Grizzlies Gameday: Utah is on to Cincinnati for Wednesday Night Battle

Grizzlies Gameday: Grizzlies are on to Cincinnati for Wednesday Night Game

Utah Grizzlies (8-11, 16 points, .421 Win %) at Cincinnati Cyclones (10-9-1, 21 points, .525 Win %) 

Date: December 13, 2023  Venue: Heritage Bank Arena

Game Time: 5:35 pm. 

Streaming/TV: FloHockey - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11053555-2023-utah-grizzlies-vs-cincinnati-cyclones 

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

Wednesday’s Matchup

The Utah Grizzlies are at Heritage Bank Arena for the only time this season as they take on the Cincinnati Cyclones. Nathan Burke leads Utah with 17 points this season (9 goals, 8 assists). Burke had 4 goals and 3 assists in the three-game series last week vs Allen. Cole Gallant has been on fire as he has 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in his last 4 games. Mick Messner has 7 goals and 4 assists in his last 10 games. Messner has a goal in 3 straight games. Brett Stapley has 7 assists in 6 games in December. It’s the sixth all-time meeting between Utah and Cincinnati in this league’s era. Utah is 2-3 vs Cincinnati. 

Games This Week

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 – Utah at Cincinnati. 5:35 pm. Heritage Bank Arena. 

Friday, December 15, 2023 – Utah at Fort Wayne. 6:00 pm. Memorial Coliseum. 

Saturday, December 16, 2023 – Utah at Fort Wayne. 5:30 pm. Memorial Coliseum. 

Sunday, December 17, 2023 – Utah at Fort Wayne. 3:00 pm. Memorial Coliseum. 

All Times Mountain. 

Tickets for every Grizzlies home game is available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. 

Games Last Week

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 – Allen 2 Utah 5 – Nathan Burke had 2 goals and 1 assist. Adam Berg and Mick Messner each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Brandon Cutler added an empty net goal. Dante Giannuzzi got his first pro win as he stopped 34 of 36. 

Friday, December 8, 2023 – Allen 5 Utah 3 – Cole Gallant had 2 goals and 1 assist. Brett Stapley had 2 assists. Allen’s Easton Brodzinski had 3 goals and was a +3. Colby McAuley added 1 goal and 1 assist. Allen goalie Mark Sinclair saved 30 of 33. 

Saturday, December 9, 2023 – Allen 3 Utah 7 – Nathan Burke had 2 goals and 1 assist. Mick Messner had 2 goals. Brandon Cutler and Kyle Mayhew had 1 goal and 1 assist. Dante Giannuzzi saved 25 of 28. 

Grizzlies and Cyclones Connections

Grizzlies forwards Adam Berg and Cody Caron both played with Cincinnati in the 2022-23 season. Caron was acquired by Utah in an off-season trade and he made his Grizzlies debut on December 9^th vs Allen. Berg was acquired by Utah in a trade on November 25^th for future considerations. Berg had 1 goal and 1 assist vs Allen on December 6. 

Cincinnati’s Luka Burzan played in 41 games with the Grizzlies in the 2021-22 season. Burzan had 13 goals and 18 assists in the regular season and 2 goals and 2 assists in 11 games in the 2022 playoffs. Defenseman Cole Fraser played in 27 games for Utah in the 2020-21 season, scoring 2 goals, 1 assist and 73 penalty minutes.

Grizzlies Acquire Quinn Wichers in Trade with Wheeling 

The Utah Grizzlies have acquired defenseman Quinn Wichers and future considerations in a trade with the Wheeling Nailers for Jordan Martel. 

Wichers has played in 3 games with the Wheeling Nailers this season. Prior to that he spent 2 seasons with the Rapid City Rush from 2021-2023, scoring 3 goals and 17 assists in 93 games. He also had 4 assists for the Rush in 11 games in the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs. He also has 16 games of AHL experience with the Tucson Roadrunners in the 2021-22 season and 10 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in the 2022-23 campaign. 

Wichers appeared in 15 regular season games and 6 contests in the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs against the Grizzlies while he was a member of the Rapid City Rush. 

He played at Mercyhurst College from 2017-2021. He was a teammate with current Grizzlies goaltender Garrett Metcalf for 2 seasons at Mercyhurst. Wichers was the captain at Mercyhurst in the 2019-20 season. 

Martel had 6 goals and 5 assists in 16 games with Utah this season. Martel had 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) in 45 games last season. 

Will Cranley Assigned to Utah from Springfield

Goaltender Will Cranley was sent to the Grizzlies from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Cranley played in 6 games with the ECHL’s Reading Royals, where he had a 3.55 GAA and a .893 save percentage. Cranley had previously been on the roster for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 6^th round (163^rd overall) in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Cranley signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues in March 2, 2022. 

Dante Giannuzzi Won 2 Games in Net Last Week

Utah goaltender Dante Giannuzzi got his first professional win on Wednesday night vs Allen as he saved 34 of 36 in a 5-2 win. This season he has a 2-5 record with a .903 save percentage and a 3.05 goals against average. In 5 seasons in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks he had a record of 59-32-10 with a .897 save percentage and a 3.07 GAA. The 21 year-old Giannuzzi has appeared in 6 of Utah’s last 7 games. 

Could We Finally See an Overtime Game? 

The Grizzlies are the only team in the league who have yet to play a game past regulation. The Cincinnati Cyclones have appeared in 4 games past regulation this season and they have a 3-1 record in those games. Last season the Grizzlies had 9 games decided past regulation. They were 3-4 when the game ended in OT and 2-0 when it ended in a shootout. 

Recent Transactions

December 12 – Utah trades forward Jordan Martel to the Wheeling Nailers for Quinn Wichers and Future Considerations. 

December 11 – Utah receives goaltender Will Cranley, who was reassigned from Springfield (AHL). 

December 6 – Utah signs forward Patriks Marcinkevics. He will wear number 8 for Utah. 

November 25 – Utah acquired forward Adam Berg in a trade with Cincinnati. 

November 25 – Goaltender Trent Miner was recalled to Colorado (AHL). 

November 21 – Utah signs forward Aaron Aragon. Utah released forward Jared Power. 

Grizzlies Player Notes 

Nathan Burke has 4 different games with 3 points this season. Burke has 8 points (4g, 4a) in his last 4 games. Burke leads Utah with 17 points this season (9g. 8a). Burke had 2 goals and 1 assist on both December 6 and December 9. 

Cole Gallant has 8 points (3g, 5a) in his last 4 games.   

Mick Messner has 7 goals and 4 assists in his last 10 games. Messner is a +7 in his last 10 games. 11 of his 13 points this season have come at home. He has 4 goals on 12 shots over his last 3 games. Messner has a goal in 3 straight games. 

Brett Stapley has a point in 11 of his 14 games with Utah and an assist in 10 of 14 games. Stapley has 4 multiple point games. Stapley has 7 assists in 6 games in December. 

Bryan Yoon leads Utah with a +10 rating. He is a +5 in his last 3 games.  

Kyle Mayhew is tied for 3rd among league defensemen with 5 goals.  

Josh Wesley has 67 shots on goal, 3rd among all league defenseman.  

Patriks Marcinkevics made his pro debut on December 8. 

Cody Caron made his Grizzlies debut on December 9. 

Dante Giannuzzi has appeared in 6 of Utah's last 7 games in net. 

Bear Bites (Grizzlies Team Notes)

Utah is 6-1 when scoring first. Utah is the only team in the league who has not played a game past regulation. Utah is 8-5 at home this season, outscoring opponents 47 to 37. Utah has 4 shorthanded goals this season. Utah has outshot opponents 214 to 175 in the third period. Utah is 5-1 when leading after 1 period and 7-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah had a season high crowd of 7,644 on December 9. They set a team record for Teddy Bears Tossed with 3,647 on December 9. 

Penner Played in 163^rd  Straight Regular Season Game 

On December 9^th the Grizzlies Ironman, Tyler Penner, played in his 163^rd straight regular season game. Penner has appeared in every regular season and playoff game for Utah since the start of the 2021-22 season. The streak is currently 163 regular season contests and 187 games if you include the postseason. Penner’s consecutive game streak is the longest for the Grizzlies in the 21^st century. 

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

Overall record: 8-11

Home record: 8-5

Road record: 0-6

Win percentage: .421

Streak: Won 1

Standings Points: 16

Last 10: 4-6

Goals per game: 3.00 (Tied 19^th)  Goals for: 57

Goals against per game: 3.16 (10^th) Goals Against: 60

Shots per game: 31.74 (11^th)

Shots against per game: 31.68 (15^th)

Power Play: 10 for 58 – 17.2 % (20^th)

Penalty Kill: 42 for 57 – 73.7 % (27^th)

Penalty Minutes: 176. 9.26 per game.  

Shorthanded Goals: 4 

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4.   

Record When Scoring First: 6-1. 

Opposition Scores First: 2-10. 

Record in One Goal Games: 2-4. 

SCORING         1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout      TOTAL                      

Utah Grizzlies     15         24                   18                   0                               57         

Opposition          19         22                   19                   0                               60

Team Leaders 

Goals: Nathan Burke (9) 

Assists: Brett Stapley (12)

Points: Burke (17)

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+10)

PIM: Burke (20)

Power Play Points: Jordan Martel/Stapley (5)

Power Play Goals: Martel (3) 

Power Play Assists: Stapley (3) 

Shots on Goal: Josh Wesley (67) 

Shooting Percentage: Nathan Burke (16.7 %)  - Minimum 20 shots.  

Game Winning Goals: Cutler (2) 

Wins: Trent Miner (4)

Save %: Miner (.916) 

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.52) 

Shutouts: Metcalf (1)

Multiple Point Games 

4 – Nathan Burke, Brandon Cutler, Brett Stapley. 

3 – Mick Messner. 

2- Kyle Betts, Cole Gallant, Jordan Martel, Kyle Mayhew, Dakota Raabe, Bryan Yoon. 

1 – Adam Berg, Gianni Fairbrother, Dylan Fitze, Keoni Texeira, Josh Wesley. 

Streaks 

Goals: Mick Messner (3) Nathan Burke, Brandon Cutler, Kyle Mayhew, Josh Wesley (1) 

Assists: Burke (4) Cole Gallant, Brett Stapley (3) Cutler, Patriks Marcinkevics, Mayhew, Tyler Penner, Dakota Raabe, Keoni Texeira, Bryan Yoon (1)

Points – Burke, Gallant (4) Messner, Stapley (3) Cutler, Marcinkevics, Mayhew, Penner, Raabe, Texeira, Wesley, Yoon (1)