Grizzlies Weekly: Final Week of the Regular Season

Grizzlies Weekly: Grizz Battle for Playoff Spot in Final Week of the Regular Season

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies host the Tulsa Oilers in the final 3 games of the regular season at Maverik Center this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 7:10 pm.

Jordan Martel has been awesome for the Grizzlies over the last month. “The Rooster” has a goal in 7 straight games and 15 points (10 goals, 5 assists) in his last 10 games. Martel is a +10 since joining the Grizzlies on December 15, 2022. Keaton Jameson is another player on a roll as he has a point in 8 of his last 9 games.

The Grizzlies have 68 standings points and are currently tied for 5th place in the Mountain division with Rapid City. Utah is 2 points behind Kansas City and Wichita, who are tied for 3rd. 2nd place Allen clinched a playoff spot and have 75 standings points with 3 games remaining.

Utah went 2-1 at Tulsa in January. Last season Utah defeated Tulsa 4 games to 3 in the first round of the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs. There are 11 players on the current Grizzlies roster who appeared in games in the Tulsa playoff series last season.

Tickets for the remaining games of the 2022-2023 regular season are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. Saturday night is Fan Appreciation Night as well as Star Wars Night for the final game of the regular season.

Games Remaining in the Regular Season

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Bud Light College Night.

Friday, April 14, 2023 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. AFCU Friday.

Saturday, April 15, 2023 – Tulsa at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Fan Appreciation and Star Wars Night.

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

All Times Mountain.

Last Week’s Games

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 Utah 2 Idaho 3 (Overtime) - Utah was trailing 2-1 at Idaho late in the third period when Luke Martin scored the game tying goal with 1:10 left in regulation. Idaho went on to win 20 seconds into overtime as Ty Pelton-Byce scored on a rebound on the right wing. Jordan Martel scored the Optum first goal 10:43 in. Cody Haiskanen scored 2 unanswered goals for Idaho late in the first period. Jade Miller had an assist on both of Idaho’s regulation goals. Both teams went 0 for 1 on the power play. Utah outshot Idaho 33 to 29. Utah is 5-4 in games decided past regulation.

Friday, April 7, 2023 Utah 1 Idaho 2 – Jordan Martel scored a goal for the 6th straight game as he lit the lamp 10:40 into the first period. Utah maintained a 1-0 lead until AJ White scored shorthanded 7:33 into the third period. Wade Murphy scored the game winner for Idaho 16:38 into the third. White had 1 goal and 1 assist. Idaho outshot Utah 47 to 28. Utah was 0 for 2 on the power play. Idaho was 0 for 3. Brandon Cutler led Utah with 6 shots. Martel had 5 shots. It was only the second time this season that the Grizzlies lost when leading after the first and second periods. It was the first time this season the Grizzlies lost in a game where they allowed less than 3 goals.

Saturday, April 8, 2023 – Idaho 3 Utah 2 -  Dylan Fitze and Jordan Martel each scored for Utah. Both teams went 0 for 2 on the power play. Idaho outshot Utah 32 to 28. Garrett Metcalf saved 29 of 32 for Utah.

Mountain Division Playoff Picture

Utah is tied for 5th with Rapid City in the Mountain division standings with 68 standings points. Utah has 27 wins in regulation, which is the league’s number one tie-breaker. Utah has the advantage over Kansas City (26), Rapid City (26) and Wichita (23). Allen became the second team in the Mountain division to clinch a playoff spot after they defeated Tulsa 5-2 on Sunday afternoon.

Remaining Schedules for the 4 teams battling for the 2 remaining playoff spots

Wichita – 2 games (1 home, 1 away) – Wichita has 70 points and are tied for 3rd place in the division. Allen at Wichita on April 14, Wichita at Allen on April 15. Wichita is 6-5-1 vs Allen this season.

Kansas City – 3 games (2 home, 1 away) – KC has 70 points and are tied with Wichita for 3rd place. KC at Allen on April 12. KC hosts Cincinnati on April 14-15. KC has lost 3 straight games.

Utah – 3 games (3 home) – Utah has 68 points and are tied for 5th in the division. Utah hosts Tulsa on April 12, 14-15.

Rapid City – 3 games (3 home) – RC has 68 points and are tied with Utah for 5th place. The Rush host Idaho on April 12, 14-15.

Grizzlies Standouts

Jordan Martel has a goal and a point in 7 straight games. “The Rooster” has 10 goals and 5 assists in his last 10 games. Martel has a point in 12 of his last 14 games (11 goals, 9 assists). Martel is a +8 in his last 10 games. Martel is a +10 in 42 games with Utah.

Tarun Fizer has 7 goals in his last 14 games. Fizer leads Utah with 25 goals and 10 power play goals. The 25 goals are tied for 4th among all league rookies.

Dylan Fitze has 7 points in his last 6 games (2 goals, 5 assists). Fitze is tied for 3rd on the Grizzlies with 17 goals. 

Cameron Wright leads the league with 8 game winning goals. Wright leads all rookies with 267 shots (4th overall). Wright leads the Grizzlies with 13 multiple point games. Wright has 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in his last 7 games. Wright has 84 shots on goal in his last 17 games. Cameron is 8th among league rookies with 56 points.

Keaton Jameson  has a point in 8 of his last 9 games.

Aaron Thow had 5 goals and 3 assists and was a +10 in 5 games vs Wichita this season. Thow is a +15 in his last 25 games. 

Brandon Cutler has a point in 16 of his last 26 games. Cutler has 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 7 games since returning to Utah from the AHL. 

Connor McDonald is +16 in his last 23 games. 

Luke Martin has a goal in 4 of his last 6 ECHL games. Martin had 3 goals and 2 assists in 3 games against Utah in December 2022 when he played with Jacksonville.

James Shearer is a +7 since the beginning of March.

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah went 16-16-4 on the road. They picked up 36 of a possible 72 points for an even .500 record on the road. The 16 road wins are the 3rd most in the Mountain Division. Idaho has 23 road wins and Allen has 18. Last season the Grizzlies had 19 road wins, which was the most of any Mountain division teams. 

Utah is 2-1 vs Tulsa this season. Utah has scored 98 goals over their last 25 games. Utah is 21-7-1 when scoring first. The Grizz are 13-6-4 in one goal games. Utah is 21-10-4 in games decided by 1 or 2 goals. Utah is 24-2 when leading after 2 periods. Utah has a point in 9 of their last 12 road games. The Grizz have standings points in 16 of their last 25 games. Utah is averaging 38.10 shots per game in their last 25 contests.

Recent Transactions

April 7 – Grizzlies sign Forward Nolan Ritchie - Ritchie played in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings for 5 seasons from 2018-2029. Ritchie had a breakthrough 2021-2022 season with Brandon, where he scored 33 goals, 43 assists and a +15 rating in 66 games. Ritchie had 70 points (27 goals, 43 assists) in 67 games with Brandon in the 2022-2023 season. Ritchie was the captain of the Wheat Kings during the 2022-2023 season. He averaged exactly 1 point per game in his 5 year WHL career with 185 points (76 goals, 109 assists) in 185 games. Ritchie will wear number 61 for Utah.

April 4 – Grizzlies Sign Forward Mick Messner - Messner started his college career at the University of Wisconsin and played there for 2 years from 2018-2020. He transferred to Merrimack College, where he spent 3 seasons there from 2020-2023. Messner played with current Grizzlies forward Christian Simeone during the 2020-2021 season. Messner had 5 goals, 4 assists and a +6 rating in 35 games with Merrimack this season. Messner majored in Business at Merrimack. Messner will wear number 25, which is the same number former Grizzlies forward Vladislav Mikhalchuk wore.

April 3 – Grizzlies sign defenseman Kyle Mayhew - Mayhew was a key defenseman on the DU 2022 national championship club, where he was a teammate with current Grizzlies forward Cameron Wright. Mayhew was a combined +51 in 5 seasons at Denver, where he scored 6 goals and 29 assists in 153 games. Mayhew is from Anaheim Hills, California and is listed at 5’8” and 160 pounds. Mayhew will wear number 6 for Utah.

April 3 – Defenseman Luke Martin reassigned to Utah – In 26 ECHL games this season Martin has 9 goals and 17 assists.

April 3 – Grizzlies released forward Vladislav Mikhalchuk – He appeared in 31 games for Utah, scoring 4 goals and 8 assists. 

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

Overall record: 32-33-4

Home record: 16-17

Road record: 16-16-4

Win percentage: .493

Streak: Lost 3

Standings Points: 68

Last 10: 3-6-1

Goals per game: 3.12 (19th) Goals for: 215

Goals against per game: 3.70 (23rd) Goals Against: 255

Shots per game: 31.88 (12th)

Shots against per game: 34.71 (25th)

Power Play: 56 for 321 – 17.4 % (21st) 

Penalty Kill: 235 for 297 – 79.1 % (Tied 17th)

Penalty Minutes: 1274. 18.46 per game. (2nd most in the league)

Shorthanded Goals: 5.

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 13. 

Record When Scoring First: 21-7-1.

Opposition Scores First: 11-26-3.  

Record in One Goal Games: 13-6-4.

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout       TOTAL                     

Utah Grizzlies     66         82                   62                   5                               215                            

Opposition           82         85                   84                   4                               255

Team Leaders (2022-23 Regular season)

Goals: Tarun Fizer (25). 

Assists: Andrew Nielsen/Cameron Wright (32). 

Points: Wright (56).

Plus/Minus: Jordan Martel/Connor McDonald (+10)

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 (267). 

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

Game Winning Goals: Wright (8) – Leads league.

Wins: Trent Miner (14)

Save %: Miner (.907).

Goals Against Average: Miner (3.19)

Shutouts: Miner (2)

Active Streaks 

Goal Streaks: Jordan Martel (7) Dylan Fitze (1)

Assist Streaks: Keaton Jameson, Nolan Ritchie (1)

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Martel (7)

Best Grizzlies Home Attendances in the 2022-2023 Season

10,397 – January 28, 2023 – RC at Utah.

8,136 – March 11, 2023 – KC at Utah.

7382 – January 27, 2023 – RC at Utah.

7164 – March 24, 2023 – Cincinnati at Utah.

6941 – February 24, 2023 – Allen at Utah.

6927 – December 30, 2022 – Idaho at Utah.

6843 – April 8, 2023 – Idaho at Utah.

6494 – December 17, 2022 – KC at Utah.

6415 – February 4, 2023 – Allen at Utah.

6349 – November 18, 2022 – Idaho at Utah.

6325 – December 28, 2022 – Idaho at Utah. – Best Grizzlies Wednesday home crowd in 10 years.