Grizzlies Preview: Fort Wayne at Utah on June 4, 2021

Fort Wayne Komets (28-16-3-2, 61 points, .622 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies(34-25-5-6, 79 points, .564 Win%)

Maverik Center. June 4, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr/FloSports.

It’s the second game of the series and the 2nd season meeting with Fort Wayne. Both teams are headed for the playoffs next week.

Last Game: 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 Clinched Postseason Spot Last Saturday

Utah clinched a spot in the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs by defeating Kansas City 2-1 last Saturday.

Utah has reached the playoffs in 12 of the last 13 seasons where a playoff was held. Utah was in line for a playoff spot last season when it was cancelled on March 14, 2020. Wichita, Allen and Fort Wayne are the other Western Conference teams that have already clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Parker Gahagen Won Goaltender of the Month

Parker Gahagen of the Utah Grizzlies has been selected as the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month for May. Gahagen went 8-2-0 with one shutout, a 2.13 goals-against average and a save percentage of .928 during the month. The 27-year-old allowed two goals or less in six of his appearances in May while making at least 27 saves six times. The highlights of the month included a 16 save shutout on May 5 vs Rapid City in a 2-0 win. He also saved 47 shots at Tulsa on May 16. Gahagen earned ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks on May 3-9 and May 10-16.

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.

Penalty Kill Has Been Strong

Utah is 30 for 30 on the penalty kill over the last 10 games.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 34-25-5-6

Home record: 20-8-3-3. Utah has outscored opponents 115 to 93 at home.

Road record: 14-17-2-3

Win percentage: .564 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Lost 1

Standings Points: 79

Last 10: 6-4.

Goals per game: 2.86 (11th). Goals for: 200

Goals against per game: 3.00 (Tied 8th). Goals against: 210

Shots per game: 32.43 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.24 (3rd).

Power Play: 17.2 % - 47 for 274 (5th).

Penalty Kill: 85.0 % - 215 for 253 (4th) . – 30 for 30 in the last 10 games.

Penalty Minutes: 951 (13.59 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 (23)

Assists: Trey Bradley (34) – Bradley had 14 assists in May.  

Points: Boucher (50)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn/Hayden Hodgson (86)

Games Played: Cedric Pare (65)

Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney (17)

Power Play Goals: AJ White (9)

Shots on Goal: Boucher (204)

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

Game Winning Goals: White (5)

Wins: Parker Gahagen (9)

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.931) – Minimum 7 games

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (1.97). – Minimum 7 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 at Utah. 7:10 pm. Fan Appreciation Weekend.

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.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Matt Hoover, Mitch Maxwell (1).

Assist Streaks: Matthew Boucher, Ryan Lowney (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Lowney (4).  

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 (23), points (50) and shots on goal (204). He is also 4th with 27 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 19.

Assists – 26 – Tied for 4th

Points – 50 (1st) – 2nd is Dickman with 47.

Shots on goal – 204 (1st) – 2nd is teammate Charlie Gerard with 171.

7 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons

Matthew Boucher (23), 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 115 to 93 at home this season. The Grizz are 20-8-3-3 at Maverik Center, earning 46 standings points in 34 games.

Many 1 Goal Games

35 of the 70 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.