Grizzlies Preview: Fan Appreciation Night Highlights Regular Season Finale

Fort Wayne Komets (29-16-3-2, 63 points, .630 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies(34-26-5-6, 79 points, .556 Win%)

Maverik Center. June 5, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr/FloSports.

It’s the final game of the regular season. It’s the 3rd game of the series and Utah is 14-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series. Saturday night is Fan Appreciation Night and the Grizzlies are wearing TMNT special jersey’s. Both teams are headed to the playoffs next week. Utah reached the playoffs for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons. Defenseman Ryan Lowney has a current 5 game point streak.

Playoff Scenarios

Utah is the 4 seed in the Western Conference. They will play the 1 seed in the Western Conference, which could either be Allen or Wichita.

Kelly Cup Playoffs Update

Allen can clinch the regular season Western Conference title on Saturday if: Allen wins OR Wichita loses in regulation OR Allen loses in overtime/shootout AND Wichita loses.

Wichita can clinch the regular season Western Conference title on Saturday if: Wichita wins AND Allen loses OR Wichita loses in overtime/shootout AND Allen loses in regulation.

Last Night

Fort Wayne defeated Utah 9-1 on Friday night. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 33-25. Fort Wayne went 3 for 5 on the power play and Utah was 0 for 4. Komets forward Zach Pochiro had 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists). Stephen Harper had 1 goal and 3 assists and Brandon Hawkins had 2 goals and 1 assist. Matthew Boucher scored Utah’s lone goal 9:09 into the third period.

June 4: Fort Wayne 3 Utah 2

Fort Wayne led 3-0 after 1 period. Matt Hoover got Utah on the board with a shorthanded goal 5:42 into the second period. Mitch Maxwell added his 3rd of the season an unassisted power play goal 8:03 into the 3rd. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 35 to 24. Utah went 1 for 5 on the power play and was 1 for 1 on the penalty kill. Charlie Gerard led Utah with 4 shots.

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.

Matthew Boucher Made the All-Rookie Team

Matthew Boucher was named to the league’s All-Rookie team for the 2020-21 season. Boucher leads all league first year pros and Grizzlies skaters in Goals (23) points (49) and shots on goal (201). Matthew is the first Grizzlies player in team history to be named to the ECHL All-Rookie team. Boucher is the leading candidate for the league’s Rookie of the Year honors. Boucher would not only be the first Grizzlies player to be named the Rookie of the Year but he would be the first Utah player to receive an individual award since the team joined the league prior to the 2005-06 season. Former Grizzlies trainer Cole Libby won the league’s Athletic Trainer of the year in 2017.

May Recap

Utah went 11-4 in 15 games in the month of May. Trey Bradley leads Utah with 16 points in May (2 goals, 14 assists). His 16 points are tied for the league lead with 3 others, including Kansas City’s Giorgio Estephan. Bradley has a +9 rating for the month. AJ White has 15 points in May (6 goals, 9 assists). Ty Lewis has 10 points in May (5 goals, 5 assists). The month was highlighted by a 7 game winning streak, sweeping Rapid City from May 4-8 and winning 3 games the following week at Tulsa on May 14-16.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 34-26-5-6

Home record: 20-9-3-3. Utah has outscored opponents 116 to 102 at home.

Road record: 14-17-2-3

Win percentage: .556 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Lost 2.

Standings Points: 79

Last 10: 5-5.

Goals per game: 2.83 (11th). Goals for: 201

Goals against per game: 3.08 (10th). Goals against: 219

Shots per game: 32.44 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.18 (3rd).

Power Play: 16.9 % - 47 for 278 (7th).

Penalty Kill: 84.1 % - 217 for 258 (5th)

Penalty Minutes: 978 (13.77 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 11 (Tied for 3rd)

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 10 (Tied 10th)

Players Used: 52.

Record When Scoring First: 21-9-2-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (24)

Assists: Trey Bradley (34)   

Points: Boucher (51)

Plus/Minus: Matt Abt (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn/Hayden Hodgson (86)

Games Played: Cedric Pare (66)

Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney (17)

Power Play Goals: AJ White (9)

Shots on Goal: Boucher (207)

Shooting Percentage: AJ White (14.6 %) – Minimum 45 shots.

Game Winning Goals: White (5)

Wins: Parker Gahagen (9)

Save %: Gahagen (.925) – Minimum 8 games

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.17). – Minimum 8 games

Roster

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

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

Goaltenders: Parker Gahagen, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

Last Week’s Games

Thursday, May 27, 2021 – Utah 2 Kansas City 5 – Cedric Pare, Sasha Mutala each scored goals. Utah outshot KC 26 to 21. Neither team had a power play in the game.

Friday, May 28, 2021 – Utah 2 Kansas City 5 – Garrett Johnston and Ty Lewis scored goals in the loss. Utah was 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.

Saturday, May 29, 2021 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm. Utah is now 14-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series. Cedric Pare had 2 assists. Hayden Hodgson and Charlie Gerard each had a goal. Parker Gahagen saved 27 of 28.

This Week’s Games

Wednesday, June 2, 2021 – Fort Wayne 3 Utah 2 – Matt Hoover and Mitch Maxwell each score goals. Both teams had a shorthanded goal. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 35 to 24.

Friday, June 4, 2021 – Fort Wayne 9 Utah 1 – Matthew Boucher and Travis Barron were a +1 for Utah. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 33 to 25.

Saturday, June 5, 2021 – Fort Wayne at Utah. 7:10 pm. TMNT Night (specialty jerseys) Shoot For Your Shot after the game. Fan Appreciation Weekend.

All times Mountain

Nest Week’s Games

2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Opponent and dates are to be determined at a later date.

Utah plays Allen if Allen defeats Rapid City on Saturday.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Matthew Boucher (1).

Assist Streaks: Ryan Lowney (2), Sasha Mutala (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Lowney (5), Boucher (2).  

Multiple Point games

12 - Matthew Boucher

11 – Trey Bradley

9 – AJ White

7 – Cedric Pare

6- Charlie Gerard, Ryan Lowney, Ty Lewis

5 - Riley Woods,  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, Sasha Mutala.

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 (24), points (51) and shots on goal (207). He is also 5th with 27 assists. Boucher leads the team and all league rookies with 12 multiple point games.

Among Rookies

Goals – 24 (1st) – 2nd is Wichita’s Jay Dickman with 19.

Assists – 27 – 5th

Points – 51 (1st) – 2nd is Dickman with 47.

Shots on goal – 207 (1st) – 2nd is teammate Charlie Gerard with 175.

7 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons

Matthew Boucher (24), Cedric Pare (17), Charlie Gerard (16), AJ White (15), 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 21-4-1-1 when leading after 2.

Grizzlies Like Home Cooking

Utah has outscored opponents 116 to 102 at home this season. The Grizz are 20-9-3-3 at Maverik Center, earning 46 standings points in 35 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.