Grizzlies Gameday: Hispanic Heritage Night and the Teddy Bear Toss

Kalamazoo Wings (9-5, 18 points, .643 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (10-6-1, 21 points, .618 Win %)

Saturday, December 4, 2021. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the second of a 3 game series against the Central Division’s Kalamazoo Wings. It’s Hispanic Heritage Night as the Grizzlies are wearing “Los Grizz” specialty jerseys for the occasion. Those jerseys will be auctioned off on the Dash Auction App. Utah in their ECHL history is 1-3-1 vs the K-Wings. Both teams were members of the old IHL. Kalamazoo was a member from 1974 to 2000. Locally the Salt Lake Golden Eagles were in the IHL from 1984-1994 and the Grizzlies were in the league from 1994 till the league folded after the 2000-01 season.

Teddy Bear Toss

It’s the annual Teddy Bear Toss at Maverik Center, where fans throw teddy bears and stuffed animals 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.

Last Night: Crunk Scores in 3-1 Loss

Taylor Crunk got Utah on the board first as he scored 8:08 into the second period on a pass from Andrew Nielsen, who has a point in 5 of his last 6 games. It was Crunk’s first goal since February 22nd, 2019 when he played for Fort Wayne. Max Humitz scored late in the 2nd period for the K-Wings. The Wings scored 2 power play goals 27 seconds apart to pick up their 9th win of the season. Justin Taylor scored his team leading 7th of the year and Tanner Sorenson scored his 4th. Erik Bradford and Brenden Miller assisted on all 3 of the Wings goals. Trent Miner appeared in his first game for Utah since October 31st and he saved 39 of 42. Last night was the first time Utah has scored less than 2 goals in a single game this season.

Everybody Shoots for Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo had 42 shots on goal last night vs Utah. All 16 skaters registered at least 1 shot and 14 of the 16 had at least 2 shots on goal. Eric Bradford and Michael Davies each tied for the team lead with 5 shots. That’s the first time all season in a game the Grizzlies were involved in where 1 of the 2 teams had a shot on goal from all 16 skaters.

Trey Bradley Reassigned to Colorado

Grizzlies captain Trey Bradley was reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on December 4th. Bradley leads Utah with 13 assists this season in only 9 games. He has played in 5 games with the Eagles this season and has 3 assists. Trey is 3rd on the team with 14 points despite playing in only 10 games.

Brandon Cutler Named Rookie of the Month

Brandon Cutler won the league’s Rookie of the Month award for November 2021. Cutler had 14 points in 9 November games (7 goals, 7 assists, +7 rating). His best performance came on November 20th where he contributed to all 4 Utah goals as he had 1 goal and 3 assists in a 4-2 win over Kansas City. Cutler is 2nd on the club in goals (8), assists (10), points (18). His plus 9 rating is the best among Grizzlies forwards.

This Week’s Games

Friday, December 3, 2021 – Kalamazoo 3 Utah 1 – Trent Miner saved 39 of 42. Taylor Crunk scored Utah’s lone goal 8:08 into the 2nd period. Andrew Nielsen had 1 assist. Kalamazoo was 2 for 5 on the power play and Utah’s power play was 0 for 3. The K-Wings outshot Utah 42 to 25.

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.

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.

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen, Luka Burzan, Taylor Crunk, Brandon Cutler, Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner, Zac Robbins, 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, Trent Miner.

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

Overall record: 10-6-1

Home record: 5-3.

Road record: 5-3-1.

Win percentage: .618.

Streak: Lost 2

Standings Points: 21.

Last 10: 5-4-1.

Goals per game: 3.53 (5th) Goals for: 60. Kalamazoo is 6th in the league averaging 3.36 goals per game.

Goals against per game: 3.06 (13th) Goals Against: 52. Kalamazoo is 14th in goals allowed at 3.07 per game.

Shots per game: 32.24 (6th)

Shots against per game: 30.06 (13th)   

Power Play: 11 for 60 – 18.3 % (17th)  

Penalty Kill: 57 for 77- 74.0 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 233. 13.71 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: 6-3. Utah has scored first in 9 of 17 games this season.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (11)

Assists: Trey Bradley (13) – Bradley was reassigned to Colorado on Dec. 4.

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: Brandon Cutler/Brian Bowen (67)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (6 for 25). 24.0 %. – Minimum 24 shots

Game Winning Goals: Brian Bowen (2).

Wins: Trent Miner (4).

Save %: Miner (.923).

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (2.10)

Next 5 Games

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.

December 12, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 3:05 pm.

All times Mountain

Active Point Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks:  Taylor Crunk (1) 

Assist Streaks: Matthew Boucher (4) Andrew Nielsen (1).

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

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 13 games. Mason Mannek has a point in 10 of his last 13 games. Brandon Cutler had a 9 game point streak end on Friday vs the K-Wings. Matthew Boucher (2 goals, 5 assists) has 7 points in his last 4 games. Boucher has missed the last 11 games for Utah due to an injury. Andrew Nielsen has a point in 5 of his last 6 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.

2nd Period is the Money Frame

The Grizzlies have outscored opponents 24 to 16 in the 2nd periods this season. The 24 goals are the most by any team in the league in the 2nd period.

Grizzlies Goaltending Shutouts (2021-2022)

Trent Miner – 21 save shutout vs Idaho on October 24, 2021.

Trent Miner – 27 save shutout at Wichita on October 29, 2021.

Last season Utah had 3 shutouts.

Grizzlies Winning Weekly/Monthly Awards

Trent Miner – Goaltender of the Week (October 25-31, 2021)

Charle-Edouard D’Astous – Plus Performer of the Month (October 2021).

Brandon Cutler – Rookie of the Month (November 2021).

About the K-Wings. Kalamazoo is off to an 9-5 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 13 points in 14 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 5 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 %. Gorsuch got the win on December 3rd vs Utah as he saved 24 of 25.

High Powered Offenses. It’s a battle of 2 productive offenses. Utah is 5th in the league by averaging 3.53 goals per game. Kalamazoo is 6th in goals per game at 3.36. Both teams are very similar in terms of goals allowed per game. Utah is 13th in goals allowed per game at 3.06. Kalamazoo is 14th in the league at allowing 3.07 per contest.