Grizzlies Weekly: 9 Game Road Trip Begins on Friday

Grizzlies Weekly: 9 Game Road Trip Begins on Friday 

West Valley City, Utah – The Utah Grizzlies swept the Tulsa Oilers in a three-game series at Maverik Center last weekend. The Grizz outscored the Oilers 9 to 4 in the set. 

Brett Stapley led the way for Utah as he scored 2 goals and 4 assists in the series. Stapley had 2 goals and 1 assist in Utah’s 3-2 win on December 29^th. Stapley had 2 assists and Cole Gallant had 1 goal and 1 assist in a 5-2 win on December 30^th. Josh Wesley scored Utah’s lone goal in a 1-0 win on New Year’s Eve to complete the sweep. Goaltender Dante Giannuzzi got a 32 save shutout on December 31^st. It was his first professional shutout. He had 5 clean sheets in 5 seasons in the WHL. 

The Grizzlies are on the road for 9 straight games. The face the Newfoundland Growlers on Friday and Saturday at 3:30 pm and Sunday at 12:30 pm. 

The next homestand for the Grizzlies is on January 24, 26-27 vs Rapid City. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. Saturday the 27^th is the popular Guns N Hoses day with charity games in the afternoon leading up to the Grizzlies 7:10 pm face-off. 

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. 

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. 

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.  

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. 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. 

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.  

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)

Multiple Point Games 

7 – Brett Stapley

5 – Brandon Cutler, Cole Gallant. 

4 – Nathan Burke. 

3 – Mick Messner. 

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

1 – Adam Berg, J.C. Campagna, Gianni Fairbrother, Dylan Fitze, Jacob Semik, Keoni Texeira, Josh Wesley. 

Streaks 

Goals: Josh Wesley (1)

Assists: Kyle Mayhew, Brett Stapley (3) 

Points (2 or more) – Mayhew, Stapley (3)