Grizzlies Gameday: Wednesday Night Showdown in the Sunshine State

Utah Grizzlies (25-12-1-1, 52 points, .667 Win %) at Florida Everblades (20-11-3-3, 46 points, .622 Win %)

Wednesday, January 26, 2022. Hertz Arena. 5:30 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the first game of a 3 game road trip in the Sunshine state. It’s the only meeting this season between the clubs. They last met for a 3 game series at Maverik Center on November 27, 29-30 where Utah won 2 of the 3 games. The last time the Grizzlies were at Hertz Arena was on March 8, 2017. The Grizz won 4-3 that night as Erik Bradford and Austen Brassard each had 1 goal and 1 assist.

Successful Homestand

Utah went 5-1 in the recently concluded 6 game homestand. The Grizz won 2 of 3 games against Idaho on January 14-15, 17 and swept Allen in a 3 game in 3 day series last weekend. 4 players led Utah with 6 points in the 6 game homestand (Ben Tardif, Matthew Boucher, Tyler Penner and Mason Mannek). Brian Bowen scored a goal in 4 of his last 5 games. Luke Martin led Utah with a +8 rating in the last 6 games. Nate Clurman was a +6 on the homestand.

Grizz in First Place

Utah has a winning percentage of .667 and is in first place in the Mountain Division. The Grizz have the 2nd best points percentage in the Western Conference, trailing only Toledo, who has a .735 %. Utah is 4th in the league in points percentage. The Grizz are the first team in the league to win 25 games this season.

Transactions: Jones Returns to Grizz. Boucher, Henry and Miner Sent back to Colorado

Recent Transactions

January 24, 2022 – Peyton Jones reassigned to Utah. Matthew Boucher, Nick Henry and Trent Miner recalled to Colorado.

January 22, 2022 – Matthew Boucher, Nick Henry and Trent Miner Reassigned to Utah. Peyton Jones Reassigned to Colorado (AHL).

January 18, 2022 – Matthew Boucher, Nick Henry and Trent Miner recalled to Colorado (AHL).

January 16, 2022 – Trent Miner reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL).

January 15, 2022 – Nick Henry and Andrew Nielsen reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL).

January 14, 2022 – Nate Clurman reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL). Ryan Orgel was released.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous Continues to Produce.

D’Astous was named to the 2022 league All-Star team. He participated in the All-Star Classic and had 1 assist and a +4 rating in the ECHL All-Stars 14-7 win over the Jacksonville Icemen. D’Astous is tied for the team lead with 14 goals, despite playing in only 28 games. He leads all league defenseman in goals and power play goals (4).  He leads the club with 4 game winning goals. D’Astous won the game in overtime at Allen on October 30, 2021. The most dramatic goal he has scored this season came on January 5th at Idaho when he scored with 1.7 seconds left in regulation to give Utah a 2-1 win. In 10 games in January D’Astous has 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists). Charle has a point in 8 of his last 10 games. He has a point in 21 different games this season, which leads the club.

Next Homestand

The Grizzlies host the Jacksonville Icemen for Grizzlies Fight Cancer Weekend on February 3-4 at 7:10 pm.

The Grizzlies Plus Club is Full

The Grizzlies as a team are a +185 this season. Luke martin leads the club with a +23 rating. Charle-Edouard D’Astous is a +20. Andrew Nielsen is a +18. Martin is a +11 in 10 games in January. Connor McDonald was a +12 in 12 games in December.

Joey Colatarci Goes Home

Estero, Florida native Joey Colatarci is playing in his hometown on Wednesday night against the Everblades. Colatarci has played as both a defenseman and forward this season. Joey has 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 23 games this season, his first year in the ECHL. Last season Colatarci played with Macon and Knoxville in the SPHL.

Birthdays This Week

Utah Getting All the Shorties

The Grizzlies are tied with Atlanta for the league lead with 15 shorthanded goals. Matthew Boucher scored a shorthanded goal on a penalty shot 9:48 into the third period. Trey Bradley and Matthew Boucher lead the team and are tied for the league lead with 4 shorthanded goals. Brandon Culter (Now with Abbotsford Canucks, AHL) has 3 SHG’s.

2nd Period is the Money Frame

This season the Grizzlies have outscored the opposition 57 to 34 in the second periods. Utah has outshot opponents 435 to 393 in the second periods. Indy has the 2nd highest goal total in the second frame this season with 47. The period to watch out for from the Florida Everblades is the 3rd period, where they have outscored opponents 46 to 29.  

Mannek and Penner Have Shown Up Every Night

Mason Mannek and Tyler Penner are the only 2 to have appeared in all 39 games. Mannek is tied for 2nd on the team lead with 13 goals. Penner is 1 of 7 players to have a double digit goal season with 10. Penner has scored the first goal in a game 3 different times. Penner’s shooting percentage is 17.7 %.

Grizz Sweep Season Series with Allen and Wichita

Utah went 5-0 against both the Allen Americans and the Wichita Thunder this season.  

Utah Getting Plenty of Shots

In the 3 games last week the Grizzlies outshot the Americans 111 to 75. Utah is 6th in the league averaging 33.23 shots per game. It will be interesting to see how many shots Utah gets against Florida, who is 3rd in the league in shots against per game at 27.32.

This Week’s Games

Wednesday, January 26, 2022 – Utah at Florida. 5:30 pm. Hertz Arena. Only meeting between the clubs this season.

Thursday, January 27, 2022 – Utah at Orlando. 5:00 pm. Utah last met Orlando on Jan. 23, 2019 at Maverik Center.

Monday, January 31, 2022 – Utah at Orlando. 5:00 pm. Projected temperature in Orlando on January 31st is 66 degrees.

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

Last Week’s Games

Allen 4 Utah 6 – Tyler Penner had 2 goals and 1 assist. Ben Tardif, Brian Bowen and Mason Mannek each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Utah outshot Allen 32 to 28. D’Astous had 2 assists. Zac Robbins and Mannek were each a +3.

Allen 2 Utah 5 – Matthew Boucher had 2 goals and 1 assist. Ben Tardif 3 assists. Brian Bowen, Tyler Penner and Nick Henry added goals. Utah outshot Allen 41 to 23.

Allen 3 Utah 4 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored GWG with 4:00 left in the 2nd period. Andrew Nielsen had 2 assists. Utah outshot Allen 38 to 24. Zac Robbins, Matthew Boucher and Brian Bowen added goals to clinch the series and season sweep.

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

About the Florida Everblades

The Florida Everblades are led by head coach Brad Ralph, who is in his 6th season as head coach. The Everblades have a .667 points percentage or better in each of their last 5 seasons. John McCarron is their team captain. He is the Everblades all-time leading scorer with 366 points (Including playoffs). Blake Winiecki is the league’s leading scorer with 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists). Joe Pendenza has 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) and Alex Aleardi has 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists). Avery Peterson has 2 goals in 2 games with Florida this season. He had 27 goals for Rapid City last season, with 9 of those goals coming against Utah. Former Grizzlies goaltender Parker Gahagen has played in 13 games with Florida and has a 7-4-1-2 record with a 2.41 goals against average and a .906 save %. Gahagen has 2 shutouts this season. Last year Gahagen won the league’s Goaltender of the Week award in back-to-back weeks in the month of May for Utah. Florida is 9th in the league in goals per game at 3.38 and is 3rd in goals allowed per game at 2.57.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Trent Miner leads the league with 4 shutouts. No other goaltender in the league has more than 2 shutouts. Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads all league defenseman with 14 goals and 31 points. D’Astous also leads all league defenseman with 4 power play goals. Trey Bradley and Matthew Boucher are tied with Florida’s John McCarron for the league lead in shorthanded goals with 4. Luke Martin is tied for 1st in plus/minus at +23.

Grizzlies Roster

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

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

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones,Cole Kehler    

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

Overall record: 25-12-1-1

Home record: 15-5. Utah has outscored opponents 77 to 51 at home.

Road record: 10-7-1-1

Win percentage: .667. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Won 4.

Standings Points: 52. 

Last 10: 7-2-0-1.

Goals per game: 3.56 (4th) Goals for: 139.

Goals against per game: 2.97 (Tied 9th) Goals Against: 116.

Shots per game: 33.23 (6th)

Shots against per game: 30.23 (11th)   

Power Play: 20 for 117 – 17.1 % (22nd)  

Penalty Kill: 117 for 156- 75.0 % (25th)

Penalty Minutes: 576. 14.77 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 15 (Tied 1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 3.

Record When Scoring First: 11-5-0-1. Utah has scored first in 17 of 39 games this season. Utah is 14-7-1 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 7-2-1-1. 11 of the 36 games have been decided by 1. 12 games have been decided by 2.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (14).

Assists: Ben Tardif/Luke Martin (19)

Points: D’Astous (31)

Plus/Minus: Luke Martin (+23) – Leads the League

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (104)

Power Play Points: D’Astous (11)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (4)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (7).

Shorthanded Goals: Trey Bradley/Matthew Boucher (4)

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (122)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (9 for 44). 20.5 %. – Minimum 40 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (4).

Wins: Trent Miner (10).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.932).

Goals Against Average: Garrett Metcalf (1.84)

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen (3) Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Zac Robbins (1).

Assist Streaks: Joey Colatarci, Mason Mannek, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Tyler Penner (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Boucher, Bowen, Penner (3)  

Matthew Boucher has a point in 13 of his last 15 games. He has 23 points in only 17 games this season. Boucher is currently with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

Trey Bradley has 10 goals and 3 assists in his last 13 games. Bradley leads the club with 10 multiple point games. Trey has missed the last 3 games.

Brian Bowen has 4 goals in his last 5 games. 18 of his 21 points have been at Maverik Center. 11 of his 12 goals have been at home. 7 of his 9 assists have been at home.

Ben Tardif has 2 or more points in 9 games this year. Tardif has a point in 14 of his 21 games with Utah. Ben has a point in 8 of his last 12 games. Tardif has 11 points in 10 games in January (3 goals, 8 assists) and a +7 rating.  

Charle-Edouard D’Astous has a point in 8 of his last 10 games. He has a point in 20 different games for Utah this season. In 9 games in January D’Astous has 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) and a +6 rating. D’Astous has 45 shots on goal in 9 games in January.

Luke Martin has 10 points in 10 games in January (3 goals, 7 assists). Martin is a +11 in January. He was also a +6 in 10 games in November and was a +7 in 6 games in October. Martin has a point in 8 of his last 11.

Mason Mannek has 10 points in 10 games in January (4 goals, 6 assists). Mannek has a point in 3 of 4.

Tyler Penner has 10 points in 10 games in January (4 goals, 6 assists).

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

10: Trey Bradley

9: Charle-Edouard D’Astous. Ben Tardif

7: Luke Martin.

6: Matthew Boucher,Brian Bowen, Brandon Cutler. Mason Mannek.

5: Andrew Nielsen, Tyler Penner.

3: Gehrett Sargis.

2: Luka Burzan.

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

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Stats

Utah has scored 15 shorthanded goals this season which is tied with Atlanta for the league lead. The Grizz are 11-2 when scoring a shorthanded goal. Utah is 18-0 when leading after 2 periods. The Grizz have a 57 to 34 scoring advantage in the 2nd period. Utah is 24-5-1-1 when scoring 3 or more goals in a game. Utah has outscored opponents 77 to 51 at home this season. Utah's 139 goals are the most in the league. Their 52 standings points are the most in the league. The Grizzlies are 13-4-1-1 with 0 days rest between games. 6 different goaltenders have won at least 1 game this season. Utah is 23-8-1-1 vs Mountain Division opponents. Utah is 6-8-1 when trailing after 1 period. The 6 wins when trailing after 20 minutes of play is tied with Atlanta for the most in the league. The Grizz are 15-0 when allowing less than 3 goals. Utah is 18-5-0-1 when outshooting opponents. The Grizz are 7-2-1-1 in one goal games.