Grizzlies Gameday: 7th and Final Game of Road Trip

Utah Grizzlies (20-11-1, 41 points, .641 Win %) at Idaho Steelheads (17-12-0-1, 35 points, .583 Win %)

Saturday, January 8, 2022. Idaho Central Arena. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the 3rd of 6 straight meetings between the top 2 teams in the Mountain division. It’s the final game of a 3 game set in Boise, with Utah winning 2-1 on January 5th and Idaho responding with a 6-3 win on January 7th, ending Idaho’s 4 game losing skid. Saturday night is the 2nd of a back-to-back and Utah this season is 11-3-1 with 0 days rest between games. Utah is 7-2 on Saturday’s this season. For the Grizzlies the Saturday night showdown in Boise is the final game of a 7-game road trip.

Grizz in First Place

Utah has a winning percentage of .661 and is in first place, and Idaho has a .583 winning percentage and is in 2nd place.  Utah’s 41 standings points are the 2nd most in the league, trailing only Jacksonville, who has 42 points. The Grizz are one of the hottest teams in the league, having won 9 of their last 12 games. Utah has outscored teams 42 to 30 over the last 12 contests and for the season Utah has outscored the opposition 111 to 93.

Long Road Trip

The long 7 game road trip concludes on Saturday night in Boise. Utah is 3-3 on the current 7 game road trip, which concludes with games tonight and Saturday at Idaho. Trey Bradley has 7 points on the trip (4 goals, 3 assists). Bradley scored 3 goals on December 29th in a 4-3 overtime win at Rapid City, with the 3rd goal winning the game 22 seconds into the extra session. Mason Mannek (3 goals, 3 assist) and Ben Tardif (1 goal, 5 assist) each have 6 points in the 6 road games. Utah has been strong on the road this season as they are 10-7-1 away from Maverik Center. Cole Kehler has 2 wins in net for Utah on the trip. 19 year-old emergency goaltender Brady Devries saved 18 of 21 in an improbable 4-3 win at Rapid City on December 29th.

Last Night: Martin Scored 2 Goals in Utah Loss

Luke Martin had 2 goals, Trey Bradley had 1 goal and 1 assist and Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 2 assists in the 6-3 loss to Idaho on January 7th. Both teams had 26 shots on goal. Idaho’s Casey Johnson got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, getting all 3 portions of it in the first 30 minutes 53 seconds of the contest. AJ White had 4 assists and Luc Brown had 1 goal and 3 assists to lead Idaho to victory. Utah’s Peyton Jones saved 20 of 25 in net while Idaho’s Jake Kupsky stopped 23 of 26.

D'Astous Continues to deliver.

Big time players step up in the big moments and so it was no surprise to Grizzlies fans that Charle-Edouard D’Astous would do something like score the game winner with 1.7 seconds left in regulation on January 5 vs Idaho. D’Astous leads the club with 13 goals, despite playing in only 22 games. He leads all league defenseman in goals, power play goals (4) and is tied for the lead with 3 game winning goals. D’Astous won the game in overtime at Allen on October 30, 2021. On January 7th D’Astous had 2 assists in Utah’s 6-3 loss at Idaho.  

Tons of Shots for Utah

The Grizzlies have taken 356 shots over the last 10 games (35.66 per game). Utah is 6th in the league in shots per game at 33.00. The Grizz have 156 shots in 5 games vs Idaho this season (31.25 per game), which is noteworthy because on the season Idaho has allowed just 26.17 shots per game, which is 2nd best in the league, trailing only Jacksonville, who allows 24.90 shots per game.

This Week’s Games

Utah 2 Idaho 1 – January 5, 2022 - Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored the game winner with 1.7 seconds left in regulation on a Ban Tardif pass to the right circle. Quinn Ryan scored first for Utah 14:47 into the second period. Cole Kehler was solid in net saving 27 of 28. Idaho’s Jake Kupsky saved 33 of 35. Both teams went 0 for 2 on the power play.

Utah 3 Idaho 6 – January 7, 2022 – Luke Martin 2 goals. Trey Bradley had 1 goal, 1 assist. Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 2 assists. Mason Mannek and Ben Tardif had 1 assist.

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

Last Week’s Games

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

Wednesday, December 29, 2021 – Utah 4 Rapid City 3 – 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.

Friday, December 31, 2021 – Utah 1 Rapid City 3 - Christian Simeone scored Utah’s lone goal. Rapid City went 3 for 7 on power play, Utah was 0 for 3.

Saturday, January 1, 2022 – Utah 6 Rapid City 4 – Mason Mannek 2 goals, 1 assist. Tyler Penner 3 assists. Gehrett Sargis and Ben Tardif 1 goal, 1 assist each. Zac Robbins and Andrew Nielsen added goals. Cole Kehler saved 34 of 38 for his first Utah win.

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

Season Series vs Idaho

Utah is 2-3 vs Idaho this season. The best rivalry in the league did not meet in the 2020-21 season as the Steelheads opted out of the year. Despite playing roughly 14 to 16 times a year tonight’s game is only the 6th time these teams have met since February 29, 2020, over 22 months ago.

Grizzlies Roster

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

Defenseman: Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Miles Gendron, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Ryan Orgel, Kyle Pouncy, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones, Cole Kehler.   

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

Overall record: 20-11-1

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

Road record: 10-7-1

Win percentage: .641. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Lost 1.

Standings Points: 41. The most standings points by any team in the Western Conference.

Last 10: 7-3.

Goals per game: 3.47 (8th) Goals for: 111.

Goals against per game: 2.91 (8th) Goals Against: 93.

Shots per game: 33.00 (6th)

Shots against per game: 30.84 (13th)   

Power Play: 18 for 95 – 18.9 % (17th)  

Penalty Kill: 96 for 127- 75.6 % (23rd)

Penalty Minutes: 482. 15.06 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 10 (1st).

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

Record When Scoring First: 10-5. Utah has scored first in 15 of 32 games this season.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (13).

Assists: Brandon Cutler/Trey Bradley (17)

Points: Cutler (27)

Plus/Minus: Andrew Nielsen (+16)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (85)

Power Play Points: D’Astous (10)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (4)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (6).

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (102)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (8 for 38). 21.1 %. – Minimum 35 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (3).

Wins: Peyton Jones/Trent Miner (7).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.932).

Goals Against Average: Garrett Metcalf (1.84)

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Luke Martin, Trey Bradley (1).

Assist Streaks: Mason Mannek, Ben Tardif (3) Bradley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: D’Astous (4), Mannek, Tardif (3) Burzan (2).

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 has missed the last 5 games for Utah. 

Trey Bradley has a point in 12 of his last 16 games, including 9 multiple point games. Bradley has 7 goals and 4 assists in his last 9 games.

Mason Mannek has a point in 9 of his last 13 games, including points in 3 straight.

Ben Tardif has 2 or more points in 7 of his last 13 games. Tardif has a point in 10 of his 14 games with Utah. Tardif was 2nd in the league in points in December among rookies with 13. Ben has a point in 3 straight games.

Luka Burzan has a point in 6 of his last 8 games (3 goals, 6 assists). Burzan has missed the last 3 games.

Connor McDonald is a +11 in his last 15 games.

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

9: Trey Bradley

7: Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Ben Tardif

6: Brandon Cutler, Luke Martin.

5: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen.

4: Mason Mannek, Andrew Nielsen, Tyler Penner.

2: Luka Burzan, Gehrett Sargis.

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

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Stats

Utah has scored 10 shorthanded goals this season which leads the league. 

Utah is 13-0 when leading after 2 periods. The Grizz have a 46 to 27 scoring advantage in the 2nd period. Utah is 19-5-1 when scoring 3 or more goals in a game. Grizz have won 9 of their last 12 and have outscored the opposition 42 to 30 in that stretch. Utah has outscored opponents 52 to 32 at home this season. Utah's 111 goals are the most in the league. Their 41 standings points are the most in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies are 11-3-1 with 0 days rest between games. 6 different goaltenders have won at least 1 game this season. Utah is 7-2 on Saturdays. Utah is 18-7-1 vs Mountain Division opponents. Utah is 6-7-1 when trailing after 1 period. The 6 wins when trailing after 20 minutes of play is the most in the league.