Grizzlies Gameday: Wichita at Utah for Series Opener

Grizzlies Gameday: Wichita at Utah for Wednesday Series Opener

Wichita Thunder (30-28-6, 66 points, .516 Win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (29-31-3, 61 points, .484 Win %) 

Wednesday, March 29, 2023. 7:10 pm. Venue: Maverik Center

Broadcast: Video: FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7761213-2023-wichita-thunder-vs-utah-grizzlies

Audio: youtube.com/UTAHGRIZZLIES.

It’s the first of a three game series between the Grizzlies and Thunder. Utah has won 7 in a row against Wichita dating back to the start of the 2021-2022 season. Utah is 6-5 in the month of March. Cameron Wright has a point in 12 of his last 16 games. Wright has 9 goals and 9 assists in his last 16 games. Tarun Fizer has 5 goals in his last 8 games. Fizer has 53 shots on goal in 11 games in March.

Games This Week

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.

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

All Times Mountain.

• Utah swept Wichita at INTRUST Bank Arena in a 2 game series, winning 5-4 in overtime on March 3rd and 5-2 on March 5th. Aaron Thow had 2 goals and 2 assists on March 3rd. Cameron Wright had 4 assists in the 2 games.
• Utah is 7-0 against Wichita since the start of the 2021-2022 season.
• The Grizzlies took 108 shots in the 2-game series at Wichita.

Games Last Week

Wednesday, March 22, 2023 – Cincinnati 6 Utah 4 – Jordan Martel had 2 goals and 1 assist. Connor McDonald had 1 goal and 1 assist and Aaron Thow had 2 assists. Cincinnati scored the game winner with 2:19 left in regulation as Patrick Polino scored from the left circle. Polino had 2 goals. Zach Berzolla had 1 goal and 1 assist. Cyclones went 1 for 3 on the power play and they scored 2 shorthanded goals. McDonald, Jaerd Power and James Shearer were each a +2 for Utah.

Friday, March 24, 2023 – Cincinnati 4 Utah 3 – Jared Power and Keaton Jameson each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Power scored his first pro goal 16:03 into the second period. Utah outshot Cincinnati 30 to 27. Cyclones went 1 for 6 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 7.

Sunday, March 26, 2023 – Cincinnati 6 Utah 3 – Zach Tsekos had 1 goal and 1 assist. Brandon Cutler and Jordan Martel each had 1 goal for Utah. Cincinnati got 1 goal and 2 assists from former Grizzly Luka Burzan, including the game winner 9:29 into the third period.

Tons of Shots

Utah has taken 729 shots over their last 19 games for an average of 38.36. 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 31.39 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 3.89 goals per game in their last 19 contests (74 goals). Prior to February 11th Utah averaged 2.66 goals per game (117 goals).

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 March 11. On March 12 vs KC Wright scored a third period goal. On March 17 he scored the game winning goal in a shootout at Allen. Wright leads the Grizzlies in goals (21) and points (48). Wright leads all league rookies with 243 shots on goal. He is tied for 2nd on the club with 18 power play points (6g, 12a).

Tarun Fizer Leads the Club in Goals

Tarun Fizer has been one of Utah’s most consistent players during the 2022-2023 season. Fizer scored 2 goals on March 16 at Allen and 1 goal on March 17. Tarun leads the club with 23 goals this season. Fizer is 2nd on the team with 18 power play points (10g, 8a). Fizer is tied for 2nd on the team with 192 shots on goal and is tied for 2nd with 41 points.

Jared Power Scored First Professional Goal

Forward Jared Power scored his first professional goal 16:03 into the second period on March 24 vs Cincinnati. Power got his first multiple point game as a pro on Friday night with 1 goal and 1 assist.

Recent Transactions

March 26 – Forward Brandon Cutler was reassigned to the Grizzlies from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Cutler has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 23 games with Utah this season. Cutler has played in the AHL with Belleville, Hartford and Colorado this season. Cutler scored a goal for Utah on March 26 vs Cincinnati.

March 16 – Grizzlies traded the ECHL rights to Andrew Nielsen to Cincinnati for the ECHL rights to forward Mason Mannek and future considerations. Nielsen is currently playing for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Nielsen leads the Grizzlies with 32 assists this season. Mannek scored 23 goals and 26 assists for Utah in the 2021-2022 season. Mannek is currently out of pro hockey as he is going to school.

Grizzlies Offense Has Been Rolling

Utah has scored 74 goals over their last 19 games for an average of 3.89 per game.

Grizzlies Player Notes

Cameron Wright leads the league with 8 game winning goals. Wright leads all league rookies with 243 shots. Wright leads Utah with 49 points (21g, 28a). Wright has 11 points (3g, 8a) in 11 games in March.

Tarun Fizer is tied for 3rd among rookies with 10 power play goals. Fizer leads Utah with 23 goals.

Jordan Martel has 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 games. Martel has 11 points (5g, 6a) in his last 8 games. 

Jared Power scored his first professional goal on March 24 vs Cincinnati. 

Keaton Jameson has 4 points (1g, 3a) in his last 3 games.

Connor McDonald is a +13 in his last 18 games.

Aaron Thow had 2 goals and 2 assists at Wichita on March 3.

Dylan Fitze has 47 shots on goal in 11 games in March. Fitze has 2 goals and 2 assists in March. Fitze is 1 of 2 players to appear in every game this season.

Grizzlies Out With Injuries

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.

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 Raabe suffered an upper body injury on March 19 at Allen.

Cory Thomas has been out of the Grizzlies lineup since February 4 vs Allen. Thomas has 3 assists and 27 shots on goal in 32 games this season.

Team Notes 

Utah is 20-6 when scoring first. Utah has scored 74 goals in their last 18 games. Utah is among league leaders with 1212 penalty minutes. Utah is 12-1 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 22-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 13-4-3 in one goal games. Utah is 20-8-3 in games decided by 1 or 2 goals. Utah has a point in 8 of their last 10 road games. The Grizz have standings points in 12 of their last 19 games. Utah is averaging 38.36 shots per game in their last 19 contests.