Grizzlies Gameday: Monday Night Battle in Orlando

Utah Grizzlies (22-24-2, 46 points, .479 Win %) @ Orlando Solar Bears (24-21-6-1, 55 points, .529 Win %) 

Monday, February 20, 2023. 5:00 pm. Arena: Amway Center

Broadcast: FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7760768-2023-utah-grizzlies-vs-orlando-solar-bears

Audio: YouTube.com/UTAHGRIZZLIES.

It’s the final game of the road trip for the Grizzlies, who are 3-1-1 on the trip. Utah has won 3 in a row and has a standings point in 4 straight. Utah is 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. The Solar Bears are 5-3-2 in their last 10 contests. Grizzlies have outscored their opponents 14-7 during three-game winning streak. Goaltender Lukas Parik has won each of his last 3 starts. Captain Connor McDonald is a +6 in his last 3 games.

Games This Road Trip

February 10, 2023 – Utah 1 Rapid City 7 -  Johnny Walker scored Utah’s lone goal on the power play. Utah was 1 for 4 on the power play. Rapid City was 3 for 6. Andrew Nielsen and Brandon Cutler each had 1 assist. RC outshot Utah 42 to 17. Zach Court had 2 goals and 1 assist for RC. Jimmy Soper had 2 goals in his Rush debut.

February 11, 2023 – Utah 3 Rapid City 4 (Overtime) – Andrew Nielsen had 1 goal and 1 assist. Brandon Cutler had 2 assists. Aaron Thow and Cameron Wright each scored a goal for Utah. RC outshot Utah 40 to 38. Utah went 2 for 8 on the power play and was 3 for 3 on the penalty kill.

February 15, 2023 – Utah 4 Greenville 3 – Cameron Wright scored 2 goals. Cam Strong had 1 goal and 1 assist. Connor McDonald and Dakota Raabe each had 2 assists. McDonald had a +3 rating. Lukas Parik stopped 29 of 32 to earn his 5th win of the season. Utah was 1 for 4 on the power play. Greenville was 1 for 1.

February 17, 2023 – Utah 6 Savannah 3 – Cameron Wright scored 2 goals. Dylan Fitze had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with 1 goal, 2 assists and 1 fight. Andrew Nielsen, Cam Strong and Tarun Fizer added goals. Lukas Parik saved 27 of 30 to earn his 6th win of the season. James Shearer was a +4.

February 19, 2023 – Utah 4 Orlando 1  - Tarun Fizer scored 2 goals. Andrew Nielsen had 2 assists. Lukas Parik saved 35 of 36. Nielsen, Victor Bartley and Tyler Penner were each a +2. Orlando scored first 3:29 into the contest before Utah scored 4 unanswered goals. The game featured 160 penalty minutes, including 140 in the final 4 minutes 25 seconds of regulation.

Monday, February 20, 2023 – Utah at Orlando. 5:00 pm. Amway Center.

Games Next Homestand

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 – Allen at Utah – 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Bud Light College Night.

Friday, February 24, 2023 – Allen at Utah – 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Grizzlies Fight Cancer Weekend.

Saturday, February 25, 2023 – Allen at Utah – 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Grizzlies Fight Cancer Weekend.

• Utah had 96 penalty minutes in their last meeting with Allen on February 4th.

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

All Times Mountain.

Dylan Fitze Faces Former Team

On Sunday Dylan Fitze returned to Amway Center for the first time since being traded from Orlando to Utah on March 24, 2022 for Brian Bowen. Fitze had 1 assist in Utah’s 4-1 win on February 19. Fitze scored 28 goals and 22 assists in 129 games with Orlando over a 3 year stretch. Dylan scored 7 points in 9 regular season games for Utah last season (3 goals, 4 assists). In 18 games in the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs Fitze had 9 points (6 goals, 3 assists). 5 of his 6 playoff goals came in the third period(s). This season Fitze has 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists) in 47 games. He had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick on February 17 at Savannah where he scored 1 goal, 2 assists and 5 penalty minutes.

Who’s Been Hot Lately

Cameron Wright has taken 31 shots in his last 4 games. Wright has 6 goals and 1 assist in his last 4 games. Wright leads all league rookies with 182 shots on goal. He leads the league with 7 game winning goals. Wright leads the Grizzlies with 38 points.

Last 4 Games for Cameron Wright

February 11 at Rapid City – 1 goal, 1 assist, 12 shots.

February 15 at Greenville – 2 goals, 8 shots.

February 17 at Savannah – 2 goals, 6 shots.

February 19 at Orlando – 1 goal, 5 shots.

Andrew Nielsen is 5th among league defenseman with 37 points. Nielsen has 24 power play points (8 goals, 16 assists). Nielsen leads Utah with 11 multiple point games. NIelsen has a point in 9 of his last 12 games. Nielsen has 14 points in his last 12 games (5 goals, 9 assists). 

Tarun Fizer has a point in 8 of his last 11 games. Fizer is 2nd on the club with 15 goals, including 2 on February 19 at Orlando. Fizer is tied with Nielsen and Walker for the club lead with 6 power play goals.

Jordan Martel – “The Rooster” scored 2 goals on 2 shots at Idaho on January 13, including the game winner 9:11 into the third period. Martel has 16 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 26 games with Utah. Martel has 64 shots in 26 games. Martel was the number 1 star on January 28 vs RC with 2 goals.

Dakota Raabe – Raabe has 4 assists in 3 games in February. Raabe is 4th on the club with 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists).

Vladislav Mikhalchuk – Vladdy scored his 3rd goal in a Utah uniform 17:11 into the first period on Feb. 19 at Orlando. That goal turned out to be the game winner.

Bear Bites: Team Notes

Utah went 8-3-1 in 12 games in January. Utah is 3-4-1 in February. Utah is 14-3 when scoring first. Utah is 8-0 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 17-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 8-3-2 in one goal games. The Grizz are 2nd in the league in penalty minutes per game at 18.83.

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

Overall record: 22-24-2

Home record: 9-11

Road record: 13-13-2

Win percentage: .479

Streak: Won 3

Standings Points: 46

Last 10: 5-4-1

Goals per game: 2.79 (24th)  Goals for: 134

Goals against per game: 3.54 (19th)  Goals Against: 170

Shots per game: 28.92 (26th)  

Shots against per game: 34.83 (25th)

Power Play: 44 for 227 – 19.4 % (17th)

Penalty Kill: 167 for 210 – 79.5 % (15th)

Penalty Minutes: 904. 18.83 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 3.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 6.

Record When Scoring First: 14-3.

Opposition Scores First: 8-21-2.   

Record in One Goal Games: 8-3-2. 

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT                  TOTAL       

Utah Grizzlies     39         54                   39                   2                      134                                       

Opposition           54         54                   60                   2                      170

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Cameron Wright (18). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (29). 

Points: Nielsen/Wright (38).

Plus/Minus: Zach Tsekos (+2).

PIM: Nielsen (148)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (24)

Power Play Goals: Tarun Fizer/Nielsen/Johnny Walker (6)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (18).  

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (182).  

Shooting Percentage: Tsekos (23.1 %) 9 for 39.   

Game Winning Goals: Wright (7)

Wins: Trent Miner (8)

Save %: Miner (.909).

Goals Against Average: Miner (3.12)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Cameron Wright (4) Tarun Fizer (2) Vladislav Mikhalchuk (1)

Assist Streaks: Dakota Raabe (3) Fitze, Tyler Penner (2) Andrew Nielsen, James Shearer (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Wright (4) Fitze, Raabe (3), Mikhalchuk, Nielsen, Penner (2)