Grizzlies Gameday: First Home Game of 2024 Calendar Year at Maverik Center

Grizzlies Gameday: First Home Game of 2024 Calendar Year at Maverik Center 

Rapid City Rush (17-19-2, 36 points, .474 Win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (15-22, 30 points, .405 Win %) 

Date: January 24, 2024  Venue: Maverik Center

Game Time: 7:10 pm. 

Streaming/TV: FloHockey - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11054676-2024-rapid-city-rush-vs-utah-grizzlies?nav_id=75 

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

Wednesday’s Matchup

It’s the first of nine meetings this season between the Grizzlies and Rush. Utah was 5-3-2 vs Rapid City in the 2022-23 season. It’s the Grizzlies first home game of the 2024 calendar year. The Grizzlies went 4-5 on the current nine game road trip. The Grizz are 7-5 in their last 12 games.  Utah has been led by Brett Stapley, who has a point in 11 of his last 12 games. Stapley leads Utah in assists (24) and points (33). 2024 All-Star Kyle Mayhew has a point in 9 of his last 11 games. Dylan Fitze has 5 goals in 9 games in January. 

Rapid City is led by Alex Aleardi, who has 38 points this season (13 goals, 25 assists). Blake Bennett leads the Rush with 16 goals and is 3^rd on the team with 28 points. 

Games This Week

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Smith’s Family Night. 

Friday, January 26, 2024 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. AFCU Friday. 

Saturday, January 27, 2024 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Guns N Hoses Night. 

All Times Mountain. 

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

Games Last Week

Friday, January 19, 2024 – Utah 2 Kansas City 9 – Aaron Aragon scored both of Utah’s goals and he also had a +2 rating. KC was 4 for 8 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 3. KC outshot Utah 37 to 28. 14 of the 17 skaters for KC had at least 1 point. For the Mavericks they were led by Patrick Curry and Nolan Walker, who each had 3 assists. Cole Coskey, Jacob Hayhurst and Jeremy McKenna each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Justin Nachbaur had 2 third period goals. 

Saturday, January 20, 2024 – Utah 4 Kansas City 3 (Overtime) – Brandon Cutler scored 2 goals, including the game winner 20 seconds into overtime. Dylan Fitze and Adam Berg each scored first period goals. KC outshot Utah 31 to 23. Dante Giannuzzi got the win in net as he stopped 28 of 31. Utah was 6 for 6 on the penalty kill. 

Recent Transactions: Grizzlies Get Beaucage, Miner, Sandelin and Wesley From AHL’s Colorado Eagles 

January 24 – Goaltender Trent Miner and forwards Alex Beaucage and Ryan Sandelin were each reassigned to Utah from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. 

Miner has appeared in 9 games with Utah this season and has a .911 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average. In 11 games with Colorado he has a 4-4-1 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.51 GAA. 

Beaucage played in 126 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles over a 3 year stretch, scoring 13 goals and 26 assists. This season for Colorado he has 1 goal and 6 assists in 21 games. 

Sandelin has played in 4 games with Utah this season and has 2 assists. In 20 games with Colorado he has 3 goals, 2 assists and a +6 rating. 

January 22 – Grizzlies captain Josh Wesley was reassigned to Utah from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Wesley is tied for the league lead for goals among defenseman with 8. 

January 19 – Grizzlies claimed forward Jordan Stallard off waivers from Kansas City. Stallard made his Grizzlies debut on January 19 at KC, wearing number 54. 

January 19 – Grizzlies sign defenseman Sam Rossini. He played at the University of Minnesota for 5 seasons from 2017-2022. Rossini had 1 assist in each of his first 2 pro games at Kansas City (Jan. 19-20). 

January 18 – Defenseman Bryan Yoon was loaned to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Yoon leads the Grizzlies with a +11 rating and is a +9 in his last 9 games. 

January 17 – Grizzlies defenseman Josh Wesley reassigned to Colorado (AHL). Wesley has 8 goals, which are tied for the league lead among defenseman. 

January 14 – Grizzlies release defenseman Zane Schartz – He played in 2 games with Utah and had 1 assist. 

Grizzlies Player Notes

Brett Stapley has a point in 11 of his last 12 games. Stapley leads Utah in assists (24), points (33) and multiple point games (8). He also leads Utah forwards with 9 power play points (3 goals, 6 assists).

Kyle Mayhew has a point in 8 of his last 11 games (1g, 8a). Mayhew is 2^nd among all league rookie defensemen with 22 points. 

Josh Wesley is tied for the league lead for goals among defensemen (8).

Brandon Cutler leads Utah with 15 goals, 53 penalty minutes, 4 power play goals and 138 shots on goal. He also leads Utah with 3 game winning goals, including the OT GWG at Kansas City on January 20. 

Cole Gallant is 2^nd on the club with 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists). Gallant leads Utah with 7 assists in the month of January. 

Mick Messner is tied for 2^nd on the club with 10 goals. He is 3^rd on the club with 98 shots on goal. Messner leads all league rookies with 3 shorthanded goals.

Tyler Penner has appeared in 181 straight regular season games, 205 if you include the playoffs. Penner had 3 assists at Allen on January 10. He has 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 9 games in January.

Dylan Fitze scored the game winner 5:09 into overtime on Jan. 5 at Newfoundland. Fitze has 5 goals and 2 assists in 9 games in January. 

Adam Berg has a point in 4 of his last 5 games (2g, 2a). Berg has 7 points (3g, 4a) in his last 7 games.

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is 11-3 when scoring first and 9-0 when scoring first at home. Utah is 11-6 at home this season, outscoring opponents 57 to 47. Utah has 5 shorthanded goals this season. Utah outshot its opponents 403 to 339 in the third period. Utah is 9-2 when leading after 1 period and 10-2 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is averaging 6,801 fans over their last 5 home games. Utah is 10-7 when scoring a power play goal this season. Utah has won 7 of their last 12 games. Utah is 2-0 in overtime this season. The 2 games past regulation are the fewest in the league. The Grizz went 4-5 on their season long 9 game road trip to start the 2024 calendar year.  

Start of the Second Half of the Season

Last Saturday night in Kansas City was game 37 of 72 in the regular season as the Grizzlies begin the second half of the 2023-2024 campaign. Utah won 4-3 in overtime as Brandon Cutler scored 2 goals, including the game winner in what was arguably the Grizzlies most exciting victory. That win was a fun launch to the second half of the campaign. Here are some highlights of the first half of the season….

• Mick Messner’s 2 shorthanded goals in the third period of Utah’s 6-3 win over Newfoundland on November 24, 2023. 
• Garrett Metcalf and Dante Giannuzi each got a 1-0 Sunday afternoon shutout victory over Tulsa. Metcalf saved all 35 shots he saw on October 22. Giannuzzi earned a 32 save shutout on December 31, 2023. 
• Brett Stapley had a 10-game point streak from December 29-January 14. Stapley leads Utah with 23 assists and 32 points. 
• Dylan Fitze scored a thrilling overtime game winner at Newfoundland on January 5, 2024. It was the only game Utah played past regulation in the first half of the season. 
• Utah went 11-6 at home in the first half of the season. Utah has outscored opponents 57 to 47 on Maverik Center ice. 
• Tyler Penner had 3 assists on January 10 at Allen in a game where the Grizzlies ironman appeared in his 200^th straight game (playoffs included). 
• Kyle Mayhew represented the Grizzlies in the 2024 All-Star Classic and had 1 goal in the league’s 18-11 win over Savannah on Jan. 15, 2024. 
• Brandon Cutler led Utah with 15 goals and 138 shots on goal in the season’s first half. Cutler leads Utah with 4 power play goals. 
• Cole Gallant has been solid in his first pro season, scoring 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists). 
• Bryan Yoon made his AHL debut with Hartford on January 19, 2024. Yoon was Utah’s best plus/minus player in the first half of the campaign at +11. He was a +9 in his last 9 games with Utah before getting the call from the AHL. 

Outstanding Crowds at Maverik Center

Utah had a season high crowd of 7681 at Maverik Center on December 29^th vs Tulsa. On December 30^th a crowd of 7346 saw Utah won 5-2. Over the last 4 home games Utah has a combined crowd of 34,005, an average of 6,801 per game. For the season Utah is averaging 5,167 fans per game. 

Players Who Have Appeared in Every Game 

There are 4 players who have appeared in all 37 games for the Grizzlies this season. They include forwards Brandon Cutler, Cole Gallant, Mick Messner and Tyler Penner. Defenseman Bryan Yoon missed a game for the first time this season on January 19 at Kansas City as he was loaned to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack on Jan. 19. 

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

Overall record: 15-22

Home record: 11-6

Road record: 4-16

Win percentage: .405

Streak: Won 1

Standings Points: 30

Last 10: 5-5

Goals per game: 2.92 (23^rd) Goals for: 108

Goals against per game: 3.54 (20^th) Goals Against: 131

Shots per game: 31.59 (13^th)

Shots against per game: 33.16 (20^th)

Power Play: 19 for 124 – 15.3 % (27^th)

Penalty Kill: 88 for 122 – 72.1 % (28^th)

Penalty Minutes: 435. 11.76 per game. 

Shorthanded Goals: 5. 

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4.   

Record When Scoring First: 11-3. 

Opposition Scores First: 4-19. 

Record in One Goal Games: 6-7. 

SCORING         1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout      TOTAL                      

Utah Grizzlies     27         43                   36                   2                              108

Opposition          40         48                   43                   0                               131

Team Leaders 

Goals: Brandon Cutler (15) 

Assists: Brett Stapley (24)

Points: Stapley (33)

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+11)

PIM: Cutler (53)

Power Play Points: Kyle Mayhew/Stapley (9)

Power Play Goals: Cutler (4) 

Power Play Assists: Mayhew (7) 

Shots on Goal: Cutler (138) 

Shooting Percentage: Aaron Aragon (13.9 %) - Minimum 35 shots.   

Game Winning Goals: Cutler (3) 

Wins: Dante Giannuzzi (7)

Save %: Trent Miner (.911) 

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.80) 

Shutouts: Giannuzzi/Metcalf (1)

Streaks 

Goals: Adam Berg, Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze (1) 

Assists: Sam Rossini (2) Berg, Burke, Tyler Penner, Brett Stapley, Keoni Texeira (1)

Points (2 or more) –Rossini (2).