Grizzlies Gameday: Thursday Night Battle in the Lonestar State

Grizzlies Gameday: Thursday Night Battle in the Lonestar State

Utah Grizzlies (28-26-3, 59 points, .518 Win %) @ Allen Americans (28-27-1, 57 points, .509 Win %) 

Thursday, March 16, 2023. 6:05 pm. Arena: Credit Union of Texas Event Center

Broadcast: Video: FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7761045-2023-utah-grizzlies-vs-allen-americans

Audio: youtube.com/UTAHGRIZZLIES.

It’s the first of a three-game series between the Grizzlies and Americans.  It’s the 10th time Utah has faced Allen this season. The Grizzlies are 3-6 vs the Americans this season. The Grizzlies have standings points in 11 of their last 13 games. Utah has scored 55 goals over their last 13 games. The Grizz have a standings point in 7 straight road games. Utah is 5-0 in the month of March.

Games This Week

Thursday, March 16, 2023 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm. Credit Union of Texas Event Center.

Friday, March 17, 2023 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm. Credit Union of Texas Event Center.

Sunday, March 19, 2023 – Utah at Allen. 1:05 pm. Credit Union of Texas Event Center.

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

All Times Mountain.

Games Last Week

Friday, March 10, 2023 – Kansas City 1 Utah 2 – Cameron Wright scored the game winner 14:24 into the third period. Connor McDonald scored a goal in the first period. Lukas Parik saved 22 of 23 to earn his 9th win. Utah outshot Kansas City 34 to 23. Hugo Roy scored KC’s lone goal 8:58 into the third period.

Saturday, March 11, 2023 – Kansas City 4 Utah 5 (Shootout) – Utah overcame a 4-2 deficit in the third period as Cameron Wright and Tarun Fizer scored goals in the third period. The game went to a shootout where in the 8th round Dakota Raabe scored the game winner. Trent Miner saved 32 of 36 and all 8 shots he saw in the shootout. Cam Strong and Keaton Jameson scored first period goals. KC was 3 for 5 on the power play. Utah was 1 for 3.

Sunday, March 12, 2023 – Kansas City 2 Utah 3 – Tarun Fizer scored the game winning goal 4:32 into the third period. Dakota Raabe had 1 goal and 1 assist. Kyle Pouncy scored his 3rd goal of the season. Lukas Parik saved 27 of 29. Utah went 1 for 8 on the power play and was a perfect 5 for 5 on the penalty kill.

• Each win was decided by 1 goal. Utah is 12-3-3 on one goal games this season.
• Saturday night was a rare overtime game at Maverik Center. It was only the second game decided past regulation since Ryan Kinasewich became the Grizzlies coach before the 2021-2022 season. Kansas City was the opponent both times. Utah won 5-4 over KC on March 9, 2022. Utah is 4-3 in overtime/shootout games this season. It was the first time this season the Grizzlies were involved in a shootout.
• Utah went 7-1 vs Kansas City this season. KC won the season series opener on November 1, 2022 and Utah responded by winning 7 straight.

Cameron Wright Comes Up Big Every Night

Cameron Wright has had an outstanding first season as a professional. Wright scored his league leading 8th game winning goal 14:24 into the third period in Utah’s 2-1 win on Friday night. On Saturday night Wright scored a third period goal. Wright leads the Grizzlies in goals (20) and points (45). Wright leads all league rookies with 207 shots on goal. He is third on the club with 16 power play points (5g, 11a).

Tarun Fizer Has Been a Consistent Force

Tarun Fizer has been one of Utah’s most consistent players during the 2022-2023 season. Fizer is tied with Cameron Wright for the team lead with 20 goals. Fizer is 2nd on the team with 17 power play points (9g, 8a). Fizer is 2nd on the team with 164 shots on goal and is 3rd with 38 points.

Recent Transactions

March 14 – Grizzlies Sign Defenseman Jacob Semik. Semik played at Arizona State for 4 seasons from 2019-2023. With the Sun Devils he appeared in 134 games over 4 seasons, scoring 3 goals and 27 assists. In the recently completed 2022-23 season Semik was a +9 and had 9 assists in 39 games in his senior season. Semik was an alternate captain for ASU over the last 2 seasons. Prior to his college days Semik played with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints from 2016-2019. He also played in 5 games with the USA U-17 team back in the 2016-17 season. Semik signed with the Grizzlies on March 14, 2023. Semik will wear number 40 for Utah.

March 14 – Grizzlies released Joey Colatarci. Joey played in 85 games with Utah over a 2 season stretch. He appeared in 55 games in the 2021-2022 season, where he scored 2 goals and 7 assists and had a +6 rating. Colatarci played in 30 games this season and had 17 penalty minutes and 14 shots on goal.

March 9 – Trent Miner returns to Grizzlies. Miner leads Utah with 11 wins this season.

Grizzlies Player Notes

Captain Connor McDonald is a +11 in his last 12 games.

Aaron Thow is a +11 in his last 13 games. 

Dakota Raabe has a point in 10 of his last 12 games (5 goals, 8 assists). Raabe scored the shootout game winner vs Kansas City on March 11. 

Dylan Fitze has 15 points in his last 12 games (7 goals, 8 assists). Fitze has a point in 9 of his last 12 games. 

Cam Strong has 10 points in his last 12 games (4 goals, 6 assists). Strong is a +9 in his last 9 games.

Jordan Martel has 7 points in his last 5 games (2 goals, 5 assists).

Tarun Fizer has 21 points in his last 20 games (10 goals, 11 assists). Fizer is tied with Cameron Wright for the Grizzlies lead with 20 goals. 

Cameron Wright leads the league with 8 game winning goals. Wright leads all league rookies with 207 shots on goal. Wright has 14 points in his last 10 games (8 goals, 6 assists). 

Brycen Martin has 4 assists in his last 6 games. 

Keaton Jameson has a point in 4 of his last 5 games. 

Trent Miner was 8 for 8 in the shootout vs Kansas City on March 11.

Bear Bites: Team Notes

Utah is 19-5 when scoring first. Utah has 55 goals in their last 13 games. Utah has scored 38 goals in their last 9 games. Utah is 2nd with 1037 penalty minutes. Utah is 12-1 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 21-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 12-3-3 in one goal games. Utah won 3 straight 1 goal games vs Kansas City last week. Utah is 19-6-3 in games decided by 1 or 2 goals. Utah has a point in 7 straight road games. Utah is 6-1 on Sundays. The Grizz have standings points in 11 of their last 13 games. 

Match-Up With Allen

It’s a big series in terms of the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoff picture. Allen has the top 2 scorers in the league. Hank Crone leads the league with 36 goals and 80 points this season. Jack Combs is 2nd in the league with 77 points (31 goals, 46 assists). Colton Hargrove leads the league with 14 power play goals and is 6th with 66 points. Liam Finlay is 10th in the league with 62 points. Allen is 7th in the league in goals per game (3.57).

Americans Statistical Leaders

Games: Jack Combs/Ryan Gagnon/Kris Myllari (56)

Goals: Hank Crone (36)

Assists: Combs (46)

Points: Combs (80)

PIM’s: Mikael Robidoux (154).

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

Overall record: 28-26-3

Home record: 13-13

Road record: 15-13-3

Win percentage: .518

Streak: Won 5

Standings Points: 59

Last 10: 7-2-1

Goals per game: 3.02 (Tied 21st) Goals for: 172

Goals against per game: 3.61 (21st)  Goals Against: 206

Shots per game: 30.77 (21st)  

Shots against per game: 35.09 (26th)

Power Play: 52 for 270 – 19.3 % (Tied 18th)

Penalty Kill: 195 for 248 – 78.6 % (17th)

Penalty Minutes: 1037. 18.19 per game. (2nd most in the league)

Shorthanded Goals: 4.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8. 

Record When Scoring First: 21-5.

Opposition Scores First: 9-21-3.  

Record in One Goal Games: 12-3-3.

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout       TOTAL                     

Utah Grizzlies     52         64                   52                   4                               167                            

Opposition           59         73                   71                   3                               206

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Tarun Fizer/Cameron Wright (20). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (32). 

Points: Wright (45).

Plus/Minus: Connor McDonald (+6)

PIM: Nielsen (166)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (26)

Power Play Goals: Tarun Fizer (9)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (20). 

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (207). 

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

Game Winning Goals: Wright (8)

Wins: Trent Miner (11)

Save %: Miner (.910).

Goals Against Average: Miner (3.12)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Tarun Fizer (2), Jordan Martel, Kyle Pouncy, Dakota Raabe (1)

Assist Streaks: James Shearer (4) Zach Tsekos (2) Vladislav Mikhalchuk, Jared Power, Raabe, Zach Tsekos, Cameron Wright (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Wright (5) Shearer (4) Tsekos (2)