Grizzlies Gameday: Wednesday Night Battle at the Mav

Rapid City Rush (20-18-1, 41 points, .526 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (16-20-1, 33 points, .446 Win %) 

Wednesday, January 25, 2023. 7:10 pm. Arena: Maverik Center

Broadcast: FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7760458-2023-rapid-city-rush-vs-utah-grizzlies

Audio: YouTube.com/UTAHGRIZZLIES.

It’s the first of a six game homestand. It’s the 6th of 10 meetings this season between the division rivals. Utah is 2-2-1 vs Rapid City this season.

Utah’s power play is 8 for 32 over the last 9 games. The penalty kill is 41 for 43 over their last 10 games. Utah will be home for 22 of their last 35 games, including a 6 game homestand beginning on January 25 vs Rapid City.

Games This Week

Wednesday, January 25, 2023 – Rapid City at Utah. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Bud Light College Night.

Friday, January 27, 2023 – Rapid City at Utah. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. AFCU Friday.

Saturday, January 28, 2023 – Rapid City at Utah. Maverik Center. 7:10 pm. Guns & Hoses Night.

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

All Times Mountain.

Trent Miner Named ECHL Goaltender of the Week

Trent Miner of the Utah Grizzlies is the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Jan. 16-22. It is the second time in his career that he has received the weekly honor as he also won for October 25-31, 2021. Miner went 3-0-0 with one shutout, a 0.67 goals-against average and a save percentage of .984 in three appearances last week. The 21-year-old made 46 saves in a 4-1 win against Idaho on Monday, stopped all 35 shots he faced in a 1-0 victory at Tulsa on Friday and turned aside 44 shots in a 4-1 win over the Oilers on Sunday.

The Start of the Second Half of the Season

The official second half of the 2022-2023 season began with Utah’s 4-1 win on January 22nd at Tulsa. Utah went 15-20-1 in the first half of the season. Highlights include Andrew Nielsen’s 6 assist performance on November 5, 2022. Nielsen tied a team record for assists in 1 game. Utah had 2 overtime game winners in the first half of the season. Cameron Wright won the game 2:01 into overtime as Utah defeated KC 4-3 on November 4, 2022. Captain Connor McDonald scored an OT game winner on November 9 at Allen as Utah won 3-2.

The Grizzlies had 3 shutouts in the first half of the season. Trent Miner had 2 and Lukas Parik had 1 on December 18, 2022 vs Kansas City. Utah won at Idaho 3 times in the first half of the season. Utah faced Idaho 15 times in the first half of the season. Utah went 4-1 vs Kansas City in the first half. Garrett Metcalf has a record of 7-2 on the season. Cameron Wright led Utah with 27 points in the first half of the season (10 goals, 17 assists). Wright and Tarun Fizer are tied for the club lead with 10 goals. 

January Scoring

Utah has scored 26 goals in 9 games in January. Cameron Wright has 9 points in the last 9 games (7 goals, 2 assists). Wright has taken 37 shots over the last 9 contests. Jordan Martel also has 9 points in 9 games in January (3 goals, 6 assists). Keaton Jameson has 8 points in 9 games in January (3 goals, 5 assists). Dylan Fitze has 5 goals in his last 8 games. Utah has a 5-3-1 record in 9 games in January. Utah’s power play is 8 for 32 (25.0 %) over the last 9 games. Utah’s penalty kill is 41 of 43 over their last 10 games.

Bear Bites

Utah is 41 for 43 on the penalty kill over their last 10 games. Utah is 8 for 32 on the power play in their last 9 games. Utah is 6-0 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 11-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 6-3-1 in one goal games. Utah is 11-3 when scoring first. Utah is 5-2-1 in their last 8 games. 

Match-Up With Rapid City

Utah 2 @ Rapid City 3 (Jan 7 2023) OT - 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 6 @ Rapid City 4 (Jan 6 2023) - Dylan Fitze had 2 goals and 1 assist. Cameron Wright had 2 goals. Keaton Jameson had 1 goal and 1 assist. Garrett Metcalf saved 26 of 30 in the win to go to 6-1 on the season.

Utah 2 @ Rapid City 5 (Jan 5 2023) - 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.

Rapid City 2 @ Utah 3 (Oct 22 2022) - Tarun Fizer had 2 goals. Zach Tsekos added a goal. Lukas Parik Saved 25 of 27 in his Grizzlies debut. Andrew Nielsen had 2 assists. Utah went 2 for 9 on the power play. Rapid City was 1 for 5.

Rapid City 5 @ Utah 3 (Oct 21 2022) - Zach Tsekos, Dakota Raabe and Tarun Fizer each scored a goal for Utah. Utah outshot Rapid City 37 to 26. Rapid City was 1 for 3 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 4.

• Cameron Wright leads Utah with 7 points vs RC (3 goals, 4 assists). Tarun Fizer has 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists). Dylan Fitze has 3 goals vs RC this season. Matt Marcinew leads the Rush with 6 points vs Utah (3 goals, 3 assists). Max Coatta has 5 goals vs Utah. Rory Karins has 4 goals and 1 assist.

Utah Grizzlies 2022-2023 Roster

Forwards (13): Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Tarun Fizer, Keaton Jameson, Jordan Martel, Vladislav Mikhalchuk, Tyler Penner, Dakota Raabe, Christian Simeone, Cam Strong, Zach Tsekos, Johnny Walker, Cameron Wright.

Defenseman (10): Victor Bartley, Joey Colatarci, Brycen Martin, Connor McDonald, Andrew Nielsen, Kyle Pouncy, James Shearer, Jordon Stone, Cory Thomas, Aaron Thow.

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

Staff for 2022-2023 Season

Ryan Kinasewich enters his second season as Grizzlies Head Coach/General Manager. Kinasewich led the Grizzlies to a 42-27-2-1 record, winning the Mountain Division title for the first time in team history. Jared Pike is the new Grizzlies assistant coach. The Sandy, Utah native was a player with Utah in the 2020-2021 season. Mason Weyland enters his second season as the Grizzlies Head Equipment Manager. Collin Lee will be in his third year as Grizzlies Athletic Trainer. Tyson Whiting begins his fifth season as the “Voice of the Grizzlies”.

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

Overall record: 16-20-1

Home record: 6-8

Road record: 10-12-1

Win percentage: .446

Streak: Won 1

Standings Points: 33

Last 10: 5-4-1

Goals per game: 2.68 (24th)  Goals for: 99

Goals against per game: 3.41 (18th) Goals Against: 121

Shots per game: 28.49 (26th)  

Shots against per game: 35.14 (26th)

Power Play: 33 for 166 – 19.9 % (14th)

Penalty Kill: 128 for 155- 82.6 % (9th)

Penalty Minutes: 583. 15.76 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 3.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4.

Record When Scoring First: 11-3.

Opposition Scores First: 5-16-1.  

Record in One Goal Games: 6-3-1. 

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT                  TOTAL       

Utah Grizzlies     26         40                   31                   2                      99                                         

Opposition           41         38                   46                   1                      126

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Cameron Wright (11). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (21). 

Points: Wright (27).

Plus/Minus: Zach Tsekos (+3). 

PIM: Nielsen (96)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (15)

Power Play Goals: Walker (5)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (13).  

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (131).  

Shooting Percentage: Tsekos (21.1 %) 8 for 38.   

Game Winning Goals: Wright (5)

Wins: Garrett Metcalf (7)

Save %: Trent Miner (.915).

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.94)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Cameron Wright (2) Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Cam Strong

Assist Streaks: Keaton Jameson, Johnny Martel, Brycen Martin, Andrew Nielsen, Kyle Pouncy, Cory Thomas (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Cutler, Martel, Wright (2)