Grizzlies Weekly: Huge 3 Game Homestand vs K-Wings

Grizzlies Weekly: Utah Hosts K-Wings in Huge 3 Game Set

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies host the Kalamazoo Wings on December 3-4, 6 for a big 3 game series. Face-off all 3 nights is at 7:10 pm.

Friday is the Grizzlies first ever Pride Night. It’s the first Pride Night in professional hockey in the state of Utah. It is a game night that is dedicated to inclusivity, unity, education and pride for the LGBTQAI+ community.

Saturday the 4th is the annual Teddy Bear Toss, where fans bring teddy bears to throw on the ice after Utah’s first goal. Tyler Penner has scored Utah’s first goal 3 different times this season, which leads the club. Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Luke Martin and Mason Mannek have each scored Utah’s first goal on 2 different occasions. Saturday is also Hispanic Heritage Night and it’s Mother Son Night. Monday is the first Maverik Monday of the season to conclude the 3 game series. There will be 3 Maverik Monday home games this season.

Last weekend the Grizzlies earned 3 out of 4 standings points at Tulsa. Utah won 3-1 last Saturday as Christian Simeone scored his first pro goal 10:25 into the second period to break a scoreless tie. Simeone later got an assist on Brian Bowen’s 5th of the year 18:04 into the second. Brandon Cutler added an empty netter as Utah won their 10th game of the season. Utah is currently 10-5-1 on the year.

Trey Bradley and Luka Burzan returned to the Grizzlies lineup on November 28th ahead of Utah’s Sunday afternoon game in Tulsa. Bradley had 3 assists in the 6-5 overtime loss. Bradley has 13 assists in only 9 games for Utah this season. Luke Martin had 1 goal and 2 assists for Utah and Brandon Cutler tied the game with 25 seconds left in regulation. Cutler is the odds on favorite to win the league’s Rookie of the Month award as he scored a point in all 9 games he played in November, scoring 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) and had a +7 rating.

It's going to be an interesting series against Kalamazoo. The last time Utah played Kalamazoo was on November 16, 2019 at Wings Event Center. The Wings won that game 3-2. Utah got goals from Taylor Richart and Garrett Klotz. Utah is 1-2-1 all time vs Kalamazoo. Tickets for all 3 games in the series are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

This Week’s Games

Friday, December 3, 2021 – Kalamazoo at Utah. 7:10 pm. First Ever Grizzlies Pride Night.

Saturday, December 4, 2021 – Kalamazoo at Utah. 7:10 pm. Teddy Bear Toss. Hispanic Heritage Night. Mother Son Night.

Monday, December 6, 2021 – Kalamazoo at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Monday

Last Week’s Games

Saturday, November 27, 2021 – Utah 3 Tulsa 1 -  Christian Simeone had 1 goal and 1 assist. Brian Bowen got the GWG 18:04 into the 2nd period. Peyton Jones saved 29 of 30. Utah outshot Tulsa 36 to 30.

Sunday, November 28, 2021 – Utah 5 Tulsa 6 (Overtime) -

All times Mountain. Every game can be seen on FloHockey and heard on Mixlr.

November Recap

Utan went 6-3-1 in November. Brandon Cutler led Utah with 14 points in the month (7 goals, 7 assists, +7 rating). Cutler has a point in all 9 games he’s played in for the month. Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 12 points in November (6 goals, 6 assists). Luke Martin (4 goals, 7 assists) and  Andrew Nielsen (3 goals, 8 assists) each had 11 points in November. D’Astous had a point in 9 of the 10 games in the Month. Mason Mannek had 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 10 November games. Trey Bradley only appeared in 3 games for Utah in November and scored 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists). Bradley spent 3 weeks in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles, where he had 3 assists in 5 games. Peyton Jones went 4-1 in November with a .905 save percentage and a 3.23 GAA.

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen, Trey Bradley, Luka Burzan, Bailey Conger, Taylor Crunk, Brandon Cutler, Connor Graham, Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner, Neil Robinson, Quinn Ryan, Gehrett Sargis, Christian Simone.

Defenseman: Nate Clurman, Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Charles-Edmond D’Astous, Miles Gendron, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Andrew Nielsen, Kyle Pouncy, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

2021-2022 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 10-5-1

Home record: 5-2.

Road record: 5-3-1.

Win percentage: .656.

Streak: Lost 1

Standings Points: 21.

Last 10: 6-3-1.

Goals per game: 3.69 (4th) Goals for: 59

Goals against per game: 3.06 (13th) Goals Against: 49

Shots per game: 32.69 (5th) Utah has outshot opponents in 11 of their 15 games.

Shots against per game: 29.31 (12th)   

Power Play: 11 for 57 – 19.3 % (13th)  

Penalty Kill: 54 for 72- 75.0 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 223. 13.94 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 5 (Tied for 3rd). Brandon Cutler has 2 shorthanded goals.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 0. – Utah is 1 of 3 teams who have not allowed a shorthanded goal.

Record When Scoring First: 6-2. Utah has scored first in 8 of 16 games this season.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (11)

Assists: Trey Bradley (13) – Bradley returns to Utah on Nov. 28 after spending 3 weeks in the AHL.

Points: D’Astous (20)

Plus/Minus: D’Astous (+14)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (46)

Power Play Points: D’Astous (8)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (4)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (4).

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (66) – 3rd in the league.

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (6 for 24). 25.0 %. – Minimum 24 shots

Game Winning Goals: Brian Bowen (2).

Wins: Trent Miner (4).

Save %: Miner (.921).

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (2.10)

Next 5 Games

December 3, 2021 – Kalamazoo at Utah. 7:10 pm. – Pride Night, AFCU Friday.

December 4, 2021 – Kalamazoo at Utah. 7:10 pm. – Hispanic Heritage. Teddy Bear Toss. Mother Son Night.

December 6, 2021 – Kalamazoo at Utah. 7:10 pm.

December 8, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

December 9, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

All times Mountain

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks:  Brandon Cutler (3), Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Gehrett Sargis, Mason Mannek, Luke Martin (1) 

Assist Streaks: Bradley (6), Andrew Nielsen (4), Quinn Ryan (3) Martin, Bowen, D’Astous, Cutler (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Cutler (9) Bradley (6), Nielsen (5). Boucher, Mannek (4), Ryan, Bowen (3).

Charle-Edouard D’Astous had a 10 game point streak come to an end on Nov. 27 at Tulsa. D’Astous has a point in 11 of his last 12 games.

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

6: Charle-Edouard D’Astous,

5: Trey Bradley.

4:  Brian Bowen, Brandon Cutler.

3: Luke Martin.

2: Matthew Boucher, Andrew Nielsen, Mason Mannek.

1: Tyler Penner, Luka Burzan, Neil Robinson, Gehrett Sargis, Bailey Conger, Christian Simeone.

Save That Puck Mason Weyland It’s His First as a Pro

Equipment Manager Mason Weyland has been busy early in the season collecting pucks for players who scored their first pro goals. There have been 12 instances this season where a Grizzlies player has scored their first professional goal. On November 27th Christian Simeone scored his first pro goal 10:25 into the second period in a 4 on 4 situation.   

October 22nd- Brandon Cutler and Quinn Ryan.

October 23rd – Tyler Penner and Nate Clurman.

October 30th- Connor Graham.

October 31st- Mason Mannek.

November 5th – Neil Robinson.

November 6th – Luke Martin.

November 13th – Gehrett Sargis, Bailey Conger.

November 21st – Joey Colatarci.

November 27th – Christian Simeone.

The Amazing D’Astous

Charle-Edouard D’Astous has a point in 11 of his last 12 games. He had a 10 game point streak end on Nov. 27 at Tulsa. D’Astous followed that up with a 1 goal, 1 assist performance on Nov. 28 at Tulsa. D’Astous has scored in 13 of his 16 games this season, including 6 multiple point efforts. D’Astous leads all league defenseman in goals (11), points (20), shots on goal (54), plus/minus (+14) and power play points (8).

Grizzlies Holding on to Leads

Utah is 7-0 when leading after 2 periods.

Different Hero Every Game

Brian Bowen scored the game winner 18:04 into the 2nd period of the November 27th 3-1 win at Tulsa. Bowen is the first player to score more than 1 GWG this season. In each of Utah’s first 9 wins of the season there were 9 different players who scored the game winning goal.