Grizzlies Weekly: Big Series in Idaho as Road Trip Continues

Grizzlies Weekly: Big Series in Idaho

West Valley City, Utah – The first place Utah Grizzlies are headed to Boise for a big 3 game series as they face the Idaho Steelheads on January 5, 7-8. Face-off all 3 nights is at 7:10 pm.

The Grizzlies split a 4 game road series at Rapid City with both teams winning 2 games. The series ended with Utah winning 6-4 as Mason Mannek scored 2 goals and 1 assist. Tyler Penner had 3 assists.

Goaltender Cole Kehler saved 34 of 38 for his first win in a Grizzlies uniform. Kehler was 1 of 3 goaltenders to play for Utah in the series. With the New Year’s Day win Kehler became the 6th different goaltender to win a game for Utah this season. Garrett Metcalf saved 28 of 30 on December 27th in a 3-0 loss. Metcalf was loaned to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he made his AHL debut on January 1st and saved 25 of 26 in a 2-1 overtime win. On December 29th 19 year old Brady Devries started on an emergency basis and saved 18 of 21 in a 4-3 overtime win. That night captain Trey Bradley scored 3 goals, including the game winner 22 seconds into overtime. Bradley has 6 goals in his last 7 games.

The Grizzlies have the best winning percentage in the Mountain Division at .650. 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.

The Grizz return to Maverik Center for 6 straight games beginning on January 14th vs Idaho. The annual Guns N Hoses night will be on Saturday, January 15th at 7:10 pm. 2 days later the traditional MLK 1 pm Monday matinee will conclude a stretch of 6 straight games against the Steelheads. The following weekend the Allen Americans are in town for a 3 game set on January 21-23. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

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: Nielsen Sent to AHL, D’Astous, Martin and Jones Reassigned to Utah

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.

Last Week’s Transactions

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.

Garrett Metcalf – Loaned to Lehigh Valley on Dec. 28, 2021.

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

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

• Does not include EBUG’s.

December Recap

Utah went 8-5 in 13 December games. Ben Tardif led Utah with 13 points in 11 games (2 goals, 11 assists, +4). Andrew Nielsen had 10 points in 12 December games (3 goals, 7 assists, +8). Trey Bradley led Utah with 6 goals in the month. Brandon Cutler had 9 points, including 7 assists in December. Connor McDonald had the best plus/minus on the club at +12 in 12 December games. Trent Miner had 2 shutouts in December (Dec. 6 vs Kalamazoo and Dec. 15 vs Wichita). There were 4 different goaltenders who won a game for Utah in the final month of 2021 (Miner, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf and Brady Devries). Jones went 3-0 in 4 December games with a .920 save % and a 3.00 GAA.

2021 Calendar Year by the Numbers

Utah went 51-35-6-6 in 98 regular season games in the 2021 calendar year. Utah had a .582 winning percentage in 2021. Matthew Boucher won the 2020-21 league Rookie of the Year award. There were 11 goaltenders who appeared in at least 1 game for Utah.

Team Leaders in 2021

Games: Trey Bradley (85).

Points: Matthew Boucher (70). Trey Bradley had 69 points in 2021. Tied for 3rd was AJ White and Cedric Pare with 40.

Goals: Matthew Boucher (34). Charlie Gerard was 2nd with 19.

Assists: Trey Bradley (51). Matthew Boucher was 2nd with 36.

Plus/Minus: Matthew Boucher/Andrew Nielsen (+13). 4 tied at +12 (Brandon Cutler, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Luke Martin and Tyler Penner).

Goaltender Wins: Peyton Jones (13).

Goals Against Average: Garrett Metcalf (2.15).

Minutes: Peyton Jones (1453).

Losses: Jones/Kevin Carr (8).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf/Parker Gahagen (.922).

Shutouts: Trent Miner (4).

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Brandon Cutler 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.

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: 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: Brandon Cutler (4) Luka Burzan, Luke Martin (2) Trey Bradley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Connor McDonald, Tyler Penner, Sargis, Tardif, (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Cutler (7) Burzan, D’Astous, Martin (2).

Brandon Cutler has a point in 16 of his last 17 games. Cutler has 1 scoreless game since November 1st.  Cutler has 19 different games where he’s scored a point. Cutler has missed the last 3 games. 

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.

Andrew Nielsen has a point in 9 of his last 13 games. Nielsen was a +2 or better in 5 of 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.