Grizzlies Weekly: Big Homestand Beginning Friday

Grizzlies Weekly: Action Packed Weekend at Maverik Center

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies just completed a 7 game road trip over the past 2 weeks and they return to Maverik Center for a 3 game series vs Idaho beginning on Friday, January 14th at 7:10 pm.

Utah went 3-3-1 in the 7 games on the 2 week trip. Ben Tardif led Utah with 7 points on the trip (2 goals, 5 assists). Trey Bradley (4 goals, 2 assists) and Charle-Edouard D’Astous (1 goal, 5 assists) each had 6 points. Mason Mannek and Luke Martin each had 5 points. Utah has been strong on the road this season with a 10-7-1-1 record. 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.

The annual Guns N Hoses night will be on Saturday, January 15th at 7:10 pm. There will be 2 charity games starting at 1:00 pm leading up to the Grizzlies game vs Idaho at 7:10 pm. A ticket to the Grizzlies game will also get you in to see the Guns vs Hoses charity games.

Monday, January 17th is superhero day as the Grizzlies will be wearing Marvel themed specialty jerseys. The game on the 17th is a special 1 pm Monday matinee for MLK day at Maverik Center. The homestand will continue the following weekend as the Allen Americans make their only visit to the Salt Lake Valley for a 3 game set on January 21st and 22nd at 7:10 pm and Sunday the 23rd at 1:10 pm.

Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. Utah has a points percentage of .636 and is in first place. Utah’s 42 standings points are tied for the most in the Western Conference. Utah has the 2nd best points percentage in the Western Conference and 5th best in the 27 team league. The Grizz have played in 33 games this season, which is tied with Rapid City for the most in the league.

This Week’s Games

Friday, January 14, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm – AFCU Friday.

Saturday, January 15, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm – Guns N Hoses Night. 2 charity games starting at 1:00 pm leading up to the Grizzlies game at 7:10.

Monday, January 17, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 1:10 pm – Marvel superhero day with specialty jersey’s.

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

Last 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 3 Idaho 4 (Shootout) – January 8, 2022. Ben Tardif, Tyler Penner and Matthew Boucher scored goals for Utah. Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 2 assists. Utah outshot Idaho 37 to 34. Both teams went 2 for 2 on the power play.

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: 20-11-1-1

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

Road record: 10-7-1-1

Win percentage: .636. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Lost 2.

Standings Points: 42. Tied with Toledo for the most in the Western Conference.  

Last 10: 6-3-0-1.

Goals per game: 3.45 (10th) Goals for: 114.

Goals against per game: 2.94 (8th) Goals Against: 97.

Shots per game: 33.12 (6th)

Shots against per game: 30.94 (14th)   

Power Play: 20 for 97 – 20.6 % (13th)  

Penalty Kill: 96 for 129- 74.4 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 486. 14.73 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 10 (Tied 1st).

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

Record When Scoring First: 10-5-0-1. Utah has scored first in 16 of 33 games this season.

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (13).

Assists: Brandon Cutler (17)

Points: Cutler (27)

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

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (85)

Power Play Points: D’Astous (11)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (4)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (7).

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (105)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (8 for 40). 20.0 %. – Minimum 40 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: Ben Tardif, Tyler Penner, Matthew Boucher (1).

Assist Streaks: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (2) Luke Martin, Brian Bowen, Quinn Ryan (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: D’Astous (5) Tardif (4) Burzan (2).

Matthew Boucher has 2 or more points in 5 of his last 9 games.  Boucher missed 16 games for Utah due to an injury from Nov.5 – Dec. 12 and 5 games from Dec. 29-Jan. 7. Boucher has a point in 9 of his last 10 games.

Trey Bradley has 7 goals and 3 assists in his last 10 games.

Ben Tardif has 2 or more points in 7 of his last 14 games. Tardif has a point in 11 of his 15 games with Utah. Ben has a point in 4 straight games.

Luka Burzan has a point in 6 of his last 8 games (3 goals, 6 assists). Burzan has missed the last 4 games.

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

9: Trey Bradley

8: Charle-Edouard D’Astous.

7: 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 is tied for the league lead.

Utah is 13-0 when leading after 2 periods. The Grizz have a 48 to 29 scoring advantage in the 2nd period. Utah is 19-5-1-1 when scoring 3 or more goals in a game. Utah has outscored opponents 52 to 32 at home this season. Utah's 114 goals are the most in the league. Their 42 standings points are tied with Toledo for the most in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies are 11-3-1-1 with 0 days rest between games. 6 different goaltenders have won at least 1 game this season. Utah is 7-2-0-1 on Saturdays. Utah is 18-7-1-1 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.

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 23 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. D’Astous had 2 assists in each of the last 2 games at Idaho on January 7th and 8th. He is tied with Brandon Cutler (currently with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks) with 27 points.   

Tons of Shots for Utah

The Grizzlies have taken 393 shots over the last 11 games (35.72 per game). Utah is 6th in the league in shots per game at 33.12. The Grizz have 193 shots in 6 games vs Idaho this season (32.16 per game), which is noteworthy because on the season Idaho has allowed just 26.52 shots per game, which is 2nd best in the league, trailing only Jacksonville, who allows 24.90 shots per game.

Season Series vs Idaho

Utah is 2-3-0-1 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 7th time these teams have met since February 29, 2020, over 22 months ago.