Grizzlies Gameday: Friday Night Battle in Boise

Utah Grizzlies (12-18-1, 25 points, .403 Win %) at Idaho Steelheads (27-4-0-1, 55 points, .859 Win %) 

Friday, January 13, 2023. 7:10 pm. Arena: Idaho Central Arena

Broadcast: FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7760318-2023-utah-grizzlies-vs-idaho-steelheads

Audio: YouTube.com/UTAHGRIZZLIES.

It’s the first of a two-game weekend set between the Mountain Division rivals. It’s the 13th of 18 regular season meetings. Utah is 2-10 vs Idaho this season.  

Watch out for Cameron Wright, who leads Utah forwards with 23 points (7 goals, 16 assists) and he leads the club in shots (109) and game winning goals (4).

Games This Week

Friday, January 13, 2023 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.

Saturday, January 14, 2023 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.

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

All Times Mountain.

Games Last Week

Thursday, January 5, 2023 – Utah 2 Rapid City 5 – Cameron Wright had 1 goal and 1 assist. Tarun Fizer had 2 assists. Trent Miner saved 36 of 41. Rory Kerins had 2 goals. Ilya Nikolaev and Matt Marcinew each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Rapid City outshot Utah 41 to 31.

Friday, January 6, 2023 – Utah 6 Rapid City 4 – Dylan Fitze and Cameron Wright each had 2 goals. Keaton Jameson had 1 goal and 2 assists. Garrett Metcalf saved 26 of 30 in the win to go to 6-1 on the season. Connor McDonald had 3 assists.

Saturday, January 7, 2023 – Utah 2 Rapid City 3 (Overtime) – Dylan Fitze scored 14:10 into the second period. Tarun Fizer tied the game 2-2 with 1:12 left in regulation. Max Coatta scored 2 goals for RC, including the game winner 5:21 into OT. Trent Miner saved 39 of 42 for Utah.

• Utah was 5 for 12 on the power play in the 3 games at Rapid City.
• Utah’s penalty kill was 12 for 13 in the 3 games at Rapid City.
• Cameron Wright (3 goals, 1 assist) and Keaton Jameson (2 goals, 2 assists) each had 4 points in 3 games at Rapid City last week. Dylan Fitze scored 3 goals in the final 2 games of the series, including 2 goals on January 6. Jordan Martel had 3 assist in the 3 game set.

Upcoming Home Games at Maverik Center

• Monday, January 16, 2023 – Idaho at Utah. 3:10 pm. Nickelodeon and Sensory Friendly Day. Come out and see our “SpongeBob SquarePants” themed jerseys for Nickelodeon Day!  The sound will also be turned down for Sensory Friendly Day.  Bring the whole family for some Nickelodeon themed hockey action!
• Wednesday, January 25, 2023 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Bud Light College Night.
• Friday, January 27, 2023 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. AFCU Friday.
• Saturday, January 28, 2023 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Guns & Hoses Night.

Cameron Wright Has Shined in First Pro Season

Cameron Wright earned his 4th game winning goal of the season on January 6 at Rapid City. Wright leads all league rookies with 109 shots. Wright leads Grizzlies forwards with 9 power play points (2 goals, 7 assists). Wright is tied for the club lead with 6 multiple point games.

Andrew Nielsen Named to ECHL All-Star Team

Andrew Nielsen has been selected to the 2023 ECHL Western Conference All-Star Team. Nielsen is 2nd among league defenseman in power play assists (13) and power play points (15). Nielsen is tied for the league lead in assists among defenseman with 20. He is 3rd among all league d-men with 24 points. Nielsen will not appear in the 2023 All-Star festivities on Monday, January 16 as the Grizzlies host Idaho that same day.

Recent Transactions

January 11, 2023 – Lukas Parik Returns to Grizzlies – Goaltender Lukas Parik returns to the Grizzlies after a stint in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles. Parik did not appear in any games with Colorado. In 9 games with Utah this season Parik has a record of 3-6 with a 3.23 goals against average and a .907 save %.

January 3, 2023 – Garrett Metcalf Returns to Club, Grizz Release Goaltender Eric Dop - Metcalf appeared in 5 games with San Diego. He got a win on December 23, 2022 for the Gulls at Tucson, where he saved 27 of 29. Metcalf has a record of 6-1 with a .907 save percentage and a 3.29 goals-against-average for Utah this season. Metcalf has previous AHL experience with Lehigh Valley and was in training camp with the Calgary Hitmen.

Grizzlies Player Trends

Cameron Wright – Wright leads all rookies with 109 shots on goal. Wright leads Utah with 4 game winning goals. Wright leads all Utah forwards in points (23) and power play assists (7).

Tarun Fizer – Fizer was a +2 in 4 games in December. Fizer has 7 power play points (3g, 4a). Tarun has a 16.1 shooting percentage (9 for 56).

Dylan Fitze – Dylan has 3 goals in his last 2 games. Fitze has a point in 8 of his last 18 games. Fitze got his first multiple point game this season with 2 goals and 1 assist at RC on Jan. 6.

Cam Strong – Strong has a goal in 3 of his last 6 games.

Jordan Martel – Scored his first goal of the season on Dec. 28 vs Idaho. It was his 3rd professional goal as he scored 2 goals for Fort Wayne vs Wheeling on April 16, 2022. Martel has 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 10 games with Utah. Martel has 33 shots in 10 games.

Dakota Raabe – Raabe has a point in 11 of his last 18 games (5 goals, 10 assists). On December 21 Raabe had 2 goals and 1 assist at Idaho. Raabe has an assist in 5 of his last 8 home games.

Keaton Jameson – Jameson has 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in his last 10 games. Jameson got the Gordie Howe Hat Trick with 2 goals, 1 assist and 1 fight on December 17 vs KC. It was his first multiple point game since April 16, 2022 vs Idaho in the regular season finale. 

Andrew Nielsen – Nielsen has a point in 7 of his last 14 games (3 goals, 8 assists). Nielsen has a point in 13 of his 26 games. Nielsen was named to the 2023 ECHL Western Conference All-Star team.

Johnny Walker – Walker has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 7 games. He has 9 goals in his last 17 games. Walker leads all league rookies with 85 penalty minutes (2nd most in the league). 5 of his 9 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). Walker is tied among all league rookies with 5 power play goals. Johnny has missed each of the last 8 games due to injury.

Tyler Penner – Penner has 5 goals and 2 assists in his last 16 games. Penner has a goal in 4 of his last 7 home games. Penner appeared in his 100th consecutive game with the Grizzlies on December 31st. 

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is 28 for 114 (24.5 percent on the power play over the last 24 games. Utah is 5 for 12 on the power play in their last 3 games. Utah's penalty kill is 15 for 16 over their last 4 games. Utah is 4-0 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 8-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 5-3-1 in one goal games. Utah is 9-3 when scoring first. Utah is 5th in the league on the power play in road games at 24.1 percent (19 for 79). 

Grizzlies Ironmen

There are 3 players who have appeared in all 31 games this season: Dylan Fitze, Tyler Penner and Dakota Raabe  Penner was 1 of 2 Grizzlies along with Mason Mannek, who appeared in all 72 games last season.

Match-Up With Idaho

Idaho is 10-2 vs Utah this season. The Steelheads lead the league in goals per game (4.28) and they also lead the league in goals allowed per game (1.97).

Utah Has Played Idaho a Ton

The Grizzlies have played in 31 games this season. 12 of them have been against Idaho. 38.7 percent of Utah’s games this season have been against Idaho. After the 3 game set it will be 44.1 percent of Utah’s games against Idaho. The Grizzlies are 10-8-1 when playing someone other than Idaho this season.