Grizzlies Gameday: Wednesday Night Rivalry in Boise

Utah Grizzlies (38-26-2-1, 79 points, .590 Win %) at Idaho Steelheads (35-29-2-1, 73 points, .545 Win %)

Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Idaho Central Arena. 7:10 pm. Broadcast: Mixlr/FloSports

It’s the first game of five straight vs Idaho. The Grizz are 5-5-0-1 vs Idaho this season. Utah came in to the day needing a win and a Tulsa regulation loss but the Oilers defeated the Wichita Thunder 6-1 on Wednesday morning so Utah can’t clinch on Wednesday night but they can inch closer to reaching the postseason for the 13th time in the last 15 seasons (could have been 14 since Utah was in line for a playoff spot in 2020 when the season got cancelled).

Remaining Games in Regular Season

Utah has 5 games left in the regular season.

April 6, 2022 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm.

April 8, 2022 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm.

April 9, 2022 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm.

April 15, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm.

April 16, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Games Last Week

March 30, 2022 – Rapid City 4 Utah 3 – Joey Colatarci and Nate Clurman each scored their 2nd goals of the season. Kyle Betts scored his first pro goal in the 3rd period. Utah outshot Rapid City 26 to 22. Rush forward Avery Peterson had 1 goal and 2 assists and Brett Gravelle and Gabriel Chabot each had 1 goal and 1 assist.

April 1, 2022 – Rapid City 2 Utah 5 – Bradley, D’Astous, Mannek and Tardif were each a +3 for Utah.

April 2, 2022 – Rapid City 4 Utah 3 – Trey Bradley and Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 1 goal and 1 assist. Ben Tardif had 3 assists. James Shearer added his 2nd pro goal. Utah outshot RC 36 to 29.

Scoreboard Watching

The Grizzlies will be watching the Rapid City Rush closely as they battle for first place in the Mountain Division. The Rush are at Greenville on April 7-8, 10 for a 3 game series and they finish the regular season on April 13, 15-16 at home against Tulsa. Rapid City is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Idaho is in 3rd place in the Mountain division with a .545 points percentage. The Steelheads lost 2 of 3 games at Florida. Utah won’t have to scoreboard watch to see what the Steelheads are doing because they are Utah’s opponent for the last 5 games. Allen is in 4th place in the division with a .538 points clip. They have 7 games to play. Tulsa is in 5th at .537 and has 5 games left. Both Allen and Tulsa are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous For League Defenseman of the Year

D’Astous leads Utah and all league defenseman in goals (26) and points (57). D’Astous has been instrumental to the power play as he leads the club in power play goals (9), assists (14) and points (23). He leads the team with 7 game winning goals and leads all current Grizzlies skaters with 184 shots on goal.

Grizzlies Acquire Keaton Jameson in Trade

The Grizzlies acquire forward Keaton Jameson from the Fort Wayne Komets for Future Considerations. Jameson played at the University of Manitoba from 2018-2020, 2022. In 74 games at Manitoba, he had 7 goals and 37 assists. Jameson signed with the Fort Wayne Komets on February 16, 2022, where he appeared in 9 games and had 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes. Jameson was captain of the Swan Valley Stampeders of the MJHL in the 2017-18 season.

Grizzlies Sign Zach Tsekos to ATO

Tsekos played his college hockey at Sacred Heart University for 2 seasons from 2016-2018 before transferring to Clarkson University, where he was the ECAC student-athlete of the year in 2019-20. He was named the ECAC best defensive forward in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022. Tsekos was named Clarkson team captain in 2020 and wore the “C” for 2 seasons with the Golden Knights. In 153 NCAA games Tsekos had 117 points (39 goals, 78 assists). 

Recent Transactions

April 5 – Zach Tsekos Signs ATO with Utah.

April 4 – Kyle Betts Loaned to Colorado

April 1 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL).

March 31 – Grizzlies acquire Keaton Jameson in trade with Fort Wayne for future considerations.

March 30 – Forward Kyle Betts Reassigned to Utah.

March 29 – Grizzlies sign goaltender Thomas Sigouin. Utah released forward Taylor Crunk.

March 26 – Grizzlies release forward Quinn Ryan.

March 25 – Grizzlies Sign Dakota Raabe

The Captain is Heating Up

Grizzlies captain Trey Bradley leads the team in points per game at 1.22. Bradley has 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) in 36 games this season. 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.

Season Series vs Idaho

Wednesday night is the 12th of 16 meetings between the clubs. Utah is 5-5-0-1 vs Idaho this season. Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads Utah with 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists. Trey Bradley and Matthew Boucher each have 4 goals vs Idaho.

Utah 1 @ Idaho 6 (Mar 19, 2022)

Utah 2 @ Idaho 0 (Mar 18, 2022)

Idaho 3 @ Utah 6 (Jan 17, 2022)

Idaho 6 @ Utah 0 (Jan 15, 2022)

Idaho 1 @ Utah 4 (Jan 14, 2022)

Utah 3 @ Idaho 4 (Jan 8, 2022) SO

Utah 3 @ Idaho 6 (Jan 7, 2022)

Utah 2 @ Idaho 1 (Jan 5, 2022)

Idaho 0 @ Utah 4 (Oct 24, 2021)

Idaho 5 @ Utah 3 (Oct 23, 2021)

Utah 3 @ Idaho 7 (Oct 22, 2021)

Mouse in the House

For Idaho the guy to watch out for is Ryan Dmowski. In 8 games with Idaho he has 16 points (10 goals, 6 assists). Dmowski had 5 goals and 1 assist vs Utah on March 19, 2022. Dmowski is averaging 6.2 shots per game with Idaho (62 shots in 10 games). Also watch out for AJ White, who is a point per game guy with Idaho as he has 67 points in 67 games (25 goals, 42 assists).

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads all league defenseman with 26 goals and 57 points. D'Astous also leads league D-men with 7 game winning goals and 9 power play goals and is 2nd with 23 power play points. Ben Tardif leads all rookies with 8 shorthanded points. Tardif leads all rookies with 37 assists and is 2nd among rookies with 55 points. Connor McDonald leads all league defenseman with 4 shorthanded assists. Trent Miner leads the league with 6 shutouts.

Grizzlies Roster

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

Defenseman: Nate Clurman,Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Miles Gendron, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Kyle Pouncy, James Shearer, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones,Garrett Metcalf, Trent Miner, Thomas Sigouin.

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

Overall record: 38-26-2-1

Home record: 21-13. Utah has outscored opponents 121 to 101 at home.

Road record: 17-13-2-1.

Win percentage: .590. 2nd place in the Mtn. Division.   

Streak: Lost 1.

Standings Points: 79. 

Last 10: 5-5.

Goals per game: 3.31 (8th) Goals for: 222.

Goals against per game: 3.21 (13th) Goals Against: 215.

Shots per game: 31.99 (11th)

Shots against per game: 31.84 (15th)  

Power Play: 38 for 212 – 17.9 % (18th)

Penalty Kill: 206 for 267- 77.2 % (25th)

Penalty Minutes: 908. 13.55 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 20 (1st).

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 9.

Record When Scoring First: 19-8-0-1. Utah has scored first in 28 of 67 games this season. Utah is 19-18-2 when the opposition scores first.

Record in One Goal Games: 14-7-2-1. 24 of the 66 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 (67).

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (26).

Assists: Ben Tardif (37)

Points: D’Astous (57)

Plus/Minus: D’Astous (+22)

PIM: Andrew Nielsen (114) Mason Mannek leads active Grizzlies with 97.

Power Play Points: D’Astous (23)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (9)

Power Play Assists: D’Astous (14).

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

Shots on Goal: Brian Bowen (201) D’Astous leads active Grizz with 184. 

Shooting Percentage: Bradley (18 for 109). 16.5 %. – Minimum 100 shots.

Game Winning Goals: D’Astous (7).

Wins: Peyton Jones (15).

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.918).

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (2.63)

Bear Bites

Utah is 19-6 at home vs Mountain Division teams. The Grizzlies are 11-5-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series. Utah is 9-1 at home in the 3rd game of a series. Utah leads the league with 20 shorthanded goals. Utah is 26-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah has outscored opponents 89 to 62 in the 2nd periods. Utah is 2nd in the league with 10 wins when trailing after 1 period. Utah is 14-7-2-1 in one goal games.

Multiple Point games (2021-2022)

18: Ben Tardif

17: Charle-Edouard D’Astous

14: 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, Joey Colatarci.

Active Streaks (2021-2022 Season)

Goal Streaks: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (3) Trey Bradley (2) James Shearer (1).

Assist Streaks: D’Astous (3) Bradley, Tardif (2) Austin Crossley, Mason Mannek, Christian Simeone (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: D’Astous (3) Bradley, Mannek, Shearer, Simeone, Tardif (2)

Grizzlies Player Trends

Ben Tardif averages 3.61 shots per game. Tardif has 10 games of 2 or more assists. Ben has 25 games of 4 or more shots on goal. Tardif leads the team with 18 multiple point games. Ben has a point in 31 different games this season.

Luka Burzan has a point in 11 of his last 20 games. Since February 18 Burzan has 16 points in 20 games (6 goals, 10 assists).

Luke Martin has 1 goal and 8 assists in his last 11 games.

Trey Bradley has 8 games with a +2 rating or better.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous Leads all league defenseman in goals (26), points (57), power play goals (9), game winning goals (7) and is 2nd in shots (184).

Dylan Fitze scored his first Grizzlies goal on April 1 vs RC.

James Shearer has a point in 5 of his first 8 pro games.