Grizzlies Weekly: 6 Game Road Trip Begins Friday

Grizzlies Weekly: 6 Game Road Trip Begins Friday

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies are on the road for 6 straight games, beginning on Friday night in Kansas City. Utah is at Kansas City on February 25-27. The following weekend they are at Rapid City on March 4-6.

On February 21st the Grizzlies won a 5-4 thriller over Worcester. Miles Gendron scored the game winning goal with 3:05 left in regulation. Utah is in first place in the Mountain Division with a .630 points percentage.

Forward Brian Bowen leads Utah with 19 goals this season. He has a point in 8 of his last 10 games. Defenseman Nate Clurman has an assist in 7 of his last 8 games. Ben Tardif has 8 points in his last 7 games (4 goals, 4 assists). With 4 assists vs Worcester on February 21 forward Mason Mannek took over the club lead in points with 39.

The Grizzlies return to Maverik Center for a 3 game series vs Kansas City on March 9, 11-12 at 7:10 pm. March 9th is College and Singles Night. Friday the 11th is Beer Fest and an AFCU Friday. Saturday the 12th is Military Night. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

Grizzlies Last 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 4 Utah 5 – Miles Gendron scored the GWG with 3:05 left. Mason Mannek had 4 assists. Luka Burzan, Gendron and Ben Tardif each had 1 goal and 1 assist.

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.

Games on Road Trip

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.

Friday, March 4, 2022 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

Saturday, March 5, 2022 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm.

Sunday, March 6, 2022 – Utah at Rapid City. 4:05 pm.

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

Season Series vs Kansas City

It’s the 4th of 9 season meetings between the clubs. Utah is 2-1 vs KC this season. KC won 5-2 on November 19. Utah won 4-2 on both November 20 and 21. The Grizz have outscored the Mavericks 10 to 9 this year.

Kansas City at Utah Series From November 19-21

November 19, 2021 – Kansas City 5 Utah 2 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Quinn Ryan scored goals. Utah outshot KC 31 to 28. KC went 2 for 5 on the power play and Utah was 1 for 5. Hunter Miska saved 23 of 28. KC scored 4 unanswered 3rd period goals after Ryan scored 3:58 in to give Utah a 2-1 lead.

November 20, 2021 – Kansas City 2 Utah 4 – Brandon Cutler had 1 goal and 3 assists. Mason Mannek 1 goal, 1 assist. Luke Martin scored a first period power play goal. Hunter Miska saved 26 of 28. Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 2 assists. Utah went 1 for 7 on the power play and a perfect 5 for 5 on the penalty kill as well as a shorthanded goal by Cutler in the first period.

November 21, 2021 – Kansas City 2 Utah 4 – Peyton Jones saved 32 of 34. Andrew Nielsen had 2 goals. Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored a first period goal to extend his point streak to 10. Joey Colatarci scored his first pro goal 8:45 into the second period. Utah went 2 for 3 on the power play and KC went 1 for 9.

Luka Burzan Returns With Authority

Luka Burzan scored a power play goal 2:39 into the second period on Feb. 18 vs Worcester. It was his first game since January 23 vs Allen. On February 21 he scored the game tying goal with 4:49 left in regulation of Utah’s 5-4 win. In 19 games this season he has 6 goals and 9 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.

Local Boy Does Good

Herriman, Utah native Mason Mannek has had a solid first full season as a pro. With 4 assists on February 21 vs Worcester Mannek now leads the club with 39 points. He’s third on the team with 16 goals and is tied for 3rd with 21 assists. Mannek has also taken a ton of face-offs for Utah this season and has more than held his own. Mason and Tyler Penner are the only 2 players who have appeared in all 50 regular season games. 

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 29-5-3-1. 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 3rd in plus/minus at +27. D’Astous is 5th at +26.

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: 30-17-2-1

Home record: 16-9. Utah has outscored opponents 88 to 73 at home.

Road record: 14-8-2-1

Win percentage: .630. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Won 1.

Standings Points: 63. 

Last 10: 5-4-1.

Goals per game: 3.44 (9th) Goals for: 172.

Goals against per game: 3.16 (13th) Goals Against: 158.

Shots per game: 32.60 (8th)

Shots against per game: 31.32 (14th)   

Power Play: 26 for 152 – 17.1 % (Tied 21st)  

Penalty Kill: 147 for 196- 75.0 % (25th)

Penalty Minutes: 694. 13.88 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 50 games this season. Utah is 18-10-2 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 11-2-2-1. 16 of the 50 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 (25)

Points: Mason Mannek (39)

Plus/Minus: Luke Martin (+27)

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 (165)

Shooting Percentage: Quinn Ryan (12 for 62). 19.4 %. – Minimum 60 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (5).

Wins: Peyton Jones (12).

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 70 to 46 in the 2nd periods. Utah is 20-1 when leading after 2 periods. Grizz are 19-6-0-1 when outshooting opponents.  Utah is 18-10-2 when the opposition scores first. Utah is 29-5-2-1 when scoring 3 or more goals. Utah has outscored opponents 88 to 73 at home. Utah's 172 goals are tied for the 2nd highest total in the league. Their 63 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 11-2-2-1 in one goal games. Utah is 8-10-2 when trailing after 1 period. The 8 wins when trailing after 1 is the most in the league.

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

12: Trey Bradley, Ben Tardif

11: Charle-Edouard D’Astous.

10: Brian Bowen.

9: Mason Mannek

8: Luke Martin.

6: Matthew Boucher,Brandon Cutler. Andrew Nielsen.

5: Tyler Penner.

3: Luka Burzan, Gehrett Sargis.

2: Christian Simeone.

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

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Quinn Ryan, Zac Robbins (2) Luka Burzan, Miles Gendron, Ben Tardif (1).

Assist Streaks: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (3) Nate Clurman, Shane Kuzmeski (2), Gendron, Mason Mannek, Luke Martin, Gehrett Sargis (1).

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

Grizzlies Player Trends

Brian Bowen has 11 goals and 7 assists in his last 17 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 9 and 10 of his last 13. 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). D’Astous has missed the last 3 games.

Ben Tardif has a point in 6 of his last 8 games (4 goals, 4 assists). Tardif has 32 shots in his last 7 games. Tardif has 7 games of 2 or more assists. Ben has 17 games of 4 or more shots on goal. Tardif has scored a point in 21 different games this season.

Luke Martin is a +15 in his last 17 games. Luke has taken 58 shots over his last 17 games. Martin has missed the last 3 games.

Zac Robbins has 4 goals in his last 4 games.

Nate Clurman has an assist in 7 of his last 8 games. 

Peyton Jones has won 4 of his last 5 starts. Peyton has a .925 save percentage and a 2.33 Goals Against Average in his last 6 games. Jones leads the club with 12 wins.