Grizzlies Gameday: Friday Night Battle in Northeast Canada

Grizzlies Gameday: Friday Battle North of the Border 

Utah Grizzlies (11-17, 22 points, .393 Win %) @ Newfoundland Growlers (14-12-4, 32 points, .533 Win %)

Date: January 5, 2024  Venue: Mary Brown’s Centre

Game Time: 3:30 pm. 

Streaming/TV: FloHockey - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11054443-2024-utah-grizzlies-vs-newfoundland-growlers 

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

Friday’s Matchup

The Utah Grizzlies begin a 9 game road trip with a three game weekend series in Newfoundland. It’s the fourth meeting this season between the clubs. Utah won 2 out of 3 games against Newfoundland on Thanksgiving week at Maverik Center.   

Kyle Mayhew Named to 2024 All-Star Team

Grizzlies defenseman Kyle Mayhew has been named to the 2024 ECHL All-Star Team. Mayhew has 6 goals and 11 assists and a +3 rating in 28 games in the 2023-24 season. He is 2^nd on the club with 5 power play assists. Mayhew has had a solid first full season as a professional. He had a successful five year college career at the University of Denver, highlighted by winning the 2022 Frozen Four National Championship, where he was a teammate with current Grizzlies forward Brett Stapley.

Games This Week 

Friday, January 5, 2024 – Utah at Newfoundland. 3:30 pm. Mary Brown’s Centre. 

Saturday, January 6, 2024 – Utah at Newfoundland. 3:30 pm. Mary Brown’s Centre. 

Sunday, January 7, 2024 – Utah at Newfoundland. 12:30 pm. Mary Brown’s Centre. 

All Times Mountain. 

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

Games Last Week

Friday, December 29, 2023 – Tulsa 2 Utah 3 – Brett Stapley led Utah with 2 goals and 1 assist. Brandon Cutler scored a power play goal. Cole Gallant had 2 assists. Will Cranley saved 25 of 27 in his Maverik Center debut as he earned his first win for Utah. 

Saturday, December 30, 2023 – Tulsa 2 Utah 5 – Cole Gallant had 1 goal and 1 assist. Brett Stapley had 2 assists. Utah also got goals from Adam Berg, Aaron Aragon, Mick Messner and Nathan Burke. Utah was 1 for 4 on the power play and 5 for 5 on the penalty kill. 

Sunday, December 31, 2023 – Tulsa at Utah. 3:10 pm. Maverik Center. 

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. 

Burke and Cutler Are in Double Digit Goal Club. 

Brandon Cutler and Nathan Burke are tied for the club lead with 10 goals each. Cutler has 10 goals and 10 assists this season. He leads the team with 4 power play goals, 49 penalty minutes and 98 shots on goal. Cutler is tied for the club lead with 2 game winning goals. Burke has 10 goals and 9 assists this season. 

Great Weekend for Brett Stapley

It was a great weekend to complete the 2023 calendar year for Brett Stapley, who had 2 goals and 4 assists in the 3 game sweep vs Tulsa. Stapley had 2 goals and 1 assist and was the number 1 star of Utah’s 3-2 win vs Tulsa on December 29. The next night he had 2 assists in Utah’s 5-2 victory. On December 31^st he had the main assist in Utah’s 1-0 win to complete the weekend sweep. Stapley leads Utah with 19 assists and 24 points this season. He had an outstanding month of December, where he scored 16 points (2 goals, 14 assists) in 15 games. Stapley leads Utah with 7 multiple point games this season. 

Player Notes 

Brett Stapley has 2 goals and 4 assists in his last 3 games. Stapley had 2 goals and 14 assists in 15 games in December. Stapley leads Utah with 7 multiple point games. 

Kyle Mayhew is among defenseman league leaders with 6 goals. Mayhew has an assist in 3 straight games. 

Cole Gallant had 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in December. 

Tyler Penner has appeared in 172 straight regular season games, 196 including the playoffs. 

Brandon Cutler has 6 goals and 3 assists in his last 12 games. Cutler has 4 power play goals in his last 10 games. Cutler leads Utah with 4 power play goals and 98 shots on goal. 

Mick Messner has 6 goals in his last 12 games. 

Bryan Yoon leads Utah in plus/minus (+4). 

Dante Giannuzzi earned his first professional shutout on Dec. 31 vs Tulsa as he saved all 32 shots. Giannuzzi had 5 shutouts in 5 seasons in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks. 

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is 9-3 when scoring first and 9-0 when scoring first at home. Utah is the only team in the league who has not played a game past regulation. Utah is 11-6 at home this season, outscoring opponents 57 to 47. Utah has 4 shorthanded goals this season. Utah has outshot opponents 302 to 268 in the third period. Utah is 7-2 when leading after 1 period and 9-2 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is averaging 6,801 fans over their last 5 home games. Utah is 8-5 when scoring a power play goal this season. 

Transactions: Cory Thomas Traded to Trois-Rivieres, Burke Returns From AHL Loan 

January 2 – Cory Thomas traded to Trois-Rivieres. Defenseman Cory Thomas was traded to the Trois-Rivieres Lions to complete a trade where the Utah Grizzlies received forward Cole Gallant for future considerations. 

Thomas played in 20 games with Utah this season and had 3 assists. In the 2022-23 season he had 7 assists in 40 games for Utah. He also had 1 assist in 4 games in the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs.  

January 2 – Nathan Burke returns from loan with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Burke played in 1 game with Ontario and had 1 shot on goal on Dec. 31, 2023 vs Henderson. 

Utah vs Newfoundland This Season

Utah won 2 out of 3 games at Maverik Center on Thanksgiving week. Mick Messner had 2 goals and 2 assists in the series. Both of Messner’s goals were shorthanded on November 24^th. Brett Stapley had 2 goals and 1 assist in the series. Nathan Burke and Kyle Mayhew each had 1 goal and 2 assists in the set. 

Wednesday, November 22, 2023 – Newfoundland 1 Utah 4 – Dakota Raabe had 1 goal and 1 assist and Trent Miner saved 29 of 30. Brandon Cutler had 2 assists. Jordan Martel, Brett Stapley and Josh Wesley added goals. Newfoundland outshot Utah 30 to 13. Utah was 0 for 5 on the power play. Newfoundland was 0 for 3. 

Friday, November 24, 2023 – Newfoundland 3 Utah 6 – Mick Messner had 2 goals and 1 assist. Nathan Burke had 1 goal and 2 assists. Kyle Mayhew and Brett Stapley each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Keoni Texeira had 2 shorthanded assists in the third period. Utah scored 2 power play goal, 2 shorthanded goals in the third period, a 4 on 4 goal early in the second period and a 5 on 5 goal in the first period. Newfoundland went 2 for 8 on the power play. Growlers were led by Zach O’Brien and Isaac Johnson, who each had 1 goal and 1 assist and 3 assists from Jonny Tychonick. 

Saturday, November 25, 2023 – Newfoundland 2 Utah 0 – Growlers goaltender Luke Cavallin stopped all 28 Utah shots. Neil Shea had both of the goals in the contest. Utah’s Dante Giannuzzi saved 27 of 28. 

Friday, January 5, 2024 – Utah at Newfoundland. 3:30 pm. Mary Brown’s Centre. 

Saturday, January 6, 2024 – Utah at Newfoundland. 3:30 pm. Mary Brown’s Centre. 

Sunday, January 7, 2024 – Utah at Newfoundland. 12:30 pm. Mary Brown’s Centre. 

Sunday Shutouts at Maverik Center

Utah goaltenders have 2 shutouts this season. Both times came against Tulsa on Sunday games at Maverik Center. Both shutouts were 1-0 games. Garrett Metcalf got a 35 save shutout on October 22^nd vs Tulsa. Dante Giannuzzi saved all 32 shots in a 1-0 victory on December 31, 2023. Both players got their first professional shutouts. Utah is 5-0 at home vs Tulsa this season. 

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

Overall record: 11-17

Home record: 11-6

Road record: 0-11

Win percentage: .393

Streak: Win 3

Standings Points: 22

Last 10: 4-6

Goals per game: 2.79 (26^th) Goals for: 78

Goals against per game: 3.29 (16^th) Goals Against: 92

Shots per game: 30.64 (20^th)

Shots against per game: 32.96 (20^th)

Power Play: 15 for 91 – 16.5 % (24^th)

Penalty Kill: 65 for 89 – 73.0 % (28^th)

Penalty Minutes: 347. 12.39 per game. 

Shorthanded Goals: 4 

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4.   

Record When Scoring First: 9-3. 

Opposition Scores First: 2-14. 

Record in One Goal Games: 4-6. 

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout      TOTAL                      

Utah Grizzlies     20         32                   26                   0                               78

Opposition           28         34                   30                   0                               92

Team Leaders 

Goals: Nathan Burke/Brandon Cutler (10) 

Assists: Brett Stapley (19)

Points: Stapley (24)

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+4)

PIM: Cutler (49)

Power Play Points: Stapley (8)

Power Play Goals: Cutler (4) 

Power Play Assists: Stapley (6) 

Shots on Goal: Brandon Cutler (98) 

Shooting Percentage: Cole Gallant (16.7 %) - Minimum 25 shots.  

Game Winning Goals: Cutler/Stapley (2) 

Wins: Trent Miner (4)

Save %: Miner (.916) 

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.52) 

Shutouts: Giannuzzi/Metcalf (1)