Grizzlies Weekly: Road Trip Continues in Jacksonville

Grizzlies Weekly: Road Trip Continues in Jacksonville

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies road trip continues with a 3 game series against the Jacksonville Icemen on December 7, 9-10. Face-off all 3 nights is at 5:00 pm MST.

Last weekend the Grizzlies split a 2 game series at Idaho. Utah lost 5-4 on December 2nd. Johnny Walker had 2 goals and Christian Simeone and Dylan Fitze each added a goal. On December 3rd  Andrew Nielsen had 2 goals & 1 assist and Walker had 1 goal and 1 assist in a 4-2 victory. Garrett Metcalf was outstanding in net as he stopped 44 of 46 to earn his 5th win of the season.

It was a great weekend for Johnny Walker, who had 3 goals and 1 assist in the 2 game set at Idaho. Walker is currently tied with Zach Tsekos for the team lead with 8 goals this season. 

The Grizzlies offense has scored 21 goals over their last 5 games. They scored 4 or more goals in each of their last 5 games. Andrew Nielsen has 9 points in his last 5 games (3 goals, 6 assists). Dakota Raabe has 8 points in his last 5 contests (2 goals, 6 assists). Johnny Walker has 4 goals and 1 assist in his last 5 games.

The Grizzlies will return to Maverik Center for a 2 game series against the Kansas City Mavericks on Saturday, December 17 at 7:10 pm and Sunday the 18th at 3:10 pm. Saturday the 17th is the annual Teddy Bear Toss where fans throw teddy bears and stuffed animals on the ice after Utah’s first goal. The teddy bears will be donated to local charities. Saturday is also Ugly Sweater Night, where the Grizzlies will wear ugly sweater themed specialty jerseys. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

Games This Week 

December 7, 2022 – Utah at Jacksonville. 5:00 pm. VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

December 9, 2022 – Utah at Jacksonville. 5:00 pm. VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

December 10, 2022 – Utah at Jacksonville. 5:00 pm. VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

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

All times mountain.

Games Last Week

Friday, December 2, 2022 – Utah 4 Idaho 5 – Johnny Walker had 2 goals. Dylan Fitze and Christian Simeone added a goal each for Utah. Idaho outshot Utah 50 to 22. Idaho was 2 for 6 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 1. Neil Robinson had a +2 rating for Utah. Idaho got 2 goals from Jordan Kawaguchi. Zane Franklin and Ryan Dmowski each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Colton Kehler scored the game winning goal 11:31 into the third period.

Saturday, December 3, 2022 – Utah 4 Idaho 2 – Andrew Nielsen had 2 goals and 1 assist. Johnny Walker had 1 goal and 1 assist. Garrett Metcalf saved 44 of 46 to go to 5-1 on the season. Utah went 2 for 5 on the power play and 6 for 7 on the penalty kill. Idaho’s Jack Becker scored 2 goals.

Grizzlies Player Trends

Andrew Nielsen – Nielsen has a 5-game point streak (3 goals, 6 assists). Nielsen leads all league defenseman in assists (18) and points (22). He leads the league with 13 power play assists and 15 power play points. Nielsen is a +4 in his last 3 games. Nielsen has a point in 11 of his 17 games. 

Johnny Walker – Walker has 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 2 games. He has 8 goals in his last 12 games. Walker leads all league rookies with 58 penalty minutes. 4 of his 8 goals have come on the power play. Walker has 2 games with 2 goals this season (November 5 at Kansas City, December 2 at Idaho).

Dakota Raabe – Raabe has 2 goals and 6 assists in his last 5 games. Raabe has 3 multiple point games in his last 5.

Victor Bartley - Bartley has 4 points in his last 4 games (1 goal, 3 assists).

Brycen Martin – Has a point in 3 of his last 6 games.

Tyler Penner – Penner has 2 goals and 1 assist in his last 4 games.

Dylan Fitze – Fitze is a +1 in each of his last 4 games. Fitze has a point in 4 of his last 5 games.

Neil Robinson – Robinson has a point in 3 of his last 4 games (1 goal, 2 assists).

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is 18 for 59 on the power play over the last 12 games. Utah is 5th overall on the power play this season at 22.7 % (20 for 88). Utah is 5-3 in one goal games. Utah is 7-2 when scoring first. Utah has outscored opponents 22 to 17 in the second period this season. Utah is 4-0 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 6-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 2-0 in overtime this season. Utah is 6-4 on the road this season. 

Match-Up With Jacksonville

It’s the second straight season Utah will face Jacksonville. Last season Jacksonville swept Utah in a 2 game series at Maverik Center on February 3-4, 2022. Jacksonville has 4 former Grizzlies players on their current roster: Goaltender Parker Gahagen, Defenseman Luke Martin and Hunter Skinner as well as former Grizzlies fan favorite Travis Howe. Jacksonville and Utah share identical 9-9 records this season. Jacksonville is 3rd in the league in average attendance at 7,258 per game.

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

Overall record: 9-9

Home record: 3-5

Road record: 6-4

Win percentage: .500

Streak: Won 1

Standings Points: 18

Last 10: 4-6

Goals per game: 3.00 (16th) Goals for: 54

Goals against per game: 3.28 (19th)  Goals Against: 59

Shots per game: 29.22 (22nd) 

Shots against per game: 33.67 (23rd)

Power Play: 20 for 88 – 22.7 % (6th)

Penalty Kill: 54 for 69- 78.3 % (20th)

Penalty Minutes: 238. 13.22 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 0

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 1.

Record When Scoring First: 7-2.

Opposition Scores First: 2-7.  

Record in One Goal Games: 5-3. 

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Zach Tsekos/Johnny Walker (8). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (18). 

Points: Nielsen (22).

Plus/Minus: Dakota Raabe/Tsekos (+4). 

PIM: Johnny Walker (58)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (15)

Power Play Goals: Tsekos/Walker (4)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (13).  

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (67).  

Shooting Percentage: Walker (25.0 %) 8 for 32.   

Game Winning Goals: Wright (3)

Wins: Garrett Metcalf (5)

Save %: Lukas Parik (.917).

Goals Against Average: Parik (2.51)