Grizzlies Gameday: Game 7 at Maverik Center!

Game 7: Wednesday, May 4, 2022. 7:10 pm. Tulsa Oilers at Utah Grizzlies.

Series Tied 3-3. Broadcast: https://mixlr.com/utah-grizzlies-hockey/FloHockey Arena: Maverik Center.

Referees: Riley Yerkovich, Jacob Rekucki. Linesman: Andrew Collins, Craig Peterson.

Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

It’s the 2 best words in team sports “Game 7” as the series is tied 3-3. Utah split the first 2 games of the series at Maverik Center and won 2 of the 3 games at Tulsa’s BOK Center. Tulsa won game 6 at Maverik Center 4-2. The road team has won 4 of the first 6 games in the series. Utah is looking to win their first playoff series since 2016 when they defeated Colorado in the first round.

The winner of the Utah – Tulsa series will face Rapid City in the second round.

Grizzlies’ 2nd Ever Game 7

The Grizzlies are playing a game 7 for only the 2nd time in franchise history. The only other game 7 in Grizzlies history came on May 15, 1996 where Utah defeated the Peoria Rivermen 3-0 at Delta Center to win the series 4 games to 3. The Grizzlies went on to win the Turner Cup, sweeping the Orlando Solar Bears 4 games to 0.

The Tulsa Oilers are playing their 3rd game 7 in the ECHL era. Both times it was in the 2019 playoffs where Tulsa defeated Kansas City 6-2 on April 24, 2019 to win a first round series. Tulsa lost game 7 of the Western Conference Finals vs Toledo on May 22, 2019.

Stars for Utah in the Series

Ben Tardif leads Utah and the league with 11 playoff points (2 goal, 9 assists) and Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads Utah with 7 playoff goals and is 2nd on the club with 10 points. Captain Trey Bradley has been clutch for Utah. Trey scored 2 third period goals in game 1 as Utah won 6-3. Bradley scored 2 big third period goals in game 5, including the game winner 1:12 in as Utah won 5-1. In the series Bradley has 4 goals and 5 assists. Tarun Fizer has 5 points in 6 games (2 goals, 3 assists). Zach Tsekos (1 goal, 3 assists) and Luke Martin (4 assists) each have 4 points. Kyle Betts and Dylan Fitze each has 1 goal and 2 assists in the series.

#1 Utah Grizzlies (42-27-3) vs. #4 Tulsa Oilers (36-30-6) Game 1 – Tulsa 3 Utah 6 – Trey Bradley 2 goals, 2 assists. Ben Tardif 1 goal, 3 assists. Charle-Edouard D’Astous 1 goal 2 assists. Zach Tsekos scored first pro goal 9:40 into the third period. That tally turned out to be the game winner. Peyton Jones saved 27 of 30. Utah was 3 for 7 on the power play and scored a shorthanded goal. The Grizz were 7 for 7 on the penalty kill. Tulsa got goals from Alex Gilmour, Joe Garreffa and Jackson Leef. Utah outshot Tulsa 36 to 30.Game 2 – Tulsa 5 Utah 3 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored 2 goals. Tarun Fizer scored first pro goal. Tulsa got goals from 5 different skaters. Utah outscored Tulsa 34 to 28. Utah went 2 for 4 on the power play. Tulsa was 1 for 4.Game 3 – Utah 2 Tulsa 1 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous scored both of Utah’s goals. Trent Miner saved 32 of 33. Tulsa outshout Utah 33 to 25. Utah went 1 for 3 on the power play and was 5 for 5 on the penalty kill. Ben Tardif had an assist in both of Utah’s goals.Game 4 – Utah 3 Tulsa 4 – Ben Tardif had 1 goal and 2 assists. Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 1 goal and 1 assist. Tarun Fizer scored his 2nd goal of the series. Utah outshot Tulsa 39 to 34. Utah was 1 for 6 on the power play and Tulsa was 1 for 5. Oilers got 1 goal and 2 assists from Joe Garreffa. The game winner was scored by Ethan Stewart 9:20 into the third period. Maxim Golod and John Furgele each had 1 goal and 1 assist.Game 5 – Utah 5 Tulsa 1 -  Trey Bradley scored 2 third period goals. Mason Mannek, Connor McDonald and Kyle Betts added goals. Trent Miner saved 45 of 46 in the win. Tulsa outshot Utah 46 to 31. Utah was 2 for 4 on the power play and was 6 for 6 on the penalty kill.Game 6 – Tulsa 4 Utah 2 – Charle-Edouard D’Astous and Mason Mannek each scored a goal for Utah. Eddie Matsushima had 2 goals for Tulsa. Joe Garreffa and Ethan Stewart added goals for the Oilers. Tulsa outshot Utah 52 to 36. Utah went 2 for 5 on the power play and 5 for 5 on the penalty kill.Game 7 – Wednesday, May 4 at 7:10 p.m. Tulsa at Utah

All Times Mountain.

Special Teams Has Played a Big Role in Series

Through 6 games this series Utah is 11 for 29 (37.9 %) on the power play and 30 for 32 (93.8 %) on the penalty kill. Charle-Edouard D’Astous has 7 power play goals (5 goals, 2 assists) and that’s not a surprise considering that D’Astous led Utah in power play goals (9), assists (14) and points (23). Ben Tardif has 6 power play assists in 6 games in the series. Trey Bradley has 6 power play points in the series (1 goal, 5 assists). Zach Tsekos and Luke Martin each has 3 assists in the series.

In the regular season Utah was 6 for 28 on the power play vs Tulsa (22.2 %) and was 19 for 23 on the penalty kill (82.6 %).

Goaltending in the Series

Trent Miner is 2-2 in the series with a .937 save percentage and a 2.53 goals against average.

Miner led the league with 7 shutouts and was 1 away from tying the single season league record, set by 3 goalies. Miner is the 11th different goaltender in league history to have at least 7 shutouts in a season.

Peyton Jones got the victory in game 1 as he saved 27 of 30. It was Peyton’s first pro playoff game. In game 4 Jones saved 30 of 34 in a 4-3 loss. Jones at times has been stellar for the Grizzlies. He had a 9 game stretch from the end of January to the start of March where he had a .939 save percentage and a 2.35 goals against average. Peyton led the Grizzlies with 17 wins this season. In 50 games with Utah over the last 2 seasons the Penn State product has a 25-15-4 record with a .898 save percentage and a 3.21 goals against average.

For Tulsa it has been Daniel Mannella who has appeared in all 6 games. Mannella has a 3.27 goals against average and a .905 save percentage in the series.

Miner Playoff Stats

Game 2 – 23 of 28 saves. Tulsa won 5-3.

Game 3 – 32 of 33 saves. Utah won 2-1.

Game 5 – 45 of 46 saves. Utah won 5-1. Miner was the number 1 star of the game.

Game 6 – 48 of 51 saves. Tulsa won 4-2.

Shot Count in the Series

In the series Tulsa has outshot Utah 223 to 201. The Oilers have 98 shots on goal over the last 2 games. Utah has outshot Tulsa in 3 of the 6 games in the series. Utah is 1-2 in the series when they have outshot Tulsa. Utah outshot their opponents 33 times in the regular season and had a record of 22-10-0-1 when they had the shot edge. Utah was outshot 36 times and had a record of 18-16-2 in those games. There were 3 times where the shots were even.

It’s not all that common for Tulsa to be outshot in back-to-back games as they were outshot in only 18 of their 72 regular season games.

Shot Count: Utah averages 33.50 shots per game in the series. Tulsa averages 37.17 shots per game in the set.

Game 1: Utah 36 Tulsa 30

Game 2: Utah 34 Tulsa 28

Game 3: Utah 25 Tulsa 33

Game 4: Utah 39 Tulsa 34

Game 5: Utah 31 Tulsa 46.

Game 6: Utah 36 Tulsa 52.

Playoff League Leaders

Ben Tardif leads the league with 11 points, 9 assists and 6 power play assists. Charle-Edouard D’Astous leads the league with 7 goals and is tied for 2nd with 10 points. D’Astous leads all skaters with 5 power play goals and 11 minor penalties. Trey Bradley is tied for 4th with 9 points and is tied for 2nd with 6 power play points. Tarun Fizer is tied for the league in shots on goal among rookies with 24.

These May Be the Glory Days

Utah finished with a record of 42-27-2-1 this season. The 42 wins are the most since in team history since the 2001-02 Grizzlies went 40-29-6-5 in the first season of the AHL era.

Most Wins in Team History

1995-96: 49 (Turner Cup Champions).

1997-98: 47.

1999-2000: 45.

1996-97: 43.

2021-22: 42

2001-02: 40

Mountain Division Champions

The Grizz won their first ever division championship and finished with a bang as they won 4 of their last 5 games. Winning the division and having home ice advantage comes into play as Utah hosts game 7.

Regular Season Series vs Tulsa

Utah went 4-3-1 vs Tulsa this season. Mason Mannek led Utah with 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 8 games. Luke Martin had 7 assists vs Tulsa. Utah went 1-2 at home vs Tulsa and 3-1-1 at BOK Center, the site of games 3-5. Trent Miner went 2-2 with a 2.42 GAA vs Tulsa this season. Utah was 6 for 27 (22.2 %) on the power play and 19 for 23 (82.6 %) on the penalty kill vs Tulsa.

The Oilers leading scorer vs Utah in the regular season was Jack Doremus, who had 9 points (6 goals, 3 assists). Adam Pleskach had 5 assists vs Utah.

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Kyle Betts,Trey Bradley, Luka Burzan, Dylan Fitze, Tarun Fizer, Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner, Dakota Raabe, 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.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones,Trent Miner, Thomas Sigouin.

Team Leaders (2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs)

Goals: Charle-Edouard D’Astous (7) – D’Astous led Utah with 26 regular season goals.

Assists: Ben Tardif (9) – Tardif led Utah with 39 regular season assists.

Points: Tardif (11) – Tardif led Utah with 59 regular season points.

Plus/Minus: Many tied at 0  

Penalty Minutes: D’Astous (22).

Power Play Points: D’Astous (7)

Power Play Goals: D’Astous (5)

Power Play Assists: Tardif (6)

Shots on Goal: Tarun Fizer (24)

Shooting Percentage: D’Astous (38.9 %) 7 for 18.

Goaltending Wins: Trent Miner (2)

Save %: Miner (.937)

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.53)

Team Stats (2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs)

Goals For: 21 (3.50 per game)

Goals Against: 18 (3.00 per game)

Goal Differential: +3.

Shots on Goal: 201. 33.50 per game

Shots Against: 223. 37.17 per game.

Power Play: 11 for 29. 37.9 %.

Penalty Kill: 30 for 32. 93.8 %.

Penalty Minutes: 83. 13.83 per game.

Scoring First: Utah has scored first in 3 of the 6 games in the playoffs. Utah is 1-2 when scoring first and 2-1 when Tulsa scores first.