Fitze Gets Hat Trick in Utah’s 7-4 Victory
Independence, Missouri – Dylan Fitze scored 3 goals and three different Utah Grizzlies skaters had 1 goal and 1 assist to lead them to a 7-4 win over the Kansas City Mavericks in the opening game of the weekend series at Cable Dahmer Arena.
Fitze got Utah on the board 2:09 in on a power play goal. 15 seconds later Cole Gallant made it a 2-0 lead. Kansas City got on the board as Tucker Robertson got his 4th of the season 10:34 in. Captain Josh Wesley got Utah’s second power play of the first period 19:05 in. Wesley now has 13 goals for the season, which leads all league defenseman. The Grizz led 3-1 after 1 period.
Adam Berg extended Utah’s lead to 4-1 as he scored on a rebound 9:47 in. Utah had a 3 goal lead after 2 frames. The Grizz are now 14-2-1 when leading after 40 minutes of play.
Fitze scored his second of the night 9 seconds into the third period on a snipe from the left circle. Utah led 5-1 but the Mavericks responded with three goals in the period to cut into Utah’s lead 5-4. Jacob Hayhurst scored 5:36 in. Max Andreev got his 13th of the year 13:49 in. Hayhurst scored his second of the night and 22nd of the season 18:13 in.
Fitze completed Utah’s first hat trick of the season on an empty net 18:36 in. Fitze became the first Grizzlies player to get a hat trick since Brandon Cutler scored 4 goals vs Rapid City on January 27, 2023. It’s Fitze’s second professional hat trick. He scored 3 goals for Orlando in a 6-2 win vs Wheeling on January 14, 2022.
Utah goaltender Arvid Holm stopped 31 of 35 in the victory. Kansas City’s Cale Morris saved 20 of 25 in the loss. The Grizzlies special teams came up big in the game as they were 2 for 4 on the power play and a perfect 5 for 5 on the penalty kill.
Aaron Aragon, Cole Gallant and Josh Wesley each had 1 goal and 1 assist for Utah in the win. The Grizz are 10-3-1 over their last 14 games. Kyle Mayhew had 2 assists in the win. He is second on the club with 26 assists.
The series continues at Kansas City on Saturday night at 5:05 pm mountain time. The Grizzlies next home game is on Friday, March 8th vs Rapid City at 7:10 pm. Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com.
3 stars
- Dylan Fitze (Utah) – 3 goals, +2, 6 shots.
- Josh Wesley (Utah) – 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 3 shots.
- Jacob Hayhurst (KC) – 2 goals, 1 assist.
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