Grizzlies Gameday: Pride Night at Maverik Center

Kalamazoo Wings (8-5, 16 points, .615 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (10-5-1, 21 points, .656 Win %)

Friday, December 3, 2021. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the first of a 3 game series against the Central Division Kalamazoo Wings. It’s the Grizzlies first-ever Pride Night. The Grizz are wearing specialty jerseys for the occasion. The last time these teams have met was on November 16, 2019 at Kalamazoo. The Wings won 3-2. Utah got goals from Taylor Richart and Garrett Klotz. Utah in their history is 1-2-1 vs the K-Wings in the ECHL era. Both teams were in the old IHL and were in the same league for 5 seasons from 1995 until the league folded in 2000. Utah is tied with Wichita for the best points percentage in the Mountain Division at .656. 

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.

Transactions This Week

Trent Miner was reassigned to Utah from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Miner was the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Week for October 25-31, 2021, where he won 3 road games from October 29-31. In 5 games with Utah the 20 year-old Miner has a 4-1 record with a .921 save percentage and a 2.11 goals against average. He has appeared in 2 AHL games with the Eagles and has a 1-1 record with a 2.53 goals against average. He was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the 7th round (202nd overall) in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

The Grizzlies signed forward Zac Robbins. Robbins played at the University of Connecticut for 4 seasons from 2017-2021. He appeared in 115 games for the Huskies, scoring 5 goals and 10 assists. He was named to the Hockey East All-Academic team in 2020, his junior season. Robbins was a teammate at Connecticut for 2 seasons with Grizzlies defenseman Miles Gendron. Zac will wear number 6 for Utah.

On November 30th forward Bailey Conger was traded to the Fort Wayne Komets. Conger played in 9 games with Utah and had 1 goal, 4 assists and a +5 rating.

Forward Connor Graham was released. He had 1 goal and 2 assists in 11 games.

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.

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.

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, Trey Bradley, 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: 10-5-1

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), 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.

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.

Grizzlies Holding on to Leads

Utah is 7-0 when leading after 2 periods.

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 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 %.

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.