Grizzlies Weekly: Utah Hosts Idaho at Maverik Center

Grizzlies Weekly: Utah Hosts Idaho This Week  

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies return to the friendly confides of Maverik Center after a successful 5-3 road trip, where they split a 2 game series at Idaho followed by winning 2 out of 3 games at Kansas City and Allen.

Last week in Allen the Grizzlies won the first 2 games of the series. Last Wednesday Grizzlies captain Connor McDonald scored the game winner with 13 seconds left in overtime as Utah won 3-2. On Friday night Utah won 4-2 as 4 different forwards each scored for Utah. Cameron Wright’s goal 8:09 into the second period turned into the game winner. All 3 of Wright’s goals have been game winners. Allen defeated Utah 4-2 on Saturday night. It was a good series for Johnny Walker, who had 2 goals in Allen. Walker has 4 goals in his last 4 games.

Utah returns to Maverik Center for 6 straight games, beginning with a 3 game set vs Idaho on November 17-18 at 7:10 pm and Sunday November 20th at 3:10 pm. Friday the 18th is the annual Pooch on the Pond night where you can bring your dog to the game and sit in a special section with other dogs. Tickets for every Grizzlies game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

Games Last Week

November 9, 2022 – Utah 3 Allen 2 (Overtime) – Connor McDonald game winning goal with 13 seconds left in OT. Garrett Metcalf saved 32 of 34. Zach Tsekos had 1 goal and 1 assist. Tarun Fizer scored his 6th goal of the year. Andrew Durham and Zach Pochiro each scored for Allen. Allen outshot Utah 34 to 31. Utah was 1 for 7 on the power play. Allen was 0 for 4.

November 11, 2022 – Utah 4 Allen 2 – Dylan Fitze, Johnny Walker, Cameron Wright and Zach Tsekos each scored a goal for Utah. Trent Miner saved 31 of 33 to earn his first win of the season. Utah was 1 for 5 on the power play. Allen was 1 for 3. Brycen Martin was a +3 in the win.

November 12, 2022 – Utah 2 Allen 4 – Brandon Cutler and Johnny Walker each scored a power play goal. Trent Miner saved 39 of 42. Utah went 2 for 8 on the power play. Allen was 0 for 1.

Games This Week

November 17, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center.

November 18, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Pooch on the Pond. AFCU Friday.

November 20, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. 3:10 pm. Maverik Center.

You can catch every game on FloHockey and audio on the Grizzlies YouTube channel.

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is 9 for 26 on the power play over the last 4 games. Utah is 4-1 in one goal games. Utah went 5-3 on their recently concluded 8 game road trip. Utah has won 4 of their last 5 games. Utah has a team save percentage of .910. Utah is 4-1 when scoring first. Utah has outscored opponents 14 to 8 in the second period's.

Utah Grizzlies 2022-2023 Roster

Forwards (12): Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Tarun Fizer, Keaton Jameson, Tyler Penner, Dakota Raabe, Neil Robinson, Christian Simeone, Cam Strong, Zach Tsekos, Johnny Walker, Cameron Wright.

Defenseman (8): Victor Bartley, Joey Colatarci, Brycen Martin, Connor McDonald, Andrew Nielsen, Kyle Pouncy, James Shearer, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders (3): Garrett Metcalf, Trent Miner, Lukas Parik.

Grizzlies Player Trends

Andrew Nielsen – 2nd in the league with 12 assists. Nielsen leads the league in power play assists (8) and power play points (8). Nielsen leads all defenseman with 13 points. Nielsen leads all league defenseman with 32 shots on goal.

Cameron Wright – Tied for the league lead with 3 game winning goals. All 3 of his professional goals have been game winners. Wright leads all rookies with 40 shots on goal (tied for 2nd overall). Wright has 2 goals and 6 assists in his last 5 games.

Tarun Fizer – Fizer has a point in 4 of his last 6 games and a point in 7 of 10 contests. Fizer has a 22.2 shooting % (6 for 27). Tarun has the first goal in the game twice this season. Fizer is tied for the club lead with 6 goals.

Zach Tsekos – Tied among all league rookies with 3 power play goals. Tsekos has 4 goals in his last 4 games and he has a point in 5 straight games. Tsekos has a 24.0 shooting % (6 for 25). Tsekos is tied with Fizer for the club lead with 6 goals.

Brandon Cutler – All 5 of Cutler’s points have come on the power play (3 goals, 2 assists). Cutler has 5 points in his last 4 games.

Johnny Walker – Walker has 4 goals in his last 4 games. Johnny has a 33.3 shooting % (4 for 12).

Transactions

November 11 - Nate Clurman Recalled to Colorado

Defenseman Nate Clurman was called up to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Clurman has 3 assists in 8 games this season for Utah. Nate is in the 2nd year of an NHL entry level contract.

November 9 - Ben Tardif Recalled to Colorado

Forward Ben Tardif was recalled to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on November 9. Tardif has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 2 games. Ben has a point in 5 of 7 games this season as well as 2 straight multiple point games. Tardif led Utah with 19 multiple point games last season.

November 7 - Trent Miner Reassigned to Grizzlies

Miner got his first win of the season on November 11 at Allen as he saved 31 of 33. Last season Miner broke a Grizzlies franchise record with 7 shutouts. The 21-year-old goaltender has 8 shutouts in 41 professional games. Trent had 8 shutouts in 4 seasons with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

2022-2023 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 6-4

Home record: 1-1

Road record: 5-3

Win percentage: .600 

Streak: Lost 1

Standings Points: 12

Last 10: 6-4

Goals per game: 3.00 (Tied 13th)  Goals for: 30

Goals against per game: 2.90 (11th)  Goals Against: 29

Shots per game: 31.20 (14th)  

Shots against per game: 32.20 (20th)

Power Play: 11 for 55 – 20.0 % (13th)  

Penalty Kill: 28 for 35- 80.0 % (Tied 16th)  

Penalty Minutes: 121. 12.10 per game. – Utah has the 3rd fewest penalty minutes per game in the league.

Shorthanded Goals: 0

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 1.

Record When Scoring First: 4-1.

Opposition Scores First: 2-3

Record in One Goal Games: 4-1. 

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Tarun Fizer/Zach Tsekos (6). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (12). 

Points: Nielsen (13). 

Plus/Minus: Zach Tsekos (+5). 

PIM: Johnny Walker (29)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (8)

Power Play Goals: Brandon Cutler/Tsekos (3)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (8).  

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (40).  

Shooting Percentage: Walker (33.3 %) 4 for 12.   

Game Winning Goals: Wright (3)

Wins: Garrett Metcalf (3)

Save %: Metcalf (.920).

Goals Against Average: Lukas Parik (2.51)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Johnny Walker (2), Brandon Cutler (1).

Assist Streaks: Andrew Nielsen (2) Brycen Martin, Connor McDonald, Zach Tsekos (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Tsekos (5) Cutler, Nielsen, Walker (2)