Grizzlies Gameday: Huge Game 4 at Maverik Center. Utah Leads Series 2-1

Grizzlies Gameday: Huge Game 4 at Maverik Center. Utah Leads Series 2-1

Idaho Steelheads at Utah Grizzlies. Game 4 of the Mountain Division Semifinals

Maverik Center 7:10 pm. Utah leads the series 2-1.

Video Stream – FloHockey.TV - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/10888771-2023-idaho-steelheads-vs-utah-grizzlies

Audio Broadcast - The Utah Grizzlies YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@THEUTAHGRIZZLIES

The Utah Grizzlies host the Idaho Steelheads for game 4 of the Mountain Division Semifinals. Utah leads the series 2 games to 1. The road team has won all 3 games in the series. The road team has won each of the last 6 playoff games between Utah and Idaho. The winning team has scored 3 goals in each of the 3 games in the series.

#1 Idaho Steelheads (58-11-3) vs. #4 Utah Grizzlies (35-33-4)Game 1 – Utah 3 Idaho 0 – Trent Miner 43 save shutout. Jordan Martel had 1 goal and 1 assist. Dakota Raabe and Kyle Betts each scored a goal. Idaho outshot Utah 43 to 24. Utah was 0 for 2 on the power play and 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.Game 2 – Utah 3 Idaho 2 – Trent Miner saved 29 of 31. Kyle Mayhew had 1 goal and 1 assist. Dylan Fitze and Tarun Fizer added goals. Utah was 1 for 4 on the power play and 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.Game 3 – Idaho 3 Utah 2 (Overtime) – Idaho’s Willie Knierim scored the game winner 26 seconds into overtime. Idaho outshot Utah 37 to 27. Idaho was 1 for 7 on the power play. Utah was 1 for 8. The Grizz scored 2 second period goals 28 seconds apart. Cameron Wright on the power play 8:16 in. Dylan Fitze scored from the left wing 8:44 in. Idaho got regulation goals from Wade Murphy and Colton Kehler.Game 4 – Friday, April 28 at 7:10 p.m. MT at UtahGame 5 – Saturday, April 29 at 7:10 p.m. MT at UtahGame 6 – Monday, May 1 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho (If Necessary)Game 7 – Tuesday, May 2 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho (If Necessary)

• Utah has outscored Idaho 8-5 in the first 3 games of the series. Utah has a goal from 7 different skaters.
• Utah is 2 for 14 on the power play and 14 for 15 on the penalty kill through 3 games.
• The Grizz outscored the Steelheads 4 to 2 in the third periods of the first 3 games.
• Brandon Cutler leads Utah with 17 shots on goal. The next highest total on the club is Jordan Martel with 9.
• The Grizzlies and Steelheads met 18 times in the regular season. The road team won 10 times. In this series the road team has won all 3 games.

Utah Grizzlies 2023 Kelly Cup Playoff Roster

Forwards (13): Kyle Betts, Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Tarun Fizer, Keaton Jameson, Jordan Martel, Mick Messner, Tyler Penner, Dakota Raabe, Nolan Ritchie, Zach Tsekos, Johnny Walker, Cameron Wright.

Defenseman (8): Brycen Martin, Luke Martin, Kyle Mayhew, Connor McDonald, Kyle Pouncy, James Shearer, Cory Thomas, Aaron Thow.

Goaltenders (3): Garrett Metcalf, Trent Miner, Lukas Parik. 

Trent Miner Has Been Dominant

Trent Miner saved all 43 shots he saw in game 1’s 3-0 win. In game 2 Miner stopped 29 of 31 in a 3-2 victory. In game 3 he saved 34 of 37 in an overtime loss. In his last 4 games Miner has stopped 137 of 142 shots for a .964 save percentage. Miner was named the Grizzlies team MVP for the 2022-2023 season.

Balanced Scoring Attack for Utah

The Grizzlies scoring attack was very balanced in the first 3 games of the first round series. 8 Grizzlies skaters are tied for the club lead with 2 points in the series. Dylan Fitze leads Utah with 2 goals. 6 other Grizzlies have 1 goal. Keaton Jameson, Tyler Penner and Aaron Thow are each tied for the club lead with 2 assists. 8 other Grizzlies skaters have 1 assist in the series.

Utah’s Plus Performers of the Series

Keaton Jameson and Tyler Penner are each a team leading +3 in the playoffs. Both players have been key glue guys for the Grizzlies all season. Jordan Martel is a +1 in the series. Martel was a team leading +12 for Utah in 45 games in the regular season.

Kyle Betts Has Made an Impact

Kyle Betts has been outstanding for the Grizzlies after he was released from the Belleville Senators on April 10th. Betts played in the first weekend of action for Utah this season before signing with the Senators. Betts appeared in 40 games with Belleville and had 1 goal and 2 assists. In 3 games last week against Tulsa, Betts had 5 assists. He had 2 assists on both April 12th and 14th and 1 assist on April 15th. Betts scored a goal 1:54 into the third period of Utah’s 3-0 game 1 win. Betts has 1 goal and 1 assist in the series. He has taken 6 shots in 3 games in the series.

Grizzlies Ironmen

There are 2 players who appeared in all 72 games this season: Dylan Fitze and Tyler Penner. Penner was 1 of 2 Grizzlies along with Mason Mannek, who appeared in all 72 games last season. Fitze has not missed a game for Utah since joining the club via a trade with Orlando on March 24, 2022. Fitze finished 4th on the club with 17 goals and is 5th in points with 38.

2023 Utah Grizzlies Kelly Cup Playoffs Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 2-1

Home record: 0-0-1. Utah went 19-17 at home this season.

Road record: 1-0. Utah won 3 regular season games at Idaho Central Arena. Idaho was 25-1 at home vs teams other than Utah.

Win percentage: .667

Streak: Lost 1.  

Goals per game: 2.67 Goals for: 8

Goals against per game: 1.67  Goals Allowed: 5

Shots per game: 27.67

Shots against per game: 37.00

Power Play: 2 for 14

Penalty Kill: 14 for 15

Penalty Minutes: 50. 16.67 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 0

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 0 

Record When Scoring First: 2-0

Opposition Scores First: 0-0-1

Record in One Goal Games: 1-0-1

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout       TOTAL                     

Utah Grizzlies     1           3                      4                      0                               8          

Opposition           1           1                      2                      1                               5

Team Leaders (2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs)

Goals: Dylan Fitze (2)

Assists: Keaton Jameson/Tyler Penner/Aaron Thow (2)

Points: 8 tied with 2.

Plus/Minus: Jameson/Penner (+3)

PIM: Cameron Wright (13)

Power Play Points: Many tied with 1

Power Play Goals: Tarun Fizer/Wright (1)

Power Play Assists: Kyle Betts/Kyle Mayhew/Luke Martin/Nolan Ritchie (1)

Shots on Goal: Brandon Cutler (17)  

Shooting Percentage: Kyle Mayhew/Dakota Raabe (50%) – 1 for 2

Game Winning Goals: Fitze/Raabe (1)

Wins: Trent Miner (2)

Save %: Miner (.955).

Goals Against Average: Miner (1.66)

Shutouts: Miner (1)