Grizzlies Gameday: Cincinnati Invades Maverik Center for Series Opener

Grizzlies Gameday: Beginning of a 6 Game Homestand

Cincinnati Cyclones (40-12-6-3, 89 points, .730 Win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (29-28-3, 61 points, .508 Win %) 

Wednesday, March 22, 2023. 7:10 pm. Venue: Maverik Center

Broadcast: Video: FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7761129-2023-cincinnati-cyclones-vs-utah-grizzlies

Audio: youtube.com/UTAHGRIZZLIES.

It’s the opener of a three game series between the Grizzlies and Cyclones. It’s the first time since January 9, 2019 at Utah will face Cincinnati. It’s the Cyclones first time at Maverik Center since both clubs were in the old International Hockey League on April 7, 2001 when the Cyclones defeated Utah 6-2. Utah is 6-1 in the month of March. They have a standings point in 12 of their last 16 games. Cameron Wright has a point in 10 of his last 12 games. Wright has 9 goals and 9 assists in his last 13 games. Tarun Fizer has 5 goals in his last 5 games. Fizer has 39 shots on goal in 8 games in March.

Games This Homestand

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

Friday, March 24, 2023 – Cincinnati at Utah – 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Military Night. AFCU Friday.

Sunday, March 26, 2023 – Cincinnati at Utah – 3:10 pm. Maverik Center.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 – Wichita at Utah – 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Bud Light College Night.

Friday, March 31, 2023 – Wichita at Utah – 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. AFCU Friday.

Saturday, April 1, 2023 – Wichita at Utah – 7:10 pm. Maverik Center.

It’s the Cyclones first time at Maverik Center since both clubs were in the old International Hockey League on April 7, 2001 when the Cyclones defeated Utah 6-2. The last time a Cincinnati team was at Maverik Center was on March 12, 2005 when the Grizz defeated the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 2-1 in a shootout. 

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

All Times Mountain.

Games Last Week

March 16, 2023 – Utah 4 Allen 7 – Liam Finlay led Allen with 3 goals and 1 assist. Tarun Fizer had 2 goals for Utah. Zach Tsekos and Aaron Thow added goals for the Grizz. Thow had a +3 rating. Lukas Parik saved 28 of 34 in the loss. Utah outshot Allen 51 to 35. Utah was 0 for 4 on the power play and 3 for 3 on the penalty kill.

March 17, 2023 – Utah 2 Allen 1 (Shootout) – Tarun Fizer scored 2:16 into the second period. Jacob Semik scored his first point as a professional with an assist on the Fizer goal. Allen’s Grant Hebert tied it 1-1 as he scored 1:41 into the third period. Trent Miner was a brick wall in net as he saved 40 of 41 and all 3 in the shootout. Allen outshot Utah 41 to 32. Utah was 1 for 7 on the power play and 8 for 8 on the penalty kill.

March 19, 2023 – Utah 3 Allen 6 – Cameron Wright had 1 goal and 1 assist. Allen scored 4 goals in the first 10:36 of the contest. James Shearer and Tyler Penner added goals for Utah. Utah outshot Allen 39 to 30. Utah was 2 for 9 on the power play and 2 for 3 on the penalty kill.

Tons of Shots

Utah has taken 625 shots over their last 16 games for an average of 39.06. Prior to February 11th the Grizzlies had averaged 28.43 shots per game and were 26th in the league at that time. Now the Grizzlies are averaging 31.27 shots per game for the season and are currently 17th in the league.

The more shots and scoring chances has translated into goals as Utah is averaging 4.00 goals per game in their last 16 contests (64 goals). Prior to February 11th Utah averaged 2.66 goals per game (117 goals).

Grizzlies Player Notes

Aaron Thow is a +11in his last 16 games. 

Captain Connor McDonald is a +9 in his last 15 games.

Dakota Raabe has a point in 13 of his last 15 games (5 goals, 11 assists). Raabe scored the shootout game winner vs Kansas City on March 11. 

Tarun Fizer has 24 points in his last 23 games (13 goals, 11 assists). Fizer leads the Grizzlies in goals (23) and power play goals (10).

Cameron Wright leads the league with 8 game winning goals. Wright leads all league rookies with 225 shots on goal. Wright has 17 points in his last 12 games (9 goals, 8 assists). Wright had a 6 game point streak end on March 17 but he did score the game winning goal in the shootout at Allen. Wright has 11 multiple point games. 

Brycen Martin has 5 assists in his last 9 games. 

Keaton Jameson has a point in 4 of his last 8 games. 

Zach Tsekos has a point in 3 of his last 5 games. Tsekos has 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in 8 games in March. Tsekos has a point in 15 of his 27 games played this season.

Trent Miner was 8 for 8 in the shootout vs Kansas City on March 11 and 3 for 3 in the shootout at Allen on March 17. 

Dylan Fitze has 15 points in his last 15 games (7 goals, 8 assists). Fitze has a point in 9 of his last 15 games. 

Cam Strong has 10 points in his last 14 games (4 goals, 6 assists). Strong is a +7 in his last 11 games. Strong suffered a season ending injury on March 17 at Allen.

Jordan Martel has 7 points in his last 5 games (2 goals, 5 assists). Martel has missed the last 6 games due to injury.

Jacob Semik scored his first pro point with an assist on March 17. Semik will make his Maverik Center debut on Wednesday night. 

Team Notes 

 Utah is 20-5 when scoring first. Utah has 61 goals in their last 15 games. Utah has scored 47 goals in their last 12 games. Utah is among league leaders with 1095 penalty minutes. Utah is 12-1 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 22-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 13-3-3 in one goal games. Utah is 20-6-3 in games decided by 1 or 2 goals. Utah has a point in 8 of their last 10 road games. Utah is 6-2 on Sundays. The Grizz have standings points in 12 of their last 16 games. Utah is averaging 39.05 shots per game in their last 16 contests. 

Double Digit Goal Scoring Club

There are 10 players who have scored 10 or more goals this season. Utah has scored 178 goals this season. They have scored 26 goals in 7 games in the month of March.

Tarun Fizer (23)

Cameron Wright (21)

Dylan Fitze (15)

Keaton Jameson/Tyler Penner/Dakota Raabe/Tsekos (11)

Brandon Cutler, Cam Strong, Johnny Walker (10)

Match-Up With Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Cyclones have a standings point in 18 straight games. They are 16-0-1-1 in their last 18 games. The Cyclones have won 6 in a row. Their last regulation loss was on February 5th at Kalamazoo where they fell 5-2. They are led by Head Coach Jason Payne, who is in his 2nd season leading the Cyclones. There are 2 former Grizzlies players on the Cincinnati roster. Luka Burzan appeared in 41 games with the Grizzlies last season and had 13 goals and 18 assists. In 11 playoff games last season for Utah he had 2 goals and 2 assists. Burzan has 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in 6 games with Cincinnati this season. He has also played with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets. Matt Berry scored 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 38 games with Utah in the 2015-2016 season. In the 2018-2019 season with the Grizz he had 22 points (13 goals, 9 assists) in 20 games. Last season Berry played with Toledo and met Utah in the 2022 Western Conference Finals.

Cyclones Statistical Leaders

Games: Josh Burnside/Patrick Polino/Justin Vaive (61)

Goals: Vaive (29)

Assists: Louie Caporusso (42)

Points: Zack Andrusiak/Caporusso (63)

PIM’s: Sean Allen (155)

022-2023 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 29-28-3

Home record: 13-13

Road record: 16-15-3

Win percentage: .508

Streak: Lost 1

Standings Points: 61

Last 10: 6-4

Goals per game: 3.02 (22nd) Goals for: 181

Goals against per game: 3.67 (21st)  Goals Against: 220

Shots per game: 31.27 (17th)

Shots against per game: 35.10 (25th)

Power Play: 55 for 290 – 19.0 % (19th)

Penalty Kill: 208 for 262 – 79.4 % (15th)

Penalty Minutes: 1095. 18.25 per game. (3rd most in the league)

Shorthanded Goals: 4.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8. 

Record When Scoring First: 20-5.

Opposition Scores First: 9-23-3.  

Record in One Goal Games: 13-3-3.

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout       TOTAL                     

Utah Grizzlies     55         67                   54                   5                               181                            

Opposition           67         75                   75                   3                               220

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Tarun Fizer (23). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (32). 

Points: Wright (48).

Plus/Minus: Connor McDonald (+4)

PIM: Nielsen (166)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (26)

Power Play Goals: Tarun Fizer (10)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (20). 

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (225). 

Shooting Percentage: Johnny Walker (17.5 %) 10 for 57.   

Game Winning Goals: Wright (8)

Wins: Trent Miner (12)

Save %: Miner (.910).

Goals Against Average: Miner (3.12)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Tyler Penner, James Shearer, Cameron Wright (1)

Assist Streaks: Dakota Raabe (4) Jared Power, Wright (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Raabe (4)