Grizzlies Gameday: Wednesday Night Showdown vs Wichita

Wichita Thunder (3-5-1, 7 points, .389 Win %) at Utah Grizzlies (2-2, 4 points, .500 Win %) 

Date: November 8, 2023  Venue: Maverik Center. 

Game Time: 7:10 pm. 

Streaming/TV: FloHockey - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11052963-2023-wichita-thunder-vs-utah-grizzlies

Audio/Radio: Utah Grizzlies YouTube channel. - https://www.youtube.com/@THEUTAHGRIZZLIES

Tonight’s Matchup 

The Utah Grizzlies host the Wichita Thunder for a three-game series on November 8, 10-11. Face-off all three nights is at 7:10 pm. The Grizzlies were off last week as they didn’t have any games scheduled. Utah is 2-2 on the regular season with all 4 games being played at Maverik Center. Tonight is game 5 of a 7 game homestand for the Grizzlies. Utah has had a ton of success against Wichita as they are 10-0 in the Ryan Kinasewich era. The Grizz are 20-2 all-time at Maverik Center vs Wichita. 

Transactions

November 6 – Goaltender Trent Miner reassigned from Colorado to Utah. 

November 3 - Goaltender Trent Miner was recalled by the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on November 3. 

October 31 - Brett Stapley was reassigned to the Grizzlies from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Last season Stapley spent his first year as a professional with the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions, where he scored 52 points (11 goals, 41 assists) in 57 games.  Stapley signed an AHL contract with the Colorado Eagles for the 2023-2024 season.

October 30 - Defenseman Gianni Fairbrother and forward Ryan Sandelin were recalled to Colorado (AHL). 

Games This Week

Wednesday, November 8, 2023 – Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Bud Light College Night. 

Friday, November 10, 2023 – Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Third Annual Pride Night. Pooch on the Pond. AFCU Friday. 

Saturday, November 11, 2023 – Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. 

Games Last Week 

Utah had a bye week. The previous week the Grizzlies hosted Idaho for a 2 game series. 

Friday, October 27, 2023 – Idaho 5 Utah 4 – Nathan Burke had 1 goal and 1 assist to lead Utah. Kyle Betts had 3 assists. Gianni Fairbrother had 2 assists. Kyle Mayhew, Jordan Martel and captain Josh Wesley each added a goal for the Grizz. Idaho was led by Cody Haiskanen, who had 4 assists. Keaton Mastrodonato had 1 goal and 1 assist. Patrick Kudla was a +4. 

Saturday, October 28, 2023 – Idaho 4 Utah 1 – Cole Gallant scored his first goal in a Utah uniform. Idaho outshot Utah 35 to 33. Utah was 5 for 5 on the penalty kill. Trent Miner saved 31 of 34. Brandon Cutler led Utah with 9 shots on goal.

Individual Notes 

Garrett Metcalf got his first professional shutout on October 22 in Utah's 1-0 win. Metcalf won the ECHL Goaltender of the Week award. Brandon Cutler has a point in 3 of his first 4 games of the season. Cutler leads the Grizzlies with 22 shots on goal. Tyler Penner has appeared in 148 straight regular season games since the start of the 2021-22 season. Dylan Fitze had an 81 straight game streak end on October 27.  Gallant scored his first goal in a Utah uniform on October 28. Dean Yakura scored an assist on October 28. At 38 years old he is the oldest player in Grizzlies history to score a point. 

Bear Bites (Grizzlies Team Notes)

Utah is the only team in the league who have not played a road game this season. Utah had a crowd of 6526 in their regular season opener on October 21. Utah is home for 10 of their first 13 games in the regular season. Utah has outshot opponents 40 to 34 in the third period(s). Utah is 10-0 vs Wichita over the last 2 seasons. Utah is averaging a league low 5.50 penalty minutes per game. 

2023-2024 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings) 

Overall record: 2-2

Home record: 2-2

Road record: 16-16-4 (2022-2023) – Grizz first road game is on November 15 at Iowa. 

Win percentage: .500

Streak: Lost 2 

Standings Points: 4

Last 10: 2-2

Goals per game: 2.75 (Tied 21^st)  Goals for: 11

Goals against per game: 3.00 (Tied 8^th) Goals Against: 12

Shots per game: 30.00 (17^th)

Shots against per game: 35.50 (24^th)

Power Play: 2 for 13 – 15.4 % (19^th) 

Penalty Kill: 8 for 10 – 80.0 % (Tied 15^th)

Penalty Minutes: 22. 5.50 per game. (3^rd fewest) 

Shorthanded Goals: 1 

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 1.  

Record When Scoring First: 2-0. Utah was 24-7-1 last year. 

Opposition Scores First: 0-2. Utah was 11-26-3 last year.   

Record in One Goal Games: 1-1. Last year Utah played in 23 one goal games and had a 13-6-4 record.

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout      TOTAL                      

Utah Grizzlies    3           4                      4                      0                               11         

Opposition           3           4                      5                      0                               12

Team Leaders 

Goals: Nathan Burke/Brandon Cutler/Kyle Mayhew (2). 

Assists: Kyle Betts (4)

Points: Betts (5).

Plus/Minus: Many at +1

PIM: Nathan Burke/Jordan Martel/Mick Messner (4)

Power Play Points: Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Keoni Texeira (1) 

Power Play Goals: Mayhew/Texeira (1)

Power Play Assists: Betts/Cutler/Gianni Fairbrother/Fitze (1). 

Shots on Goal: Cutler (22). 

Shooting Percentage: Kyle Mayehw (33.3%) 2 for 6.    

Game Winning Goals: Cutler, Mayhew (1) 

Wins: Garrett Metcalf/Trent Miner (1)

Save %: Metcalf (.931) 

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (2.52) 

Shutouts: Metcalf (1)

Multiple Point Games 

Kyle Betts: 2 

Nathan Burke: 1

Brandon Cutler: 1 

Gianni Fairbrother:1

Streaks 

Goals: Cole Gallant (1)

Assists: Gianni Fairbrother (2), Dean Yakura (1)

Points – 2 or more: Fairbrother (2)

Utah Grizzlies 2023-2024 Roster

Forwards (13): Kyle Betts, Nathan Burke, Cody Caron, Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Cole Gallant, Jordan Martel, Mick Messner, Tyler Penner, Jared Power, Dakota Raabe, Brett Stapley, Dean Yakura. 

Defenseman (9): Kade Jensen, Kyle Mayhew, Jacob Semik, Jordon Stone, Keoni Texeira, Cory Thomas, Michael Underwood, Josh Wesley, Bryan Yoon. 

Goaltenders (3): Dante Giannuzzi, Garrett Metcalf, Trent Miner.