Grizz Insider: 6 Things to Know for Friday's Series Opener vs K-Wings

Wings at Grizzlies: 6 Things to Know for Friday’s Game  

By: Tyson Whiting

The Grizzlies are facing the Kalamazoo Wings in a 3 game series at Maverik Center. Friday is the 5th all time meeting between the clubs. Utah is 1-2-1 vs Kalamazoo. They last met on November 16, 2019, a game the Wings won 3-2. Utah had goals from Taylor Richart and Garrett Klotz.

Here are 6 things to know leading up to Friday’s series opener

1. Can Brandon Cutler keep the streak going? Cutler has a current 9 game point streak. He is 1 game away from tying Charle Edouard D’Astous for the longest Grizzlies point streak this season as D’Astous scored in 10 straight from October 30-November 21. Cutler won the league’s Rookie of the Month award for November. Cutler leads all Utah forwards in plus/minus at +9.
2. Trent Miner Returns to Grizzlies Lineup. Miner returned to the Grizzlies roster on November 30th. He previously played in 5 games with Utah and has a 4-1 record with a .921 save % and a 2.11 goals against average. Miner was the league’s Goaltender of the Week for October 25-31 when he won 3 road games.
3. D’Astous and Martin. It’s been exciting to watch the defensive pairing of Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Luke Martin work all season. D’Astous has a point in 13 of his 16 games and Martin has 13 points in 16 games (4 goals, 9 assists). Watch out for both on the power play. D’Astous leads all league defenseman with 8 power play points (4g, 4a). Martin has 5 power play points (3g, 3a). Utah is 5 for 17 on the power play the last 4 games.
4. Pride Night at Maverik Center. It’s the first ever Pride Night in professional hockey in the state of Utah. The Grizzlies are wearing specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off on the Dash Auction App. Follow the Grizzlies social media channels for a link to purchase the game worn jersey. On Saturday night the Grizz are wearing a specialty jersey for Hispanic Heritage Night. The Los Grizz jerseys will also be auctioned off on the Dash Auction App. 
5. About the K-Wings. Kalamazoo is off to an 8-5 start. Their leading scorer is Justin Taylor, who is entering his 11th season with the Wings. Taylor has 459 points in 665 ECHL games (238 goals, 221 assists). Former Grizzlies forward Erik Bradford has 10 points in 13 games for the K-Wings. Bradford was an All-Star for Utah in 2017, where he led Utah with 61 points (16 goals, 45 assists) in 57 games. Former Utah goaltender Trevor Gorsuch has appeared in 4 games with Kalamazoo this season and has a 2-2 record. Gorsuch played in 6 games with Utah last season and had a 2-2-1 record with a .912 save %.
6. High Powered Offenses. It’s a battle of 2 productive offenses. Utah is 4th in the league by averaging 3.69 goals per game. Kalamazoo is 6th in goals per game at 3.38.

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. Mason Mannek has a point in 10 of his last 12 games. Brandon Cutler has a current 9 game point streak. Trey Bradley has 12 assists in his last 6 games.

It’s going to be a fun series at Maverik Center on December 3-4, 6. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.