Grizzlies Gameday: Rivalry Renewed in Boise

Grizzlies Gameday: Rivalry Renewed in Boise

Utah Grizzlies (19-10-1, 39 points, .650 Win %) at Idaho Steelheads (16-11-0-1, 33 points, .589 Win %)

Wednesday, January 5, 2022. Idaho Central Arena. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the 1st of 6 straight meetings between the top 2 teams in the Mountain division. Utah has a winning percentage of .650 and is in first place, and Idaho has a .589 winning percentage and is in 2nd place.  Utah’s 39 standings points are the 2nd most in the league, trailing only Jacksonville, who has 40 points. The Grizz are one of the hottest teams in the league, having won 8 of their last 10 games.

This 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.

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.

Recent Transactions: Cutler and Nielsen Leaves for AHL, D’Astous, Martin and Jones Reassigned to Utah

Forward Brandon Cutler was loaned to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks on January 4th. Cutlerhas a point in 16 of his last 17 games for Utah. Cutler has 1 scoreless game since November 1st.  Cutler has 19 different games where he’s scored a point for Utah and he leaves for Abbotsford leading the ECHL with 27 points and 17 assists.

Defenseman Andrew Nielsen was reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Nielsen has a point in 9 of his last 13 games for Utah. Nielsen was a +2 or better in 5 of his last 7 games and leaves for Colorado tied for 4th on the club with 22 points.

Defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Luke Martin and goaltender Peyton Jones were each reassigned to the Grizzlies from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. D’Astous leads all league defenseman with 12 goals. He leads Utah with 8 power play points (4 goals, 4 assists). He is tied for 2nd on the club with Trey Bradley and Andrew Nielsen with 21 points. Martin has 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists) in 23 games for Utah. Peyton Jones went 3-0 with a .920 save % and a 3.00 GAA in 4 games in December for Utah. Jones appeared in 1 game with Colorado on December 29th and saved 30 of 33 in a 3-2 overtime loss vs Iowa.

Recent Transactions

Brandon Cutler – Loaned to AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks on Jan. 4, 2022.

Andrew Nielsen – Called-up to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on Jan. 2, 2022.

Hayden Stewart – Traded to Rapid City on Jan. 2, 2022.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Luke Martin and Peyton Jones – Reassigned to Utah on Jan. 1, 2022.

Cole Kehler – Acquired via Trade with Cincinnati on Dec. 30, 2021. Got his first Utah win on Jan. 1, 2022.

Garrett Metcalf – Loaned to Lehigh Valley on Dec. 28, 2021. Saved 25 of 26 for Lehigh Valley on Jan 1, 2022 in a 2-1 OT win.

Hayden Stewart – Signed by Utah on Dec. 28, 2021.

Ryan Orgel – Signed by Utah on Dec. 26, 2021. Orgel played in 3 games in the Rapid City series.

• Does not include EBUG’s.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Brandon Cutler (Now with AHL’s Abbotsford) leads all rookies with 27 points and 17 assists. Cutler is 2nd among rookies with 89 shots on goal and is tied for 2nd among first year pros in plus/minus (+15). Trent Miner leads the league with 4 shutouts. Ben Tardif leads the league with 3 shorthanded assists and is 2nd with 4 shorthanded points. Charle-Edouard D’Astous (Back after a stint in the AHL) leads all league defenseman with 12 goals.

Bear Bites: Grizzlies by the Numbers

Utah has scored 10 shorthanded goals this season which leads the league. Utah scored 1 shorthanded goal last week in Rapid City as Trey Bradley gave Utah a 3-2 lead 4:15 into the third period, a game Utah won 4-3 in overtime.

Utah is 13-0 when leading after 2 periods. The Grizz have a 43 to 25 scoring advantage in the 2nd period. Utah is 19-4-1 when scoring 3 or more goals in a game. Grizz have won 8 of their last 10 and have outscored the opposition 37 to 22 in that stretch. Utah has outscored opponents 52 to 32 at home this season. Utah's 106 goals are the most in the league. Their 39 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 17-6-1 vs Mountain Division opponents.

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 8 multiple point games. In 17 games this season Bradley has 23 points (7 goals, 16 assists) and has a +8 rating. Bradley has a point in 10 of his last 13 games. Bradley has also played well in the AHL this season, scoring 4 assists in 10 games for the Colorado Eagles.

Grizzlies Holding on to Leads

Utah is 13-0 when leading after 2 periods.

Tons of Shots for Utah

The Grizzlies have taken 271 shots over the last 7 games (38.71 per game). Utah is 6th in the league in shots per game at 33.17.

Ironmen: 2 Have Played in all 30

The Grizzlies have played in 30 games this season. Only 2 players have appeared in every game. Forwards Mason Mannek and Tyler Penner have played in every game. Mannek has been a consistent performer this season as he is 4th on the club with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists). Penner has 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) and has been a steady presence all season. Mannek and Penner were standout performers for the Grizzlies in the New Year’s Day 6-4 win at Rapid City. Mannek had 2 goals and 1 assist and Penner had 3 assists. Andrew Nielsen has appeared in 29 of the 30 games.

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.

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: 19-10-1

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

Road record: 9-6-1

Win percentage: .650. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Won 1.

Standings Points: 39. The most standings points by any team in the Western Conference.

Last 10: 8-2.

Goals per game: 3.53 (6th) Goals for: 106.

Goals against per game: 2.87 (8th) Goals Against: 86.

Shots per game: 33.17 (5th)

Shots against per game: 31.10 (13th)   

Power Play: 17 for 92 – 18.5 % (15th)  

Penalty Kill: 94 for 124- 75.8 % (23rd)

Penalty Minutes: 460. 15.33 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: 9-5. Utah has scored first in 14 of 30 games this season.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (12)

Assists: Brandon Cutler (17)

Points: Cutler (27)

Plus/Minus: D’Astous/Andrew Nielsen (+16)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (85)

Power Play Points: D’Astous (9)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (4)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous/Luke Martin (5).

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (99)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (7 for 36). 19.4 %. – Minimum 35 shots.

Game Winning Goals: Brian Bowen/D’Astous/Ryan/Tyler Penner/Mason Mannek (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: Mason Mannek, Andrew Nielsen, Zac Robbins, Gehrett Sargis, Ben Tardif (1).

Assist Streaks: Luka Burzan, Luke Martin (2) Trey Bradley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Connor McDonald, Tyler Penner, Sargis, Tardif, (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Burzan, D’Astous, Martin (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 2 games for Utah. 

Trey Bradley has a point in 11 of his last 14 games, including 8 multiple point games. Bradley has 6 goals in his last 7 games.

Mason Mannek has a point in 7 of his last 11 games.

Kyle Pouncy has a point in 6 of his last 10 games (3 goals, 3 assist).

Ben Tardif has 2 or more points in 7 of his last 11 games. Tardif has a point in 8 of his 12 games with Utah. Tardif was 2nd in the league in points in December among rookies with 13.

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

Connor McDonald is a +13 in his last 13 games.