Grizzlies Gameday: Series Finale at Maverik Center

Tulsa Oilers (31-27-3-2, 67 points, .532 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (36-24-2-1, 75 points, .595 Win %)

Saturday, March 26, 2022. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the last of a three-game series vs Tulsa. It’s the third of a six game homestand. Utah is home for 6 of their last 9 regular season games. Utah is 17-4 at home vs Mountain Division opponents. Watch out for Ben Tardif, who has 12 points in 10 games in March (8 goals, 4 assists). Luke Martin has also been hot lately as he has 1 goal and 8 assists in his last 7 games. It’s the 8th and final regular season meeting between the clubs. Utah is 3-3-1 vs Tulsa this season.

Games This Week

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 – Tulsa 4 Utah 2 – Utah went 2 for 3 on the power play. Johnny Walker scored his first pro goal 10:11 into the 2nd period. D’Astous added his 24th of the campaign 21 seconds into the 3rd period. Tulsa outshot Utah 29 to 25. Tulsa scored goals from 4 different forwards. No player on the Oilers had more than 1 point in the game.

Friday, March 25, 2022 – Tulsa 6 Utah 4 – Mason Mannek had 2 goals and 2 assists. Tulsa outshot Utah 47 to 27. Luke Martin and Miles Gendron each had 2 assists. Austin Crossley scored his first pro goal 11:36 into the 2nd period. Trey Bradley scored a goal in his first game since February 12. Ben Tardif also lit the lamp. Tardif has 8 goals in his last 9 games. Both teams went 1 for 5 on the power play. Odd stat of the game: Grizz scored 2 goals on delayed penalties.  

Saturday, March 26, 2022 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm – Singles Night.

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.

The Captain is Back

Grizzlies captain Trey Bradley returned to the Grizzlies lineup on Friday. Bradley has 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in 32 games this season. In 97 career games with Utah the 3rd year pro has 86 points (26 goals, 60 assists). Bradley was named captain of the Grizzlies on October 21, 2021. Bradley has 4 assists in 10 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Bradley scored 3 goals on December 29th at Rapid City, with the 3rd goal being the game winner 22 seconds into overtime. Trey scored 2 shorthanded goals vs Idaho on Jan. 14. Trey is the son of 2-time NHL All-Star Brian Bradley.

Dylan Fitze to Make Grizz Debut

Forward Dylan Fitze is expected to make his Grizzlies debut on Saturday night vs Tulsa. Fitze was acquired in a trade with the Orlando Solar Bears for Brian Bowen. Fitze scored 2 goals vs Utah on January 27, 2022, a game Orlando won 4-3 in overtime. Fitze has 15 points (10 goals, 5 assists) in 41 games this season. He is 6’2” and 205 pounds. Fitze scored 28 goals and 22 assists in 129 games with Orlando and he also had 1 goal in 2 games with the Kansas City Mavericks in the 2019-20 season. Fitze played at Laurentian University from 2013-2018 where he scored 73 points (41 goals, 32 assists) in 129 games.

Dakota Raabe Made Pro Debut

Utah signed forward Dakota Raabe, who made his pro debut on March 25 vs Tulsa. Raabe played at Sacred Heart University this season and had 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 34 games. Raabe played at the University of Michigan from 2017-2021, where he scored 11 goals and 22 assists in 115 games over 4 seasons. At Michigan he was a teammate of current Grizzlies defenseman Luke Martin for 3 seasons. Raabe is 5’10” and 170 pounds. He is a native of Dana Point, California.

Recent Transactions

March 26 – Grizzlies release forward Quinn Ryan.

March 25 – Grizzlies Sign Dakota Raabe

March 24 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous Returned from Loan to Colorado.

March 21 – Grizzlies acquire forward Dylan Fitze from Orlando for Brian Bowen.

March 15 – Grizzlies sign forward Johnny Walker.

March 14 – Grizzlies sign defenseman James Shearer.

Save That Puck Mason Weyland It’s His First as a Pro

Equipment Manager Mason Weyland has been busy early in the season collecting pucks for players who scored their first pro goals. There have been 18 instances this season where a Grizzlies player has scored their first professional goal. Austin Crossley scored his first pro goal on March 25 vs Tulsa. Johnny Walker scored his first pro goal 10:11 into the second period on March 23 vs Tulsa. James Shearer scored his first pro goal on an empty net with 1:57 left in the third period on March 18 at Idaho. Interestingly enough James Shearer was the first player to score his first pro goal since December 9, 2021 when 3 different Grizzlies skaters lit the lamp for the first time.

October 22nd- Brandon Cutler and Quinn Ryan.

October 23rd – Tyler Penner and Nate Clurman.

October 30th- Connor Graham.

October 31st- Mason Mannek.

November 5th – Neil Robinson.

November 6th – Luke Martin.

November 13th – Gehrett Sargis, Bailey Conger.

November 21st – Joey Colatarci.

November 27th – Christian Simeone.

December 9th – Ben Tardif, Kyle Pouncy and Zac Robbins.

March 18th – James Shearer.

March 23rd – Johnny Walker.

March 25th – Austin Crossley.

Season Series vs Tulsa

Utah is 3-3-1 vs Tulsa this season. The road team has won 5 of the 7 games this season. In the last 5 years at Maverik Center vs Tulsa the Grizz are 8-7. Mason Mannek has 9 points vs Tulsa (4 goals, 5 assists) and Luke Martin (1 goal, 7 assists) has 8 points to lead Utah.

Tulsa 6 @ Utah 4 (Mar 24 2022)

Tulsa 4 @ Utah 2 (Mar 23 2022)

Utah 3 @ Tulsa 1 (Dec 12 2021)

Utah 4 @ Tulsa 3 (Dec 9 2021)

Utah 3 @ Tulsa 7 (Dec 8 2021)

Utah 5 @ Tulsa 6 (Nov 28 2021) OT

Utah 3 @ Tulsa 1 (Nov 27 2021)

Mannek and Penner Have Played in them All

Forwards Mason Mannek and Tyler Penner have each played in all 63 games for Utah this season. Mannek is 3rd on the team with 46 points (21 goals, 25 assists) and Penner has 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) and leads all current Grizzlies forwards in plus/minus (+14).

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Matthew Boucher, Trey Bradley, Luka Burzan, Taylor Crunk, Dylan Fitze, Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner, Dakota Raabe, Zac Robbins, Christian Simone, Benjamin Tardif, Johnny Walker.

Defenseman: Nate Clurman,Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Miles Gendron, Shane Kuzmeski, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Kyle Pouncy, James Shearer, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones,Garrett Metcalf, Trent Miner.

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

Overall record: 36-24-2-1

Home record: 19-11. Utah has outscored opponents 109 to 91 at home.

Road record: 17-13-2-1.

Win percentage: .595. Best win % in Mountain Division.

Streak: Lost 3.

Standings Points: 75. 

Last 10: 5-5.

Goals per game: 3.33 (Tied 10th) Goals for: 210.

Goals against per game: 3.25 (14th) Goals Against: 205.

Shots per game: 31.95 (11th)

Shots against per game: 32.13 (16th)  

Power Play: 37 for 199 – 18.6 % (Tied 16th)

Penalty Kill: 197 for 257- 76.7 % (24th)

Penalty Minutes: 844. 13.61 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 20 (1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 9.

Record When Scoring First: 17-8-0-1. Utah has scored first in 26 of 63 games this season. Utah is 19-16-2 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 13-5-2-1. 21 of the 62 games have been decided by 1. 18 games have been decided by 2. Utah is 11-7 in 2 goal games. 

Team Leaders (2021-22 season)

Games: Mason Mannek/Tyler Penner (63).

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (24).

Assists: Luke Martin/Ben Tardif (32)

Points: D’Astous (53)

Plus/Minus: D’Astous (+19)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (114) Mason Mannek leads active Grizzlies with 92.

Power Play Points: D’Astous (22)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (9)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (13).

Shorthanded Goals: Trey Bradley/Matthew Boucher/Tardif (4)

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (201) Tardif leads active Grizz with 163.  

Shooting Percentage: Bradley (16 for 96). 16.7 %. – Minimum 80 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (6).

Wins: Peyton Jones (15).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.918).

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (2.63)

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

16: Ben Tardif

15: Charle-Edouard D’Astous

12: Trey Bradley

11: Luke Martin

10: Brian Bowen, Mason Mannek.

6: Matthew Boucher,Luka Burzan,Brandon Cutler. Andrew Nielsen.

5: Tyler Penner.

4: Miles Gendron.

3: Gehrett Sargis.

2: Nate Clurman, Christian Simeone.

1: Neil Robinson, Bailey Conger, Zac Robbins, Quinn Ryan, Connor McDonald, Nick Henry.

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

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

Assist Streaks: Luke Martin (2) Nate Clurman, Miles Gendron, Mannek, Connor McDonald (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Tardif (3) Martin (2).

Grizzlies Player Trends

Ben Tardif has 23 points in his last 20 games (12 goals, 11 assists). Tardif averages 3.62 shots per game. Tardif has 8 games of 2 or more assists. Ben has 23 games of 4 or more shots on goal. Tardif leads the team with 16 multiple point games. Ben has a point in 29 different games this season.

Luka Burzan has a point in 11 of his last 16 games. Since February 18 Burzan has 16 points in 16 games (6 goals, 10 assists).Nate Clurman set a pro career single game high with 6 shots vs Rapid City on March 6. Clurman has 11 assists in his last 20 games. Clurman’s +18 rating is the best among active Grizzlies skaters.

Luke Martin has 1 goal and 8 assists in his last 7 games.