Grizzlies Gameday: Series Opener vs Railers

Grizzlies Gameday: Homestand Opener vs Worcester

Worcester Railers (18-19-2-1, 39 points, .488 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (29-15-2-1, 61 points, .649 Win %) Friday, February 18, 2022. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the series opener of a 3 game set against the North division Worcester Railers. It’s the first meeting between the clubs since March 18, 2018, a game the Railers won 4-2. Watch out for Nate Clurman, who has an assist in 5 straight games. Former Railer forward Brian Bowen leads Utah with 19 goals this season. He has a point in 6 of his last 7 games.   

Grizzlies Homestand 

Friday, February 18, 2022 – Worcester at Utah. 7:10 pm. AFCU Friday. Father-Son Night.

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.

Last Week’s Games

Utah swept Iowa in a 3 game series, outscoring the Heartlanders 14 to 9.

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.

Brian Bowen is on Fire

Bowen had 3 goals at Iowa in the 3 game sweep. Bowen has 11 goals and 4 assists in his last 13 games. He currently leads the club with 19 goals. Brian is 5th in the league in shots on goal with 153. 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.

Flurry of 2 Goal Scorers

There were 5 different instances last weekend in Iowa where a skater had 2 or more goals in a game. On February 9th Mason Mannek and Brian Bowen each scored 2 goals. On February 11th Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Zach Robbins lit the lamp twice. Robbins became the 12th different Grizzlies skater this season to score 2 or more goals in a game. Trey Bradley scored 2 goals on February 12th in a 4-3 win, including the game winner 8:17 into the third period. 

Grizzlies skaters with 2 or more goals in a game

3: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen, Trey Bradley

2: Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Mason Mannek

1: Luka Burzan, Brandon Cutler, Luke Martin, Andrew Nielsen, Tyler Penner, Zac Robbins, Ben Tardif.

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.

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 leaves for Colorado with a hot hand as he has a point in 7 of his last 9 games.

Trey played in 10 games with Colorado (AHL) earlier this season and had 4 assists.

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 Reass

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 (Now with AHL’s Colorado Eagles) 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 17 goals and is 2nd with 39 points. Luke Martin leads the league in plus/minus at +27. D’Astous is 2nd at +26. Brian Bowen is 5th in shots with 153.

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: 29-15-2-1

Home record: 15-7. Utah has outscored opponents 80 to 59 at home.

Road record: 14-8-2-1

Win percentage: .649. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Won 3.

Standings Points: 61. 

Last 10: 6-3-1.

Goals per game: 3.49 (6th) Goals for: 164.

Goals against per game: 3.06 (10th) Goals Against: 144.

Shots per game: 32.74 (8th)

Shots against per game: 30.89 (13th)   

Power Play: 25 for 140 – 17.9 % (19th)  

Penalty Kill: 142 for 187- 75.9 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 672. 14.30 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 18 (1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4.

Record When Scoring First: 12-6-0-1. Utah has scored first in 19 of 46 games this season. Utah is 17-9-2 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 10-2-2-1. 15 of the 46 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: Luke Martin (24)

Points: D’Astous (39)

Plus/Minus: Luke Martin (+27) – Leads League

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (114) Mason Mannek and Austin Crossley leads active Grizz with 71.

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 (153)

Shooting Percentage: Tyler Penner (11 for 73). 15.1 %. – 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 66 to 40 in the 2nd periods. Utah is 20-1 when leading after 2 periods. Grizz are 19-6-0-1 when outshooting opponents.  Utah is 17-9-2 when the opposition scores first. Utah is 28-5-2-1 when scoring 3 or more goals. Utah has outscored opponents 80 to 59 at home. Utah's 164 goals are the highest total in the league. Their 61 standings points is tied with Toledo for the most 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.

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Trey Bradley, Mason Mannek, Ben Tardif (1).

Assist Streaks: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (3) Bradley, Mannek, Luke Martin.

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

Grizzlies Player Trends

Brian Bowen has 11 goals in his last 13 games. 20 of his 31 points have been at Maverik Center. 12 of his 19 goals have been at home. 8 of his 12 assists have been at home. Bowen has a point in 6 of his last 7 and 9 of his last 11. Bowen leads the team with 153 shots on goal. Brian has taken 5 or more shots in 15 different games.  Bowen averages 3.55 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 (39), shots (132) and plus/minus (+26).

Ben Tardif has a point in 4 straight games (3 goals, 1 assist). Tardif has 17 shots in his last 4 games. Tardif has 7 games of 2 or more assists. Ben has 15 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 30 in shots over the last 12 games. Mannek is among team leaders with a 14.8 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 straight 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 (Now with Colorado AHL) for the team lead with 11 wins.