Grizzlies Preview: Utah Begins Homestand vs Allen

Allen Americans(38-21-2-1, 79 points, .637 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (30-21-5-6, 71 points, .573 Win%)

Maverik Center. May 19, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr.

It’s the first game of a 4 game series between the division rivals. It’s the 15th of 18 meeting between the clubs. Utah finds themselves in 4th place in the Western Conference with a .573 winning percentage, .057 percentage points ahead of Rapid City, who’s in 5th with a win rate of .516. Utah has a season high 7 game winning streak, longest current run in the league.

Winning Streak

Utah has won 7 in a row. 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.

Leading Scorers on the Streak

Utah has outscored opponents 26-13 in the last 7 games. AJ White (4 goals, 6 assists) leads Utah with 10 points. and Trey Bradley (2 goals, 6 assists) has 8 points in the 7 game streak. Hayden Hodgson has 4 goals in his last 5 games and has a point in 5 straight. Ty Lewis, Matt Hoover and Ryan Lowney each has 5 points in the last 7 games. Travis Barron, now with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, had 4 goals on May 4 vs Rapid City in the first game of the streak. Utah has also received outstanding goaltending in the last 7 games. Parker Gahagen is 5-0 with a 1.84 goals against average, a .941 save percentage and 1 shutout in his last 6 games. Peyton Jones has won 2 in a row and has saved 43 of 45 in his 2 games on the trip.

What a Difference 2 Weeks Makes

On May 4 the Grizzlies were in 5th place with a .517 winning percentage and 4th place Rapid City had a .554 winning percentage. 2 weeks later and with 7 straight wins the Grizzlies are in 4th with a .573 winning percentage, while Rapid City is now in 5th with a .516 win %.

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 10 games this season Gahagen has a 6-1-1-1 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.

Grizzlies Sign Forward Mason Mannek

Mason Mannek is a native of Herriman, Utah. He played with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks from 2018-2021 and scored 43 goals and 51 assists. Mannek had a +27 rating in his 4 seasons with Portland. He will wear number 28 for the Grizzlies. Mannek is only the 3rd player in team history who was born in this century, joining defenseman Wyatt McLeod and Hunter Skinner.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 30-21-5-6

Home record: 17-6-3-3. Utah has outscored opponents 100 to 83 at home.

Road record: 13-15-2-3

Win percentage: .573 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 7.  Season High. Last 7 game win streak was from Jan. 21-Feb. 4, 2017.

Standings Points: 71

Last 10: 7-3

Goals per game: 2.89 (12th). Goals for: 179

Goals against per game: 3.05 (9th). Goals against: 189

Shots per game: 33.61 (2nd).

Shots against per game: 29.71 (4th).

Power Play: 17.3 % - 42 for 243 (7th).

Penalty Kill: 83.5 % - 193 for 231 (5th).

Penalty Minutes: 852 (13.74 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 10 (Tied for 3rd)

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8 (Tied for 10th)

Players Used: 50. Mason Mannek will be number 51 when he appears in his first game.

Record When Scoring First: 19-7-2-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (23)

Assists: Trey Bradley (26)

Points: Boucher (49)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+9)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (86) Cole Fraser leads the league with 140 PIM with 51 of those coming with Utah.

Games Played: Cedric Pare (59)

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 (13.5 %) – Minimum 40 shots.

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

Wins: Peyton Jones (7)

Save %: Parker Gahagen (.937) – Minimum 5 games

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (1.95). – 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 at Utah. 7:10 pm.

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: Hayden Hodgson (2), Matthew Boucher, Mitch Maxwell, Trey Bradley, Matt Hoover (1)

Assist Streaks: Hoover, Wyatt McLeod (2), Boucher, Jack Jenkins, Charlie Gerard, Ryan Lowney, Jared Pike, AJ White.

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Hodgson (4), Hoover, McLeod (2).

Multiple Point games

12 - Matthew Boucher

9 – 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.

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 (197). 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 – Tied for 3rd 

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

Shots on goal – 197 (1st) – 2nd is teammate Charlie Gerard with 152.

7 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons

Matthew Boucher (23), Cedric Pare (14), Charlie Gerard (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 12-3-0-1 when leading after 1 period and 18-3-1-1 when leading after 2.

Grizzlies Like Home Cooking

Utah has outscored opponents 100 to 83 at home this season. The Grizz are 17-6-3-3 at Maverik Center. There are 7 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 62 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests. This season the Grizzlies have played in 17 games past regulation.

Utah Series vs Allen

It’s the 15th season meeting between the clubs. Utah is 5-5-1-3 vs Allen this season. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 11 points in 14 games vs Allen. There have been 4 Grizzlies players who have played in all 14 games vs Allen, Boucher, Cedric Pare, Ryan Lowney and Jack Jenkins. Matt Hoover has played in 13 of the 14.

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)

There is a free Salt Lake County Pop-Up Vaccine Clinic at Maverik Center on Sunday, May 23 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Those who receive a free vaccine that afternoon will also receive a complimentary ticket to one of the Grizzlies remaining home games, including that day's game.