Grizzlies Gameday: Trey Bradley Returns for Saturday Holiday Showdown

Grizzlies Gameday: Captain Trey Bradley Returns

Wichita Thunder (10-11-1, 21 points, .477 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (15-8-1, 31 points, .646 Win %)

Saturday, December 18, 2021. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

Saturday night at the Mav is the 3rd game of a 4 game set and the second game in a 3 in 3. It’s the 4th  of 5 season meetings between the clubs. Utah won 3-0 at Wichita on October 29th. On Wednesday night Trent Miner earned his 4th shutout of the season and 2nd clean sheet vs Wichita as Utah won 3-0. Last night Utah won 4-2 as Brian Bowen and Andrew Nielsen each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Watch out for Brandon Cutler, who has a point in 14 of his last 15 games.

Mountain Division Leaders

Utah is currently tied for the Mountain Division lead with the Idaho Steelheads as both teams have 31 standings points and a .646 points percentage. Utah will face Idaho 6 straight times in the month of January.

Captain Trey Bradley Returns to Club

Grizzlies captain Trey Bradley returns to the Grizzlies after a stint with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Bradley has 15 points (2 goals, 13 assists) in 11 games this season with Utah. He also has 4 assists in 10 games with the Eagles this season. Last year Bradley led Utah with 37 assists.

Brandon Cutler Leading the Way

Brandon Cutler leads the team with 24 points. That point total leads all league rookies. Cutler missed the first 2 games of the Tulsa series before scoring last Sunday. Cutler has points in 14 of his last 15 games. He leads the team with 85 shots on goal, which also leads all league rookies. It’s been a solid first pro season for Cutler, who won the league’s Rookie of the Month award for November 2021.

Matthew Boucher Returns With Authority

Matthew Boucher returned to the Grizzlies lineup on Wednesday night for the first time since October 31st and didn’t skip a beat as he scored 1 goal and 1 assist in Utah’s 3-0 win. Last night he had 1 assist and 5 shots in the 4-2 win. Boucher has a point in 6 straight games he’s played in dating back to October 24th. In 7 games this season Boucher has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) and a +9 rating. Last season Boucher won the league’s Rookie of the Year as he led Utah and all league rookies with 25 goals and 52 points.

Grizzlies Are Getting All the Shorties

Utah leads the league with 8 shorthanded goals this season. On Wednesday night Mason Mannek scored shorthanded 14:35 into the first period to give Utah a 2-0 lead in a game the Grizz eventually won 3-0. Brandon Cutler has 3 shorthanded goals this season. Tyler Penner, Matthew Boucher, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Ben Tardif and Mannek have the other shorthanded goals. Utah is also the only team who has not allowed a shorthanded goal this season.

Tons of Shots for Utah

The Grizzlies had 52 shots on goal vs Wichita on December 15th. It was the most shots by Utah in a single game this season. It’s the 5th time this season Utah has taken 40 or more shots. Last night Utah had 28 shots on goal. The Grizz are 6th in the league in shots on goal per game at 32.50.

Peyton Jones Getting the Job Done

Peyton Jones saved 31 of 33 Wichita shots last night in the 4-2 win. Jones is 6-2 this season with a 3.64 GAA and a .889 save percentage. The 2nd year pro out of Penn State has 14 wins in a year and a half with Utah.

Luka Burzan Continues to Produce

Burzan was reassigned to the Grizzlies on December 15th. Burzan has 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 10 games this season. Burzan was the number 1 star on December 6th vs Kalamazoo when he contributed to all 4 of Utah’s goals with 2 goals and 2 assists in a 4-0 win vs Kalamazoo. Luka has played in 10 games with Colorado (AHL) this season. Last year he played in 14 games with Colorado at the end of the 2020-21 campaign. He was picked in the 6th round (171st overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Charle-Edouard D’Astous (Now with Colorado AHL) – leads all defenseman in goals (12), points (21) and  power play goals (4). Brandon Cutler leads all rookies with 24 points. He’s tied for the lead among rookies with 10 goals. Cutler leads all rookies with 85 shots on goal. Trent Miner leads the league with 4 shutouts.

Many Players Playing the Hero Role

In the 15 Grizzlies wins there have been 12 different players who have scored the game winning goal. Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Brian Bowen and Quinn Ryan each have 2 GWG’s and 10 others have 1 GWG. Ryan got the game winner 16:41 into the second period on December 17th vs Wichita.

This Week’s Games

Wednesday, December 15, 2021 – Wichita 0 Utah 3 – Trent Miner 28 save shutout. Matthew Boucher had 1 goal and 1 assist. Ben Tardif had 2 assists. Andrew Nielsen and Mason Mannek each scored a first period goal. Utah outshot Wichita 52 to 28.

Friday, December 17- 2021 – Wichita 2 Utah 4 – Brian Bowen and Andrew Nielsen each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Peyton Jones saved 31 of 33.

Saturday, December 18, 2021 – Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm. Ugly Sweater Night.

Sunday, December 19, 2021 – Wichita at Utah. 1:10 pm. Final home game of the 2021 calendar year. Fun-Day with a ton of fun things on the Maverik Center concourse. 

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

Ironmen: 2 Have Played in all 24

The Grizzlies have played in 24 games this season. Only 2 players have appeared in all 23. Forwards Mason Mannek and Tyler Penner have appeared in every game. That number fell from 3 to 2 as Martin was reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Martin played with the Eagles on Friday night’s 3-2 OT loss at Stockton. Quinn Ryan, Andrew Nielsen and Luke Martin have appeared in 23 of the 24 games. Connor McDonald has played in 22 of the 24 games as he spent a week with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. 7 players have appeared in at least 20 of the 24 games.

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: Nate Clurman, Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Miles Gendron, Connor McDonald, Andrew Nielsen, Kyle Pouncy, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.  

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

Overall record: 15-8-1

Home record: 8-4. Utah has outscored opponents 40 to 28 at home.

Road record: 7-4-1.

Win percentage: .646. Tied for 1st in the Mountain Division.

Streak: Won 4

Standings Points: 31.

Last 10: 6-3-1.

Goals per game: 3.46 (5th) Goals for: 82.

Goals against per game: 2.88 (9th) Goals Against: 69.

Shots per game: 32.50 (6th)

Shots against per game: 30.63 (13th)   

Power Play: 14 for 77 – 18.2 % (Tied 17th)  

Penalty Kill: 83 for 105- 79.0 % (20th)

Penalty Minutes: 392. 16.33 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 8 (1st). Brandon Cutler has 3 shorthanded goals.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 0. – Utah is the only team in the league who has not allowed a shorthanded goal.

Record When Scoring First: 9-4. Utah has scored first in 13 of 24 games this season.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (12)

Assists: Brandon Cutler (14)

Points: Cutler (24)

Plus/Minus: D’Astous (+14)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (69)

Power Play Points: D’Astous (8)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (4)

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

Shots on Goal: Brandon Cutler (85) – 5th in the league.

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (7 for 33). 21.2 %. – Minimum 30 shots.

Game Winning Goals: Brian Bowen/D’Astous/Ryan (2). 12 different players have at least 1 GWG this season.

Wins: Trent Miner (7).

Save %: Miner (.930).

Goals Against Average: Garrett Metcalf (2.10)

Next 5 Games

December 18, 2021 – Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm – Ugly Sweater Night.

December 19, 2021 – Wichita at Utah. 1:10 pm – Sunday Fun Day. Last home game of the 2021 calendar year.

December 27, 2021 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

December 29, 2021 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

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

All times Mountain

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks:  Andrew Nielsen, Zac Robbins (2) Brian Bowen, Quinn Ryan (1)

Assist Streaks: Boucher (6)  Brandon Cutler (2) Bowen, Luka Burzan, Mason Mannek, Andrew Nielsen, (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Boucher (6), Cutler (5), Burzan, Mannek (3) Nielsen, Robbins (2).

Brandon Cutler has a point in 14 of his last 15 games. Matthew Boucher (3 goals, 7 assists) has 10 points in his last 6 games. Boucher missed 16 games for Utah due to an injury from Nov.5 – Dec. 12. Andrew Nielsen has a point in 9 of his last 12 games. Mason Mannek has a point in 14 of his last 20 games. Kyle Pouncy has a goal in 3 of his last 4 games.

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

6: Charle-Edouard D’Astous,

5: Brian Bowen, Trey Bradley, Brandon Cutler.

4:  Luke Martin.

3: Matthew Boucher, Mason Mannek, Andrew Nielsen, Ben Tardif.

2: Luka Burzan.

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

Grizzlies Holding on to Leads

Utah is 11-0 when leading after 2 periods. Utah has led after 2 periods in all 3 meetings with Wichita this season.

Gotta Get to 3

Utah is 15-4-1 when scoring 3 or more goals. They are 0-4 when scoring less than 3 goals in a game.