Grizzlies Preview: Wednesday Night Rivalry Game at Maverik Center

Rapid City Rush(29-24-3-1, 62 points, .544 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (24-21-5-6, 59 points, .527 Win%)

Maverik Center. May 5, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr.

It’s the second game of a big 4 game series at Maverik Center between the division rivals. It’s the 14th season meeting between the clubs and Utah has a record of 9-2-1-1 vs RC. Utah is home for 10 of the last 16 games. The Grizzlies are wearing the black throwback jerseys that date back to the 1990s IHL era. 

Last Night: Barron and Grizzlies Make History

Travis Barron scored 4 goals last night vs Rapid City. He had 3 shorthanded goals and 1 power play goal to lead Utah to a 5-3 win vs Rapid City. Ty Lewis got the Utah scoring started with a shorthanded goal 13:34 into the 2nd period to tie the game at 1-1. The 4 Grizzlies shorthanded goals are the first time a team in the league since the Florida Everblades scored 4 shorthanded against Charlotte on January 5, 2007. It’s the 6th time in the league where a team has scored 4 shorties. No team has scored 5 in a single game. For Barron, it’s the first time a single player has scored 3 shorthanded since Shawn Szydlowski did it for Fort Wayne on March 21, 2015 vs Missouri. He’s the 4th player to accomplish the feat. Chad Costello scored 3 shorthanded for Allen on Dec. 12, 2012 vs Las Vegas and Jamey Hicks did it for Birmingham on January 27, 1998 at Pensacola.

Last Time Grizzlies Went Crazy with Shorthanded Goals

The Grizzlies scored 3 shorthanded goals vs Stockton on December 31, 2012. Riley Armstrong had 2 shorthanded goals. Armstrong is currently the head coach of the ECHL’s Maine Mariners.

4 Goal Game For Barron

It’s the first 4 goal game by a Grizzlies player since Ty Lewis scored 4 at Wichita on December 17, 2019. It was Barron’s first professional game with 3 or more goals. It’s the 3rd time a Grizzlies player has scored 3 or more in a game this season. Nick Henry scored 3 goals vs Rapid City on February 21 and Matthew Boucher scored 3 in the 3rd period in Utah’s 4-2 win vs Tulsa. Barron now is tied for the league lead with 4 shorthanded goals. He also scored shorthanded on April 28 at Wichita.

Parker Gahagen Gets Win in Return Game

Gahagen was playing his first game for Utah since January 18th and he saved 28 of 31 and was named the number 1 star of the game. In 5 games with Utah this season he has a 2-1-1 record with a 2.31 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

Today’s Transaction: Utah signs Defenseman Wyatt McLeod

Utah signs defenseman Wyatt McLeod and he will make his professional debut on Wednesday night at Maverik Center. McLeod played with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL this season, scoring 3 goals and 12 assists in 24 games. McLeod previously played with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL from 2017-2020 and had 9 goals and 45 assists in 4 seasons. McLeod has good size at 6’3” and 202 pounds.

Season Series vs Rapid City

It’s the 14th of 16 meetings between the division rivals. Utah is 9-2-1-1 vs Rapid City this season. Trey Bradley leads Utah with 10 points vs RC (3 goals, 7 assists). Bradley had 2 assists last night in the 5-3 win. Jack Jenkins, Ryan Lowney and Cedric Pare each have 8 points vs RC. Nick Henry has 4 goals and 1 assist in 3 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)

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 3 Utah 5 – Utah scored 4 shorthanded goals and a power play goal. Travis Barron had 4 goals and Ty Lewis scored shorthanded in the 2nd period. Parker Gahagen saved 28 of 31. Trey Bradley had 2 assists.

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 219 shots over the last 6 games (36.5 per). Utah leads the league in shots per game at 33.68.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 24-21-5-6

Home record: 14-6-3-3

Road record: 10-15-2-3

Win percentage: .527 (5th in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 1.

Standings Points: 59

Last 10: 4-5-1

Goals per game: 2.82 (12th). Goals for: 158

Goals against per game: 3.21 (12th). Goals against: 180

Shots per game: 33.68 (1st).

Shots against per game: 29.63 (3rd).

Power Play: 16.6 % - 37 for 223 (8th).

Penalty Kill: 82.7 % - 172 for 208 (Tied 7th).

Penalty Minutes: 765 (13.66 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 10 (Tied for 3rd) Utah has 5 shorthanded goals in the last 4 games.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8 (11th)

Players Used: 49. Wyatt McLeod will be the 50th player when he appears in his first 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 (55)

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, Wyatt McLeod, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders: Parker Gahagen, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Pat Cannone, Travis Barron, Ty Lewis (1)

Assist Streaks: Trey Bradley, Luke Bafia, AJ White, Cedric Pare, Charlie Gerard, Parker Gahagen.

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

Multiple Point games

10 - Matthew Boucher

7 – Trey Bradley. – Bradley has 2 multiple point games in the last 3 contests.

6- Charlie Gerard.

5 - Riley Woods, Cedric Pare.

4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner, Ryan Lowney.  

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

2 - Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, Joe Wegwerth, 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.