Grizzlies Gameday: Utah Looks for Sweep in Iowa

Utah Grizzlies (28-15-2-1, 59 points, .641 Win %) at Iowa Heartlanders (17-22-6-1, 41 points, .446 Win %) Saturday, February 12, 2022. Xtream Arena. 6:00 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the last game of the 3 game series and the 3rd all-time meeting between the clubs. The Grizz go for the series sweep as they won 5-4 in overtime on February 9th and 5-2 on February 11th. The Grizz are in first place in the Mountain division with a .641 points percentage. Watch out for Luke Martin, who leads the league with a +27 rating. Brian Bowen has been on fire as of late as he has 11 goals in his last 12 games and he has a point in 6 straight. It’s the 3rd game of the series. Utah is 7-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series.

Last Night

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.

This Week’s Games

Wednesday, 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.  

Friday, February 11, 2022 – Utah 5 Iowa 2 -

Saturday, February 12, 2022 – Utah at Iowa. 6:00 pm – Utah looks for the series sweep.   

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

Brian Bowen is on Fire

Bowen scored 2 goals in Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime win in Iowa. Last night Bowen scored 5:48 into the first period to give Utah a 2-0 lead. Bowen has 11 goals and 4 assists in his last 12 games. He currently leads the club with 19 goals. Brian is 5th in the league in shots on goal with 150. 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.

Fleury of 2 Goal Scorers

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 has Utah’s only Hat Trick this season, which came on December 29, 2021 with his 3rd goal coming 29 seconds into overtime in the Brady Devries emergency goaltender game.

Grizzlies skaters with 2 or more goals in a game

3: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen

2: Trey Bradley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Mason Mannek

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

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 leads active Grizzlies skaters at 1.10 ppg. Charle-Edouard D’Astous averages 1.08 ppg. Ben Tardif is at 1.03 ppg.

Transactions: Trent Miner Goes Back to Colorado

Goaltender Trent Miner returns to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Miner saved 38 of 42 shots in Utah’s 5-4 overtime win at Iowa. Miner turned 21 years old on February 5th. He leads the league with 4 shutouts and has an 11-5 record with a .919 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average. Miner was the backup goaltender for the Eagles last night in a 4-1 loss to Tucson.

Recent Transactions

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 Wednesday night in Iowa Mannek scored 2 goals. It was his second multiple goal game of his career. Mannek is 3rd on the team with 15 goals and is tied for 2nd with 33 points. Mason has a 14.6 shooting percentage. Mannek and Tyler Penner are the only 2 players who have appeared in all 46 games this season.

Luke Martin Takes Assists Lead

Martin had 3 assists on February 9th at Iowa. He now leads the team with 23 assists on the season. Martin leads the league with a +27 rating. He is 4th on the team with 31 points (8 goals, 23 assists). Luke is a former 2nd round draft pick (52nd overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2017.

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 27-5-3-1. When they score less than 3 goals this season they are just 1-10. Utah is 17-0 when allowing less than 3 goals.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Trent Miner 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 38 points. Trey Bradley and Matthew Boucher are tied with Florida’s John McCarron for the league lead in shorthanded goals with 4. Luke Martin leads the league in plus/minus at +27. D’Astous is 2nd at +25. Brian Bowen is 5th in shots with 150.

Next 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.

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

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones,Cole Kehler.

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

Overall record: 28-15-2-1

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

Road record: 13-8-2-1

Win percentage: .641. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Won 2.

Standings Points: 59. 

Last 10: 6-3-1.

Goals per game: 3.48 (5th) Goals for: 160.

Goals against per game: 3.07 (11th) Goals Against: 141.

Shots per game: 32.70 (7th)

Shots against per game: 30.67 (11th)   

Power Play: 25 for 137 – 18.2 % (18th)  

Penalty Kill: 137 for 181- 75.7 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 660. 14.35 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 17 (1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4.

Record When Scoring First: 12-6-0-1. Utah has scored first in 19 of 45 games this season. Utah is 16-9-2 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 9-2-2-1. 14 of the 45 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 (23)

Points: D’Astous (38)

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 (150)

Shooting Percentage: Tyler Penner (11 for 72). 15.3 %. – Minimum 55 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (5).

Wins: 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 17 shorthanded goals. The Grizz are 11-4 when scoring a shorthanded goal. Utah is 20-1 when leading after 2 periods. The Grizz have a 65 to 39 scoring advantage in the 2nd period. Utah is 27-5-2-1 when scoring 3 or more goals in a game. Utah has outscored opponents 80 to 59 at home this season. Utah's 160 goals are the most in the league. Their 59 standings points are tied with Toledo for the most in the league. The Grizzlies are 13-5-2-1 with 0 days rest between games. 6 different goaltenders have won at least 1 game this season. Utah is 23-8-1-1 vs Mountain Division opponents. Utah is 7-9-2 when trailing after 1 period. The 7 wins when trailing after 20 minutes of play is the most in the league. The Grizz are 17-0 when allowing less than 3 goals. Utah is 19-6-0-1 when outshooting opponents. The Grizz are 9-2-2-1 in one goal games. 

Players with 10 or more Goals

19: Brian Bowen

17: Charle-Edouard D’Astous

15: Mason Mannek

13: Matthew Boucher, Trey Bradley

11: Tyler Penner

10: Brandon Cutler, Quinn Ryan

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

11: Trey Bradley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous.

10: Brian Bowen, Ben Tardif.

8:  Luke Martin.

7: Mason Mannek.

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: Brian Bowen (2) Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Zac Robbins (1).

Assist Streaks: Nate Clurman (4), Robbins (2) Bowen, Quinn Ryan, Gehrett Sargis, Ben Tardif (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Bowen (6) Clurman (4) Tardif (3) Robbins (2).

Brian Bowen has 11 goals in his last 12 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 straight.