Grizzlies Preview: Heroes Weekend Continues on Saturday Night at Maverik Center

Allen Americans(39-22-2-1, 81 points, .633 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (31-22-5-6, 73 points, .570 Win%)

Maverik Center. May 22, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr/FloSports.

It’s the 3rd game of the 4 game series between the Western Conference rivals. Both teams have 1 win in the series. It’s the 17th of 18 meeting between the clubs. Utah finds themselves in 4th place in the Western Conference with a .570 winning percentage, .039 percentage points ahead of Rapid City, who’s in 5th with a win rate of .531. Utah has won 8 of their last 9 games. It’s Heroes Weekend at Maverik Center and the Grizz will be wearing Thor themed specialty jerseys. Utah is 6-6-1-3 vs Allen this season. It’s the 3rd game of the series and Utah is 12-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series.

Lewis, White and Company Leads Utah to 4-1 Win

Ty Lewis had 2 goals and 1 assist, AJ White had 1 goal and 1 assist and Trey Bradley had 3 assists to lead the Grizzlies to a 4-1 win on Friday night. Parker Gahagen was outstanding in net, saving 33 of 34 for his 7th win of the season. Ryan Lowney scored a power play goal 4:07 into the 3rd period, giving him a team lading 16 power play points (6 goals, 10 assists) on the season.

AJ White’s Been White Hot

AJ White has 5 multiple point games in the last 8 played. White had 2 points last night (1 goal, 1 assist). In the last 9 games, White has 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists). In the last 8 games White has a +7 rating.

Trey Bradley’s Racking Up the Assists

Bradley has 11 assists in his last 9 games. He currently leads the club with 31 assists on the season. Bradley has 5 multiple point games in his last 9. On the season Bradley has 11 multiple point games, just 1 behind Matthew Boucher for the team lead.

Mason Mannek Made Professional Debut on Wednesday

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. Mannek has 1 assist and 6 shots on goal in his first 2 games with the Grizz.

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 12 games this season Gahagen has a 7-2-1-1 record with a .933 save percentage and a 2.05 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.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 31-22-5-6

Home record: 18-7-3-3. Utah has outscored opponents 107 to 89 at home.

Road record: 13-15-2-3

Win percentage: .570 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 1. Utah has won 8 of their last 9.

Standings Points: 73

Last 10: 8-2

Goals per game: 2.92 (11th). Goals for: 186

Goals against per game: 3.05 (9th). Goals against: 195

Shots per game: 32.98 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.75 (5th).

Power Play: 17.1 % - 43 for 251 (7th).

Penalty Kill: 84.0 % - 199 for 237 (5th).

Penalty Minutes: 876 (13.69 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 10 (Tied for 3rd)

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8 (10th)

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

Record When Scoring First: 20-8-2-1 Utah has scored first in 6 straight vs Allen.

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (23)

Assists: Trey Bradley (31) – Bradley has 11 assists in 10 games in May.

Points: Boucher (49)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+9)

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 4 games.

Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney (16) AJ White leads team with 8 power play goals.

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (201)

Shooting Percentage: AJ White (15.1 %) – Minimum 40 shots.

Game Winning Goals: White (4)

Wins: Peyton Jones/Parker Gahagen (7)

Save %: Gahagen (.933) – Minimum 7 games

Goals Against Average: Garrett 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. 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 1 Utah 4 – Ty Lewis had 2 goals and 1 assist. AJ White had 1 goal and 1 assist. Trey Bradley had 3 assists. Ryan Lowney scored a power play goal in the 3rd period. Parker Gahagen saved 33 of 34.  

Saturday, May 22, 2021 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm. Utah is 12-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series.

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: Ty Lewis, AJ White, Ryan Lowney (1)

Assist Streaks: Trey Bradley (3) Luke Bafia (2) Garrett Johnston, White, Lewis (1).

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

Multiple Point games

12 - Matthew Boucher

11 – Trey Bradley

8 – AJ White

6- Charlie Gerard, Ryan Lowney, Ty Lewis.

5 - Riley Woods, Cedric Pare, 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 (201). He is also 4th 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 157.

7 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons

Matthew Boucher (23), Charlie Gerard (15) Cedric Pare, AJ White (14), Ryan Lowney (11) Pat Cannone 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 19-4-1-1 when leading after 2.

Grizzlies Like Home Cooking

Utah has outscored opponents 107 to 89 at home this season. The Grizz are 18-7-3-3 at Maverik Center, earning 42 standings points in 31 games. There are 5 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 64 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 16 games vs Allen have been decided by 1.

Utah Series vs Allen

It’s the 17th season meeting between the clubs. Utah is 6-6-1-3 vs Allen this season. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 11 points in 16 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 15 of the 16. Utah has scored first in 6 straight games vs Allen.

Allen 1 @ Utah 4 (May 21 2021)

Allen 5 @ Utah 3 (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)