Grizzlies Gameday: Mannek Monday Matinee at Maverik Center

Grizzlies Gameday: Mannek Monday at Maverik Center

Worcester Railers (20-19-2-1, 43 points, .512 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (29-17-2-1, 61 points, .622 Win %) Monday, February 21, 2022. Maverik Center. 1:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the last game of a 3 game set against the Worcester Railers. It’s the 6th all-time meeting between the clubs. Utah is 1-4 all-time vs Worcester. It’s the Grizzlies first ever Sensory Inclusion Game and it’s also the first time the Grizz are wearing Paw Patrol specialty jerseys as part of the leaguewide promotion with Nickelodeon.

Former Railer forward Brian Bowen leads Utah with 19 goals this season. He has a point in 8 of his last 9 games. Defenseman Nate Clurman has an assist in 6 of his last 7 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 6 Utah 2 – Quinn Ryan and Zac Robbins scored goals for Utah. Railers Jordan Smotherman had 2 goals and 10 shots on goal. Ben Tardif led Utah with 9 shots. Worcester outshot Utah 37 to 29. Railers went 2 for 4 on the power play and Utah was 0 for 3.

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.

Next Weekend’s Games

Friday, February 25, 2022 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, February 26, 2022 – Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm.

Sunday, February 27, 2022 – Utah at Kansas City. 3:05 pm.

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

Brian Bowen is on Fire

Bowen has 11 goals and 6 assists in his last 15 games. He currently leads the club with 19 goals. Brian is 5th in the league in shots on goal with 161. 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.

Nate Clurman Passing Like He’s John Stockton

Clurman has an assist in 6 of his last 7 games. Nate has 14 points (1 goal, 13 assists) in 32 games this season.

Point a Game Guys

There are 5 Grizzlies players who are averaging more than a point per game. Matthew Boucher (Currently with Colorado AHL) leads the way averaging 1.29 ppg. Brandon Cutler (Now with Abbotsford AHL) is at 1.17 ppg. Trey Bradley is at 1.16 ppg. Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads current Utah skaters with a 1.08 ppg average. Ben Tardif is at 1.03 ppg. Due to AHL call-ups and injuries Tardif was the only one to play for Utah last Saturday. Ben had 1 assist in the 4-1 loss to Worcester on Feb. 18.

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.

Recent Transactions

February 18, 2022 – Shane Kuzmeski 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.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous Continues to Produce.

Defenseman Charle-Edouard D’Astous lead all league defenseman with 17 goals. He leads the Grizz with 38 points. He also leads the team in power play goals (4), power play points (12) and shots among defenseman (131). Charle has a point in 11 of his last 17 games. He has a point in 25 different games this season, which leads the club. D’Astous also leads all league defenseman with 5 game winning goals.

Local Boy Does Good

Herriman, Utah native Mason Mannek has had a solid first full season as a pro. On February 9th  in Iowa Mannek scored 2 goals. It was his second multiple goal game of his career. Mannek is 3rd on the team with 16 goals and is 3rd with 35 points. Mason has a 14.7 shooting percentage. Mannek and Tyler Penner are the only 2 players who have appeared in all 49 games this season.

Gotta Get to 3

Getting to 3 goals may be the magic number for the Grizzlies. When they score 3 or more goals in a game they are 28-5-3-1. When they score less than 3 goals this season they are just 1-12. Utah is 17-0 when allowing less than 3 goals.

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 161.

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: 29-17-2-1

Home record: 15-9. Utah has outscored opponents 83 to 69 at home.

Road record: 14-8-2-1

Win percentage: .622. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Lost 2.

Standings Points: 61. 

Last 10: 4-5-1.

Goals per game: 3.41 (9th) Goals for: 169.

Goals against per game: 3.14 (13th) Goals Against: 154.

Shots per game: 32.59 (8th)

Shots against per game: 31.00 (13th)   

Power Play: 26 for 150 – 17.3 % (21st)  

Penalty Kill: 146 for 194- 75.3 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 688. 14.04 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 18 (1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 7.

Record When Scoring First: 12-7-0-1. Utah has scored first in 20 of 49 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 49 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 and Taylor Crunk 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 (161)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (11 for 59). 18.2 %. – 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 44 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 83 to 69 at home. Utah's 167 goals are tied for the 2nd highest total in the league. Their 61 standings points are 2nd in the league. The Grizz are 14-6-2-1 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.

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Quinn Ryan, Zac Robbins (1).

Assist Streaks: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (3) Brian Bowen (2) , Trey Bradley, Nate Clurman, Shane Kuzmeski, Luke Martin, Tyler Penner (1).

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

Grizzlies Player Trends

Brian Bowen has 11 goals and 7 assists in his last 16 games. 22 of his 33 points have been at Maverik Center. 12 of his 19 goals have been at home. 10 of his 14 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 161 shots on goal. Brian has taken 5 or more shots in 16 different games.  Bowen averages 3.56 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 of his last 6 games (3 goals, 3 assists). Tardif has 31 shots in his last 6 games. Tardif has 7 games of 2 or more assists. Ben has 17 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 his last 17 games.

Zac Robbins has 3 goals in his last 3 games.

Nate Clurman has an assist in 6 of his last 7 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.