Grizzlies Gameday: Final Game of 2021 Calendar Year

Utah Grizzlies (18-9-1, 37 points, .661 Win %) at Rapid City Rush (12-12-2-2, 28 points, .500 Win %)

Friday, December 31, 2021. The Monument. 7:05 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the third of a 4 game series in the Black Hills. It’s the 5th of 12 regular season meetings between the clubs. Utah is 3-1 vs Rapid City this season. Utah has won 7 of their last 8 games, outscoring opponents 30 to 16. The Grizz are in first place in the Mountain Division with a .661 winning percentage and their 37 standings points are the most in the Western Conference and only 1 point short of Jacksonville for the league lead. Watch out for Trey Bradley, who has 6 goals in his last 5 games.

Last Game: Bradley’s Hat Trick Leads Grizzlies to Victory

Trey Bradley scored 3 goals with the final one coming 22 seconds into overtime as Utah won 4-3 on December 29th at Rapid City. Ben Tardif had 2 assists and Luka Burzan scored the game winning assist. Rapid City scored twice before Mason Mannek got Utah on the board 11:06 into the second period.

Brady Devries, What a Story

Brady Devries was signed by Utah prior to the game on Wednesday night on an emergency basis and got the start in net. Devries finished his first semester at Grand Canyon University and was back in his hometown of Rapid City for the holiday break when he got the call. Devries had played in 3 games with GCU’s club hockey program and had a 1-2 record with a .867 save % and a 5.44 GAA. The 19 year-old Devries held strong, saving 18 of 21, including the final 14 shots he saw to keep Utah in the game. Devries became the 5th Grizzlies goaltender to get a win this season.

December 27th at Rapid City: 3-0 Loss

The Grizzlies 6 game winning streak came to an end on December 27th at Rapid City as Lukas Parik got a 46 save shutout in a 3-0 Rapid City win. The Rush got goals from Gabriel Chabot, Ryan Valentini and Logan Nelson. Utah outshot Rapid City 46 to 31. Luka Burzan led Utah with 10 shots. Matthew Boucher had 8 shots. Andrew Nielsen had 6 shots. Trey Bradley and Brian Bowen each had a 3 game goal streak come to an end. Garrett Metcalf saved 28 of 30 for Utah in the loss. It was the first time Utah has been shut out this season. It’s only the second time where Utah has scored less than 2 goals in a game.

Captain Trey Bradley Leading by Example

Trey Bradley scored 2 goals in the first 5 minutes of the third period on December 29th to give Utah a 3-2 lead. Rapid City tied the game with 2:38 left in the third. Bradley completed the hat trick with the overtime game winner 22 seconds in on a centering pass from Luka Burzan. Bradley leads Utah with 7 multiple point games. In 15 games this season Bradley has 21 points (7 goals, 14 assists) and has a +8 rating. Bradley has a point in 10 of his last 12 games. In 17 career games vs Rapid City Trey has 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists). Bradley has also played well in the AHL this season, scoring 4 assists in 10 games for the Colorado Eagles.

Utah vs Rapid City Series

Utah is 18-3-2-1 in their last 24 meetings with Rapid City. Trey Bradley has 8 points in 4 games vs the Rush this season (4 goals, 4 assists).

November 5, 2021 – Rapid City 2 Utah 5 – Trey Bradley 1 goal, 2 assists. Neil Robinson scored first pro goal 2:53 into the 3rd period to break a 2-2 tie. Brian Bowen and Robinson each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Brandon Cutler and Andrew Nielsen added goals in the win. Luke Martin had 2 assists and was a +3. Peyton Jones saved 25 of 25 to earn his 2nd win of the season.

November 6, 2021 – Rapid City 3 Utah 4 – Utah got goals from Luke Martin, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Brandon Cutler and Quinn Ryan. Utah outshot Rapid City 40 to 23. RC went 1 for 1 on the power play and Utah was 1 for 2. Peyton Jones saved 20 of 23 in the win.

December 27, 2021 – Utah 0 Rapid City 3 – Utah outshot RC 46 to 31. Luka Burzan had 10 shots. Matthew Boucher had 8 shots. Andrew Nielsen had 6 shots. Garrett Metcalf saved 28 of 30. Rapid City’s Lukas Parik saved all 46.

December 28, 2021 – Utah 4 Rapid City 3 (Overtime) – Trey Bradley 3 goals. Ben Tardif 2 assists. Mason Mannek 1 goal. Luka Burzan game winning assist. Brady Devries saves 18 of 21 in his pro debut.

Recent Transactions

Grizzlies Acquire Cole Kehler in Trade with Cincinnati

Cole Kehler was acquired by Utah on December 30th from the Cincinnati Cyclones. Kehler appeared in 4 games with Cincinnati this season (2-1 record, .871 Save %, 3.57 GAA) and 2 games with Rapid City (1-0-1 record, .830 Save %, 4.25 GAA). Kehler will wear number 30 for Utah. 

Garrett Metcalf Loaned to Lehigh Valley

Grizzlies goaltender Garrett Metcalf was loaned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on December 28th, where he joins former Grizzlies teammates Charlie Gerard and Hayden Hodgson in the AHL. In 5 games with Utah this season Metcalf has a 2-2-1 record with a .932 save percentage and a 1.84 goals against average. Metcalf has appeared in 14 games with Utah over the last 2 seasons and has a 6-6-1 record with a 2.15 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Garrett was a 6th round draft pick (179th overall) by the Anaheim Ducks in 2015.

Grizzlies Are Getting All the Shorties

Utah leads the league with 10 shorthanded goals this season. Brandon Cutler has 3 shorthanded goals this season. Trey Bradley has 2 SHG. Tyler Penner, Matthew Boucher, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Ben Tardif and Mason Mannek and have the other shorthanded goals. On December 27th the Grizz allowed a shorthanded goal for the first time this season. It was an empty net goal with 34 seconds left in a 3-0 loss. Trey Bradley scored shorthanded 4:15 into the third period to give Utah a 3-2 lead on December 29th at RC.

Tons of Shots for Utah

The Grizzlies have taken 235 shots over the last 6 games (39.19 per game). Utah is 5th in the league in shots per game at 33.39. The Grizz have 158 shots vs Rapid City in 4 games this season (39.5 per game). 

Goodbye 2021

Friday night is the final game of the 2021 calendar year. Utah has played in 97 regular season games in 2021 and has a record of 51-34-6-6. Utah has a .587 winning percentage in 2021.

Next Week’s Games

Utah at Idaho – January 5, 2022. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.

Utah at Idaho – January 7, 2022. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.

Utah at Idaho – January 8, 2022. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.

This Week’s Games

Monday, December 27, 2021 – Utah 0 Rapid City 3 – Utah’s 6 game win streak ends.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021 – Utah 4 Rapid City 3 – Utah has won 7 of their last 8 games.

Friday, December 31, 2021 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

Saturday, January 1, 2022 – Utah at Rapid City.

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

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen, Trey Bradley, Luka Burzan, Taylor Crunk, Brandon Cutler, Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner, Zac Robbins, Neil Robinson, Quinn Ryan, Gehrett Sargis, Christian Simone, Benjamin Tardif.

Defenseman: Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Miles Gendron, Connor McDonald, Andrew Nielsen, Ryan Orgel, Kyle Pouncy, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Cole Kehler, Hayden Stewart.  

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

Overall record: 18-9-1

Home record: 10-4. Utah has outscored opponents 52 to 32 at home.

Road record: 8-5-1

Win percentage: .661. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Won 1. Utah has won 7 of their last 8 games.

Standings Points: 37. The most standings points by any team in the Western Conference.

Last 10: 8-2.

Goals per game: 3.54 (6th) Goals for: 99.

Goals against per game: 2.82 (8th) Goals Against: 79.

Shots per game: 33.39 (5th)

Shots against per game: 30.82 (13th)   

Power Play: 16 for 86 – 18.6 % (14th)  

Penalty Kill: 90 for 115- 78.3 % (20th)

Penalty Minutes: 428. 15.29 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 10 (1st). Brandon Cutler has 3 shorthanded goals.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 1. – Utah was the last team to allow a shorthanded goal this season.

Record When Scoring First: 9-4. Utah has scored first in 13 of 28 games this season.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (12)

Assists: Brandon Cutler (17)

Points: Cutler (27)

Plus/Minus: Cutler (+15)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (73)

Power Play Points: D’Astous (8)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (4)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous/Luke Martin/Cutler/Bradley (4).

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (94)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (7 for 34). 20.6 %. – Minimum 30 shots.

Game Winning Goals: Brian Bowen/D’Astous/Ryan/Tyler Penner (2).

Wins: Peyton Jones/Trent Miner (7).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.932).

Goals Against Average: Garrett Metcalf (1.84)

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Trey Bradley, Mason Mannek (1). Bradley has 6 goals in his last 5 games.

Assist Streaks: Brandon Cutler (4) Luka Burzan, Ryan Orgel, Gehrett Sargis, Ben Tardif (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Cutler (7).

Brandon Cutler has a point in 16 of his last 17 games. Cutler has 1 scoreless game since November 1st.  Cutler has 19 different games where he’s scored a point. Cutler was out for Utah on Dec. 27 at Rapid City.

Matthew Boucher has 2 or more points in 5 of his last 8 games.  Boucher missed 16 games for Utah due to an injury from Nov.5 – Dec. 12. Boucher had a 7 game assist streak end on December 19th but he scored 2 goals in that same game. Boucher was out of the Grizzlies lineup on Dec. 29 at RC.

Trey Bradley has a point in 10 of his last 12 games, including 7 multiple point games. Bradley has 6 goals in his last 5 games.

Andrew Nielsen has a point in 7 of 11 games in December. 

Mason Mannek has a point in 6 of his last 9 games.

Kyle Pouncy has a point in 5 of his last 8 games (3 goals, 2 assist). Pouncy is a +5 in his last 7 games.

Ben Tardif has 2 or more points in 6 of his last 9 games. Tardif has a point in 7 of his 10 games with Utah.

Luka Burzan has a point in 5 of his last 7 games (3 goals, 5 assists).

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

7: Trey Bradley

6: Charle-Edouard D’Astous,  Brandon Cutler, Ben Tardif.

5: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen

4:  Luke Martin, Andrew Nielsen.

3: Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner.

2: Luka Burzan.

1: Neil Robinson, Gehrett Sargis, Bailey Conger, Christian Simeone, Nate Clurman. 

Grizzlies Holding on to Leads

Utah is 12-0 when leading after 2 periods.

Gotta Get to 3

Utah is 18-4-1 when scoring 3 or more goals. They are 0-5 when scoring less than 3 goals in a game.

Grizzlies Hat Tricks

Trey Bradley – December 29, 2021 at Rapid City. It was Bradley’s first pro hat trick.