Grizzlies Gameday: April Fools Saturday at the Mav

Grizzlies Gameday: Series Finale at Maverik Center

Wichita Thunder (30-30-6, 66 points, .500 Win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (31-31-3, 65 points, .500 Win %) 

Saturday, April 1, 2023. 7:10 pm. Venue: Maverik Center

Broadcast: Video: FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/7761255-2023-wichita-thunder-vs-utah-grizzlies

Audio: youtube.com/UTAHGRIZZLIES.

It’s the last of a three game series between the Grizzlies and Thunder. Utah has won 9 in a row against Wichita dating back to the start of the 2021-2022 season. Utah went 8-5 in the month of March. Cameron Wright has a point in 14 of his last 18 games. Wright has 11 goals and 10 assists in his last 18 games. Tarun Fizer has 7 goals in his last 10 games. Fizer had 64 shots on goal in 13 games in March. Utah has taken 205 shots in 4 games vs Wichita this season. Utah has scored 88 goals over their last 21 games. Keaton Jameson has a point in 5 straight games (3 goals, 5 assists). Jordan Martel has 6 goals and 4 assists in his last 6 games.

Games This Week

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 – Wichita 5 Utah 8 – Keaton Jameson scored 2 goals and 1 assist. Tarun Fizer, Jordan Martel, Johnny Walker and Cameron Wright each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Dylan Fitze had 3 assists. Aaron Thow and Walker were each a +4. 15 of the 17 Utah skaters scored a point or more in the contest. Utah outshot Wichita 50 to 30. Wichita was 3 for 6 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 4.

Friday, March 31, 2023 – Wichita 3 Utah 6 – Tarun Fizer and Brandon Cutler each had 1 goal and 2 assists. Jordan Martel and Aaron Thow each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Tyler Penner scored the game winner 11:47 into the third period. Cory Thomas had 3 assists and a +4 rating. Utah outshot Wichita 47 to 34. Wichita went 1 for 5 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 2. Lukas Parik stopped 31 of 34 to earn his 11th win of the season.

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 has 1 goal and 5 assists in 3 games vs Wichita.
• Utah is 9-0 against Wichita since the start of the 2021-2022 season.
• The Grizzlies have taken 205 shots in 4 games vs Wichita.  
• Aaron Thow has 3 goals, 4 assists and a +9 rating in 4 games vs Wichita.
• Dylan Fitze, Tarun Fizer and Cameron Wright each has 2 goals and 5 assists vs Wichita this season. Keaton Jameson and Jordan Martel each has 3 goals and 3 assists vs Wichita. Brandon Cutler and Tyler Penner each have 2 goals and 2 assists vs the Thunder.
• Wichita’s Jay Dickman has 4 goals and 1 assist vs Utah this season.

Grizzlies Tie a Team Record

The Grizzlies scored 6 goals in the second period on Wednesday night in an 8-5 victory over Wichita. The 6 goals tied a team record for the most goals scored in a single period. The last time Utah scored 6 in one period was on November 13, 1995 vs Chicago, a game Utah won 8-1.

Games Next Week

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.

Friday, April 7, 2023 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.

Saturday, April 8, 2023 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. AAPI Night.

Something Changed on February 11th

Utah has taken 826 shots over their last 21 games for an average of 39.33. 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 31.95 shots per game for the season and are currently 14th in the league.

The more shots and scoring chances has translated into goals as Utah is averaging 4.19 goals per game in their last 21 contests (88 goals). Prior to February 11th Utah averaged 2.66 goals per game (117 goals).

Grizzlies Player Notes

Cameron Wright leads the league with 8 game winning goals. Wright leads all league rookies and is 4th overall with 255 shots. Wright leads Utah with 52 points (23g, 29a). Wright had 14 points (5g, 9a) in 13 games in March.He is tied for 2nd on the club with 18 power play points (6g, 12a).

Tarun Fizer is 4th among rookies with 10 power play goals. Fizer leads Utah with 25 goals.Fizer has 7 goals in his last 10 games. Fizer is 2nd on the club with 203 shots and is also 2nd with 46 points. Fizer took 64 shots in 13 games in March.

Jordan Martel has 6 goals and 4 assists in his last 6 games. The Rooster has 15 points (7g, 8a) in his last 10 games. Martel is a +8 in his last 14 games.

Keaton Jameson has 8 points (3g, 5a) in his last 5 games.Jameson was the number 1 star in Utah’s 8-5 win over Wichita on March 29 as he scored 2 goals and 1 assist. Jameson is on a current 5 game point streak, which is the longest streak of his pro career.

Brandon Cutler has a goal in 3 straight games after being released from a PTO with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Cutler has 8 points in his last 4 games with Utah (3 goals, 5 assists). Cutler has 14 shots on goal over his last 3 games.

Connor McDonald is a +14 in his last 20 games.

Aaron Thow had 2 goals and 2 assists at Wichita on March 3. Thow is a +15 in his last 21 games. Thow has 3 goals and 4 assists and a +9 rating in 4 games vs Wichita.

Dylan Fitze had 50 shots on goal in 13 games in March. Fitze had 2 goals and 6 assists in March. Fitze is 1 of 2 players to appear in every game this season. Fitze had 3 assists vs Wichita on March 29 and 1 assist on March 31.

Cory Thomas returned to the Grizzlies lineup on Wednesday night for the first time since Feb. 4. Thomas had 1 assist. On March 31st Thomas had 3 assists and was a +4. It was his first multiple point game as a professional.

Jared Power scored his first professional goal on March 24 vs Cincinnati. Power has 6 points (1g, 5a) and a +3 rating in 12 games as a pro.

Team Notes 

 Utah is 21-6 when scoring first. Utah has scored 88 goals in their last 21 games. Utah is 2nd in the league with 1240 penalty minutes. Utah is 13-1 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 23-1 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 14 of their last 21 games. Utah is averaging 39.33 shots per game in their last 21 contests. 

March Leaders

Utah went 8-5 in March. Cameron Wright leads Utah with 14 points in 12 games in March (5 goals, 9 assists). Wright also leads Utah with 72 shots on goal in the month. Keaton Jameson had 5 goals and 7 assists in March. Tarun Fizer led Utah with 7 goals in the month. Aaron Thow has the best plus/minus in March at +8. James Shearer was a +7. Jordan Martel had 6 goals and 4 assists in 7 games in March.

Playoff Race Heats Up

Utah is currently in 5th place in the Mountain Division standings. They have 65 points this season. The Grizz are 1 point behind Allen and Wichita for a tie for 3rd place and 3 points behind second place Kansas City. Utah is 3 points ahead of 6th place Rapid City. 5 of the final 7 games in the regular season will be at Maverik Center. Utah plays Wichita on Saturday night, followed by 2 games at Idaho, 1 game at home vs Idaho and Utah hosts Tulsa for the final 3 games of the regular season.

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

Overall record: 31-31-3

Home record: 15-16

Road record: 16-15-3

Win percentage: .500

Streak: Won 2

Standings Points: 65

Last 10: 5-5

Goals per game: 3.15 (18th) Goals for: 205

Goals against per game: 3.75 (23rd) Goals Against: 244

Shots per game: 31.95 (14th)

Shots against per game: 34.69 (24th)

Power Play: 56 for 313 – 17.9 % (Tied 20th)  

Penalty Kill: 227 for 288 – 78.8 % (17th)

Penalty Minutes: 1240. 19.08 per game. (2nd most in the league)

Shorthanded Goals: 5.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 12. 

Record When Scoring First: 21-6.

Opposition Scores First: 10-25-3.  

Record in One Goal Games: 13-4-3.

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout       TOTAL                     

Utah Grizzlies     61         79                   60                   5                               205                            

Opposition           76         83                   82                   3                               244

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Tarun Fizer (25). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen (32). 

Points: Wright (52).

Plus/Minus: Connor McDonald (+8)

PIM: Johnny Walker (171)

Power Play Points: Nielsen (26)

Power Play Goals: Tarun Fizer (10)

Power Play Assists: Nielsen (20). 

Shots on Goal: Cameron Wright (255). 

Shooting Percentage: Johnny Walker (18.5 %) 12 for 65.   

Game Winning Goals: Wright (8)

Wins: Trent Miner (13)

Save %: Miner (.904).

Goals Against Average: Miner (3.24)

Shutouts: Miner (2)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Brandon Cutler, Jordan Martel (3) Tarun Fizer, Cameron Wright (2) Tyler Penner, Aaron Thow (1)

Assist Streaks: Jameson (5) Fitze, Fizer, Martel, Cory Thomas, Thow (2) Cutler (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Jameson (5), Cutler (4) Martel, Wright (3) Fitze, Fizer, Penner, Thomas, Thow (2)