Grizzlies Playoff Preview: Game 2 in Allen on Wednesday Night

Western Conference Semifinals

#1 Allen Americans (45-23-4) vs. #4 Utah Grizzlies (35-26-11)Game 1 – Utah 1 Allen 3 – Matthew Boucher scored 14:21 into the first period. Allen got goals from Spencer Asuchak, Brett Neumann and Colby McAuley. Utah outshot Allen 30 to 23. Allen went 0 for 5 on the power play and Utah was 0 for 3. Charlie Gerard led Utah with 6 shots on goal. Allen goaltender Jake Paterson saved 29 of 30 and Utah’s Parker Gahagen saved 20 of 22.

Game 2 – Wednesday, June 9 at 7:05 p.m. CT at AllenGame 3 – Friday, June 11 at 7:10 p.m. MT at UtahGame 4 – Saturday, June 12 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Utah (If Necessary)Game 5 – Monday, June 14 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Utah (If Necessary)

Every game is available on Mixlr/FloSports.

#DontPokeTheBear

Tonight is game 2 of the best of 5 Western Conference Semifinal series. The Utah Grizzlies are in the playoffs for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons that ended with a postseason.

Maverik Center Watch Party

There will be a Grizzlies Watch Party in the Centennial room on the 4th floor of Maverik Center for game 2 of the series. Doors open at 5:30 pm.

Welcome to Playoff Hockey Matthew Boucher

Boucher scored a goal in his pro playoff debut. He led Utah with 25 goals in the regular season and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year after leading all first-year pros with 52 points. During the regular season Boucher had 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 16 games vs Allen.

Lucky Number 10 and 25

There must be something about the number 10 and leading the team in goals. This season Matthew Boucher wore number 10 and had 25 goals to lead the Grizzlies. Last season Ty Lewis wore number 10 for Utah and led the team with 25 goals when the season was cancelled on March 14, 2020.

Utah’s Been Good on the Penalty Kill

Utah’s penalty kill was 5 for 5 last night in game 1. Utah’s penalty kill was 33 for 36 in the last 12 regular season games. This season the penalty kill was 5th in the league at 84.2 percent.

Save That Puck Matthew Schwegmann, It’s His First as a Pro

There were 4 different instances this season where a player scored his first professional goal vs Allen. Hunter Skinner scored 2 goals vs Allen on January 31. Wyatt McLeod also scored 2 goals vs Allen on May 19. 4 days later Sasha Mutala also scored his first 2 professional goals vs Allen on May 23. Current Allen defenseman Kris Myllari scored his first pro goal in the 2nd period of the January 30 game.

2020-2021 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 35-26-5-6

Home record: 21-9-3-3. Utah has outscored opponents 122 to 102 at home.

Road record: 14-17-2-3

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

Streak: Won 1

Standings Points: 81

Last 10: 5-5.

Goals per game: 2.88 (Tied 10th). Goals for: 207

Goals against per game: 3.04 (10th). Goals against: 219

Shots per game: 32.40 (4th).

Shots against per game: 29.10 (3rd).

Power Play: 16.8 % - 47 for 280 (8th).

Penalty Kill: 84.2 % - 218 for 259 (5th)

Penalty Minutes: 1037 (14.40 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 12 (Tied for 2nd) – Travis Barron had 5 shorthanded goals to tie for the league lead with Allen’s Corey Mackin.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 10 (Tied 10th)

Players Used: 52.

Record When Scoring First: 22-9-2-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (25)

Assists: Trey Bradley (37)  

Points: Boucher (52)

Plus/Minus: Matt Abt (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn/Hayden Hodgson (86)

Games Played: Cedric Pare (67)

Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney (17)

Power Play Goals: AJ White (9)

Power Play Assists: Lowney/Ty Lewis (11)

Shots on Goal: Boucher (209)

Shooting Percentage: AJ White (14.2 %) – Minimum 45 shots.

Game Winning Goals: White (5)

Wins: Parker Gahagen (10)

Save %: Gahagen (.929) – Minimum 8 games

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.04). – Minimum 8 games

Head Coach – Tim Branham. Coach Branham is the winningest head coach in Utah Grizzlies history with 284 victories over 8 seasons. It’s the 6th time the Grizzlies have reached the playoffs in Coach Branham’s tenure.

Assistant Coach – Ryan Kinasewich. The all-time Grizzlies leader in goals (156), assists (200) and points (356). It’s Ryan’s 4th season as Grizzlies assistant.

Equipment Manager – Matthew Schwegmann. 2nd season with Utah. Was with Peoria in the SPHL in the 2019 and the year prior was with the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen.

Athletic Trainer – Collin Lee. 1st year with Utah. Previously was with the South Carolina Stingrays staff.

Grizzlies Playoff Roster

Forwards – Travis Barron, Matthew Boucher, Trey Bradley, Pat Cannone, Charlie Gerard, Hayden Hodgson, Matt Hoover, Jack Jenkins, Ty Lewis, Mason Mannek, Sasha Mutala, Cedric Pare, AJ Whte.

Defenseman – Luke Bafia, Brandon Fehd, Miles Gendron, Garrett Johnston, Alex Lepkowski, Ryan Lowney, Wyatt McLeod, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders – Parker Gahagen, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

Utah vs Allen Regular Season Series

The teams met 18 times during the regular season. Utah went 8-6-4 vs Allen. Les Lancaster led the Americans in the season series with 14 points (1g-13a) while Jake Paterson went 6-1-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average. The Grizz were led by Cedric Pare’s eight goals while Matthew Boucher (6g-5a) and Trey Bradley (2g-9a) shared the team lead with 11 points each. Utah won 6 of the last 8 meetings.

Allen 0 @ Utah 4 (May 23 2021) – Peyton Jones 28 save shutout. Sasha Mutala 2 goals. Utah 2-6 power play. AJ White had 1 goal and 1 assist.

Allen 1 @ Utah 2 (May 22 2021) OT – Cedric Pare GWG 57 seconds into OT. Utah outshot Allen 26-14.

Allen 1 @ Utah 4 (May 21 2021) – Ty Lewis 2 goals, 1 assist. Trey Bradley 3 assists.

Allen 5 @ Utah 3 (May 19 2021) – Wyatt McLeod first 2 pro goals. Allen scored last 5 goals in contest.

Utah 2 @ Allen 1 (Apr 25 2021) – Charlie Gerard GWG 4:48 into 3rd period.

Utah 2 @ Allen 4 (Apr 24 2021) – Charlie Gerard and Travis Barron got Utah’s goals.

Utah 4 @ Allen 2 (Apr 23 2021) – Lewis and Gerard each with 1 goal, 1 assist.

Utah 3 @ Allen 2 (Apr 3 2021) SO – Trey Bradley shootout game winner.

Utah 0 @ Allen 3 (Apr 2 2021) – Hayden Hawkey 25 save shutout for Allen.

Utah 2 @ Allen 3 (Apr 1 2021) – Boucher and Pare tally goals for Utah.

Allen 1 @ Utah 5 (Mar 14 2021) – Bradley, Boucher each had 1 goal, 2 assists.

Allen 5 @ Utah 4 (Mar 13 2021) OT – Cedric Pare 2 goals, Matt Hoover 1 goal, 1 assist. Utah had 3 goals in 1 minute 21 seconds late in 2nd period.

Allen 6 @ Utah 2 (Mar 12 2021) – Utah outshot Allen 33-22.

Utah 3 @ Allen 5 (Mar 3 2021) – Hunter Skinner 1 goal, 1 assist.

Utah 1 @ Allen 2 (Feb 9 2021) SO – Boucher 2nd period power play goal.

Allen 3 @ Utah 4 (Jan 31 2021) – Hunter Skinner scored first 2 pro goals.

Allen 3 @ Utah 2 (Jan 30 2021) SO – Kris Myllari & Pat Cannone scored goals.

Allen 5 @ Utah 2 (Jan 29 2021) – Utah went 2 for 4 on power play.

7 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons

Matthew Boucher (25), Charlie Gerard (20), Cedric Pare (17), AJ White (15), Ryan Lowney (11) Pat Cannone and Trey Bradley (10) each had a double digit goal season.

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

Utah was 13-4-0-1 when leading after 1 period and 22-4-1-1 when leading after 2.

Grizzlies Enjoying Maverik Center Surroundings

Utah outscored opponents 122 to 102 at home this season. The Grizz went 21-9-3-3 at Maverik Center, earning 48 standings points in 36 home games.

Many 1 Goal Games

35 of the 71 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests. This season the Grizzlies have played in 18 games past regulation. Utah is 18-6-11 in 1 goal games.

Grizzlies Players with Championship Experience

Garrett Johnston was on the 2019 Kelly Cup Champion Newfoundland Growlers. Johnston appeared in 23 games in the 2019 playoffs, scoring 1 goal and 6 assists. Travis Barron was on the 2018 Kelly Cup Champion Colorado Eagles. Teigan Zahn won back-to-back championships with Colorado in 2017-2018.

Players With Previous Grizzlies Playoff Experience

Travis Barron, Ty Lewis and Teigan Zahn were each with the Grizzlies on their 2019 playoff series vs Idaho. Barron had 1 goal and Lewis had 3 assists.

Grizzlies Players Winning League Awards in 2020-21

Diego Cuglietta – Player of the Week for weekend of December 11-13.

Matthew Boucher – Player of the Week for January 18-24.  

Matthew Boucher – Player of the Week for March 22-28.

Matthew Boucher – Rookie of the Month for March 2021.

Garrett Metcalf – Goaltender of the Week for April 19-25.

Parker Gahagen – Goaltender of the Week for May 3-9.

Parker Gahagen – Goaltender of the Week for May 10-16.

Trey Bradley – Player of the Week for May 17-23.

Parker Gahagen – Goaltender of the Month for May 2021.

Matthew Boucher – All-Rookie Team for the 2020-21 season.