the 2nd game of the 4 game series between the Western Conference rivals. It’s the 16th of 18 meeting between the clubs. Utah finds themselves in 4th place in the Western Conference with a .563 winning percentage, .039 percentage points ahead of Rapid City, who’s in 5th with a win rate of .524. Utah had a 7 game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday night in a 5-3 loss to Allen. It’s Heroes Weekend at Maverik Center and the Grizzlies are wearing specialty jersey’s tonight and Saturday night.

Winning Streak Snapped on Wednesday

Utah took a 3-0 lead on Wednesday night as Charlie Gerard scored his 15th goal of the season 5:49 into the game. Wyatt McLeod scored his first professional goal 7:37 into the first. McLeod got his 2nd of the game 7:01 into the second period as Utah led 3-0. Allen scored 5 unanswered goals, including the game winner from Josh Lammon with 58.4 seconds left in regulation. Both teams went 0 for 3 on the power play.

The last winning streak of at least 7 games was from January 21-February 4, 2017. The longest winning streak in team history is 9, which happened twice. In the 1995-96 championship season the Grizz won 9 in a row from November 3 to December 1, 1995. They also won 9 in a row in their first year in the ECHL from October 29 to November 24, 2005.

Mason Mannek Made Professional Debut

Mannek, 21, made his pro debut with the Grizzlies on May 19 vs Allen. Mannek was born and raised in Herriman, Utah. He played with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks from 2018-2021 and scored 43 goals and 51 assists. He had a +27 rating in 4 seasons with Portland. Mannek had an assist in his pro debut, wearing number 28. Mannek is the 3rd player in team history who was born in this century, joining defenseman Wyatt McLeod, who scored 2 goals on Wednesday night, and Hunter Skinner, who is now with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack and next year will begin a 3 year entry level deal with the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Parker Gahagen Wins Goaltender of the Week for 2nd Straight Time

Gahagen wins the award for the 3rd time in his career and for the 2nd straight week. He saved 29 of 30 and 2 of 3 in the shootout to lead Utah to a 2-1 shootout win at Tulsa on May 15. The next afternoon he saved 47 of 50 in the Grizz 6-3 win at Tulsa. In 11 games this season Gahagen has a 6-2-1-1 record with a .937 save percentage and a 1.95 goals against average. It’s the 3rd time this season that a Grizzlies goaltender has won the award. Garrett Metcalf also won the award from April 19-25.

Gahagen Makes Grizzlies History

Gahagen is the first Utah goaltender in the ECHL era to have single-handedly won the league Goaltender of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks. Utah has won back-to-back goaltender of the week honors 2 other times but in both cases it was a different goaltender for each of the 2 weeks. In the 2013-14 season Aaron Dell, currently with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, won the award and the following week, Igor Bobkov won it.

Jan. 20-26, 2014 - Aaron Dell, Utah 

Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2014 - Igor Bobkov, Utah  

In the 2010-11 season the same scenario played out.

Dec. 27-Jan. 2 J.P. Lamoureux, Utah 

Jan. 3-9, 2011 Andrew Engelage, Utah  

Andrew Engelage and Igor Bobkov won the league’s Goalie weekly award 4 different times. Ryan Faragher has won it 3 times.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 30-22-5-6

Home record: 17-7-3-3. Utah has outscored opponents 103 to 88 at home.

Road record: 13-15-2-3

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

Streak: Lost 1. Wednesday’s loss snapped a 7 game winning streak.

Standings Points: 71

Last 10: 7-3

Goals per game: 2.89 (12th). Goals for: 182

Goals against per game: 3.08 (9th). Goals against: 195

Shots per game: 33.06 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.68 (4th).

Power Play: 17.1 % - 42 for 246 (7th).

Penalty Kill: 83.8 % - 196 for 234 (5th).

Penalty Minutes: 858 (13.62 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 10 (Tied for 3rd)

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8 (Tied for 10th)

Players Used: 51. Mason Mannek played in his first game on Wednesday night.  

Record When Scoring First: 19-8-2-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (23)

Assists: Trey Bradley (28) – Bradley has 8 assists in 9 games in May.

Points: Boucher (49)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+10)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (86) Cole Fraser leads the league with 142 PIM with 53 of those coming with Utah.

Games Played: Cedric Pare (59) – Pare has missed each of the last 3 games.

Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney (15) AJ White leads team with 8 power play goals.

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (196)

Shooting Percentage: AJ White (14.3 %) – Minimum 40 shots.

Game Winning Goals: AJ White (3) Trey Bradley has 2 shootout GWG.

Wins: Peyton Jones (7)

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.931) – Minimum 7 games

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (1.97). – Minimum 5 games

Roster

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

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

Goaltenders: Parker Gahagen, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

Last Week’s Games

Friday, May 14, 2021 – Utah 3 Tulsa 2 (Overtime) – AJ White scored 2 goals, highlighted by the game winning goal 18 seconds into overtime. Charlie Gerard added a goal. Alex Lepkowski had 2 assists. Peyton Jones saved 28 of 30.

Saturday, May 15, 2021 – Utah 2 Tulsa 1 (Shootout) – Hayden Hodgson scored a 2nd period goal. Trey Bradley got the game winner in the shootout. Parker Gahagen saved 29 of 30 and 2 of 3 in the shootout for his 5th win of the season.

Sunday, May 16, 2021 – Utah 6 Tulsa 3. Utah is now 12-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series. AJ White had 1 goal and 2 assists and Matt Hoover and Matthew Boucher each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Parker Gahagen was the number 1 star of the game after saving 47 of 50.

This Week’s Games

Wednesday, May 19, 2021 – Allen 5 Utah 3 – Charlie Gerard scored his 15th goal of the season, which ranks 2nd on the club. Wyatt McLeod scored his first 2 professional goals. Allen scored 5 unanswered goals. Collin Shirley scored 2 goals 31 seconds apart to turn a 3-1 Utah lead into a 3-3 tie.

Friday, May 21, 2021 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Saturday, May 22, 2021 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Sunday, May 23, 2021 – Allen at Utah. 1:10 pm.

Next Week’s Games

Thursday, May 27, 2021 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm

Friday, May 28, 2021 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm

Saturday, May 29, 2021 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm.

All times Mountain

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Charlie Gerard, Wyatt McLeod (1)

Assist Streaks: Jack Jenkins, Ryan Lowney, Trey Bradley (2) Mason Mannek, Luke Bafia (1)  

Point Streaks of 2 or more: McLeod (3), Lowney, Bradley, Jenkins (2)

Multiple Point games

12 - Matthew Boucher

10 – Trey Bradley

7 – AJ White

6- Charlie Gerard, Ryan Lowney

5 - Riley Woods, Cedric Pare, Ty Lewis, Matt Hoover.

4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner.   

3 - Miles Gendron, Travis Barron.

2 - Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, Joe Wegwerth, Mitch Maxwell, Hayden Hodgson, Alex Lepkowski.

1 - Jack Jenkins,  Braylon Shmyr, Ian Scheid, Matt Abt, Ryker Killins, Josh Dickinson, Brayden Gelsinger, Brandon Fehd, Wyatt McLeod.

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.

#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 (23), points (49) and shots on goal (200). He is also tied for 3rd with 26 assists. Boucher leads the team and all league rookies with 12 multiple point games.

Among Rookies

Goals – 23 (1st) – 2nd is Wichita’s Jay Dickman with 18.

Assists – 26 – 4th

Points – 49 (1st) – 2nd is Dickman with 46.

Shots on goal – 200 (1st) – 2nd is teammate Charlie Gerard with 154.

7 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons

Matthew Boucher (23), Charlie Gerard (15) Cedric Pare (14),  AJ White (13), Pat Cannone, Ryan Lowney and Trey Bradley (10) each have a double digit goal season.

Grizzlies Record is Outstanding When Leading After 1st and 2nd

Utah is 12-4-0-1 when leading after 1 period and 18-4-1-1 when leading after 2.

Grizzlies Like Home Cooking

Utah has outscored opponents 103 to 88 at home this season. The Grizz are 17-7-3-3 at Maverik Center. There are 6 home games left in the regular season. Utah hosts Allen next week for a 4 game set on May 19, 21-23. Utah ends the regular season by hosting Fort Wayne on June 2, 4-5. 7 of the final 10 games will be at home.

Many 1 Goal Games

32 of the 63 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests. This season the Grizzlies have played in 17 games past regulation. 7 of the 15 games vs Allen have been decided by 1.

Utah Series vs Allen

It’s the 16th season meeting between the clubs. Utah is 5-6-1-3 vs Allen this season. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 11 points in 15 games vs Allen. There have been 3 Grizzlies players who have played in all 15 games vs Allen, Boucher, Ryan Lowney and Jack Jenkins. Matt Hoover has played in 14 of the 15.

Utah 3 @ Allen 5 (May 19 2021)

Utah 2 @ Allen 1 (Apr 25 2021)

Utah 2 @ Allen 4 (Apr 24 2021)

Utah 4 @ Allen 2 (Apr 23 2021)

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)