Grizzlies Gameday: Grizz Host Railers on Saturday Night

Worcester Railers (19-19-2-1, 41 points, .500 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (29-16-2-1, 61 points, .635 Win %) Saturday, February 19, 2022. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the second game of a 3 game set against the North divisions Worcester Railers. It’s the 5th all-time meeting between the clubs. Utah is 1-3 all-time vs Worcester. Former Railer forward Brian Bowen leads Utah with 19 goals this season. He has a point in 7 of his last 8 games. Ben Tardif has a point in 5 straight games. 

Grizzlies Homestand 

Friday, February 18, 2022 – Worcester 4 Utah 1 – Luka Burzan scored his 5th goal of the year 3:29 into the 2nd period. Worcester outshot Utah 30 to 29. Utah went 1 for 7 on the power play and Worcester was 1 for 3. Brian Bowen led Utah with 6 shots on goal.

Saturday, February 19, 2022 – Worcester at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Monday, February 21, 2022 – Worcester at Utah. 1:10 pm. Sensory Inclusion Game. Paw Patrol Sepcialty Jerseys.

Family Fun Zone is on the concourse for every Grizzlies home game.

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

Last Week’s Games

February 9, 2022 – Utah 5 Iowa 4 (OT) - Ben Tardif scored the game winning goal 2:37 into overtime as the Grizzlies defeated the Heartlanders 5-4 on Wednesday night. Brian Bowen and Mason Mannek each had 2 goals for Utah. Luke Martin had 3 assists. Trey Bradley had 2 assists as the captain now leads the club with 11 multiple point games. Trent Miner saved 38 of 42 to earn his 11th win of the season. Iowa outshot Utah 42 to 26. Utah was 1 for 2 on the power play and Iowa was 1 for 3.  

February 11, 2022 – Utah 5 Iowa 2 - Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Zac Robbins each scored 2 goals and 1 assist in the Grizzlies 5-2 win at Iowa. Brian Bowen had 1 goal and 1 assist as he continues his hot stretch. Peyton Jones saved 29 of 31 to earn his 10th win of the season. Utah went 1 for 3 on the power play while Iowa went 1 for 4.

February 12, 2022 – Utah 4 Iowa 3 – Trey Bradley had 2 goals and 1 assist. Mason Mannek added his 16th goal of the season and also had 1 assist. Ben Tardif scored a shorthanded goal. Utah leads the league with 18 shorthanded goals this season. Peyton Jones saved 38 of 41.

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

Luka Burzan Returns With Authority

Luka Burzan scored a power play goal 2:39 into the second period on Feb. 18 vs Worcester. In 17 games this season he has 5 goals and 8 assists. Burzan was a 6th round pick (171st overall) of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft. Luka has appeared in 24 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles over the last 2 seasons and had 3 goals and 1 assist.

Brian Bowen is on Fire

Bowen has 11 goals and 5 assists in his last 14 games. He currently leads the club with 19 goals. Brian is 5th in the league in shots on goal with 159. Scoring goals is nothing new for Bowen, who led the SPHL with 30 goals in the 2019-20 season. Last season he scored 18 goals in only 26 games with the SPHL’s Macon Mayhem. He has previous ECHL experience with the Worcester Railers, Norfolk Admirals and Adirondack Thunder.

Transactions: Grizz Sign Kuzmeski, Bradley and Miner Reassigned to Utah

Utah claimed defenseman Shane Kuzmeski off waivers from the Iowa Heartlanders. Kuzmeski attended Clarkson University for 4 seasons from 2016-2020, appearing in 82 games and scored 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists). Kuzmeski was named to ECAC Hockey All-Academic team in his senior season (2019-20). Last season he played in 31 games with the Wheeling Nailers and had 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists). This season he had 1 assist in 6 games with the Iowa Heartlanders. Kuzmeski wore number 11 in his Grizzlies debut on Feb. 18.

Grizzlies captain Trey Bradley and goaltender Trent Miner were each reassigned to the Grizzlies on Feb. 17. Bradley leads Utah with 12 multiple point games this season. In 31 games with the Grizzlies Trey has 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists). In 96 games with the Grizzlies over a 2 season stretch he has 83 points (25 goals, 58 assists). The captain had 2 goals and 3 assists last weekend in Iowa to lead Utah to a 3 game sweep.

Trey played in 10 games with Colorado (AHL) earlier this season and had 4 assists. Bradley is currently out with an injury.

Miner leads the league with 4 shutouts. He is tied with Peyton Jones for the team lead with 11 wins.

Recent Transactions

February 18, 2022 – Shane Kozmeski claimed off waivers from Iowa.

February 18, 2022 – Trey Bradley and Trent Miner Reassigned to Utah. Bradley placed on Injured Reserve.

February 13, 2022 – Trey Bradley Recalled to Colorado (AHL).

February 10, 2022 – Trent Miner Reassigned to Colorado (AHL).

February 2, 2022 – Trent Miner Reassigned to Utah.

January 28 2022 – Andrew Nielsen Released from AHL contract.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Trent Miner leads the league with 4 shutouts. Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads all league defenseman with 17 goals and is 2nd with 38 points. D’Astous leads all defenseman with 5 game winning goals. Luke Martin is tied for the league lead in plus/minus at +27. D’Astous is 3rd at +26. Brian Bowen is 5th in shots with 159.

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, Shane Kuzmeski, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Kyle Pouncy, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones,Cole Kehler, Trent Miner.

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

Overall record: 29-16-2-1

Home record: 15-8. Utah has outscored opponents 81 to 63 at home.

Road record: 14-8-2-1

Win percentage: .635. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Lost 1.

Standings Points: 61. 

Last 10: 5-4-1.

Goals per game: 3.44 (8th) Goals for: 165.

Goals against per game: 3.08 (10th) Goals Against: 148.

Shots per game: 32.67 (8th)

Shots against per game: 30.88 (12th)   

Power Play: 26 for 147 – 17.7 % (Tied 18th)  

Penalty Kill: 144 for 190- 75.8 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 678. 14.13 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 18 (1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 6.

Record When Scoring First: 12-6-0-1. Utah has scored first in 19 of 47 games this season. Utah is 17-10-2 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 10-2-2-1. 15 of the 47 games have been decided by 1. 13 games have been decided by 2. Utah is 8-5 in 2 goal games.  

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Goals: Brian Bowen (19).

Assists: Ben Tardif/Luke Martin (24)

Points: Trey Bradley/Charle-Edouard D’Astous (38)

Plus/Minus: Luke Martin (+27) – Tied for League Lead

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (114) Mason Mannek leads active Grizzlies with 73.  

Power Play Points: D’Astous (13)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (5)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (8).

Shorthanded Goals: Trey Bradley/Matthew Boucher (4)

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (159)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (10 for 57). 17.5 %. – Minimum 55 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (5).

Wins: Peyton Jones/Trent Miner (11).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.932).

Goals Against Average: Garrett Metcalf (1.84)

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Stats

Utah has scored a league leading 18 shorthanded goals. The Grizz are 12-4 when scoring a shorthanded goal. Utah is outscoring opponents 67 to 42 in the 2nd periods. Utah is 20-1 when leading after 2 periods. Grizz are 19-6-0-1 when outshooting opponents.  Utah is 17-10-2 when the opposition scores first. Utah is 28-5-2-1 when scoring 3 or more goals. Utah has outscored opponents 81 to 63 at home. Utah's 165 goals are tied for the 2nd highest total in the league. Their 61 standings points are 2nd in the league. The Grizz are 14-5-2-1 when they play with 0 days rest between games. Utah is 23-8-1-1 vs Mountain Division opponents. Utah is 17-0 when allowing less than 3 goals. The Grizz are 10-2-2-1 in one goal games.

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

12: Trey Bradley

11: Ben Tardif, Charle-Edouard D’Astous.

10: Brian Bowen.

8:  Mason Mannek,Luke Martin.

6: Matthew Boucher,Brandon Cutler. Andrew Nielsen.

5: Tyler Penner.

3: Gehrett Sargis.

2: Luka Burzan. Christian Simeone.

1: Neil Robinson, Bailey Conger, Nate Clurman, Zac Robbins, Quinn Ryan, Connor McDonald.

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Luka Burzan (1).

Assist Streaks: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (3) Brian Bowen, Trey Bradley, Luke Martin, Ben Tardif (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Tardif (5) Bradley (4) D’Astous (3)

Grizzlies Player Trends

Brian Bowen has 11 goals and 6 assists in his last 15 games. 21 of his 32 points have been at Maverik Center. 12 of his 19 goals have been at home. 9 of his 13 assists have been at home. Bowen has a point in 7 of his last 8 and 10 of his last 12. Bowen leads the team with 159 shots on goal. Brian has taken 5 or more shots in 16 different games.  Bowen averages 3.61 shots per game.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous has a point in 26 different games this season. D’Astous is a +6 in his last 4 games. Charle has a penalty in 5 straight games. He leads all league defenseman in goals (17) and game winning goals (5). He is 2nd among all league defenseman in points (38), shots (132) and plus/minus (+26).

Ben Tardif has a point in 5 straight games (3 goals, 3 assists). Tardif has 22 shots in his last 5 games. Tardif has 7 games of 2 or more assists. Ben has 16 games of 4 or more shots on goal. Tardif’s best point streak as a pro was a 5 game run from Jan. 1-14.

Luke Martin is a +15 in their last 17 games. Luke has taken 58 shots over the last 17 games.

Mason Mannek is 5 for 31 in shots over the last 13 games. Mannek is among team leaders with a 14.7 shooting percentage.

Zac Robbins had 2 goals and 1 assists at Iowa on Feb. 11. Robbins has a 17.1 shooting percentage this season.

Nate Clurman has an assist in 5 of his last 6 games.  

Peyton Jones has won 3 of his last 4 starts in net. In 3 games in February Jones has a 2-1 record with a 2.33 Goals Against Average and a .929 save percentage. Jones is tied with Trent Miner for the team lead with 11 wins.