Grizzlies Gameday: AFCU Friday at Maverik Center

Grizzlies Gameday: Friday Night Showdown at Maverik Center 

Idaho Steelheads (29-13-1-1, 60 points, .682 Win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (20-23-1, 41 points, .466 Win %) 

Date: February 9, 2024  Venue: Maverik Center

Game Time: 7:10 pm. 

Streaming/TV: FloHockey -  https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11054878-2024-idaho-steelheads-vs-utah-grizzlies?nav_id=75 

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

Friday’s Matchup

It’s the first of a two-game weekend home and home series between the Grizzlies and Steelheads. The Grizz are 12-6-1 over their last 19 games. Utah has won 6 of their last 8 contests. The Grizz have been a strong third period club as of late as they are outscoring opponents 13 to 6 over their last 8 games. Watch out for Grizzlies captain Josh Wesley, who is tied for the league lead for goals among defenseman with 11. He is 2^nd among league defenseman with 132 shots on goal. Brandon Cutler leads the Grizzlies with 20 goals on the season. He has 8 goals in his last 10 games. Cutler is 2^nd in the league in shots on goal with 167. Brett Stapley has a goal in 3 straight games. Utah has won 6 straight home games.

Games This Week

Friday, February 9, 2024 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. – AFCU Friday. 

Saturday, February 10, 2024 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena. 

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

All Times Mountain. 

Games Last Week

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 – Utah 3 Kansas City 8 – Nathan Burke, Tyler Penner and Josh Wesley each scored for Utah. Mick Messner had 2 assists. KC outshot Utah 37 to 26. Both teams went 1 for 2 on the power play. Mavericks were led by Jeremy McKenna, who had 3 goals and 1 assist. 

Friday, February 2, 2024 – Utah 2 Tulsa 3 (Overtime) – Nathan Burke and Brett Stapley each scored a 2^nd period goal for Utah. Tulsa’s Eddie Matsushima scored 3:14 into overtime. Tulsa outshot Utah 40 to 28. Utah’s Will Cranley saved 37 of 40 in net. Tulsa was 1 for 4 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 4. 

Saturday, February 3, 2024 – Utah 3 Tulsa 2 (Overtime) - Brandon Cutler scored the game winner on a power play 6:05 into overtime. Cutler and Brett Stapley each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Will Cranley stopped 47 of 49. Tulsa got 1 goal and 1 assist from Bair Gendunov. Utah was 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. Josh Wesley scored a second period goal. 

Sunday, February 4, 2024 – Utah 6 Tulsa 4 – Brandon Cutler scored 2 goals. Dante Giannuzzi saved 48 of 52. Jeremiah Addison, Mick Messner, Tyler Penner and Brett Stapley added goals for the Grizz, who went 7-2-1 vs Tulsa this season. Nathan Burke and Dean Yakura each had 2 assists. Duggie Lagrone had 1 goal and 3 assists for Tulsa. 

Outstanding Crowds at Maverik Center

A season high crowd of 10,498 saw the Grizzlies win 4-2 on January 27, 2024. It was the largest crowd for a Grizzlies home game since January 19, 2019 when 10,529 saw Utah beat Tulsa 4-1. A crowd of 8,572 was at Maverik Center for the January 26, 2024 game vs Rapid City. Utah has had some outstanding crowds as of late at Maverik Center. Over their last 8 home games Utah has a combined crowd of 57,288, an average of 7,161 per game. For the season Utah is averaging 5,556 fans per game. 

Grizzlies Acquire Defenseman Robbie Stucker in a trade with Iowa for Dakota Raabe

The Utah Grizzlies have acquired defenseman Robbie Stucker from the Iowa Heartlanders for forward Dakota Raabe. Stucker had 11 assists and 12 penalty minutes in 25 games with Iowa. Stucker was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 7^th round (210^th overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Last season Stucker began his pro career as he played in 10 games with the South Carolina Stingrays. Stucker began his college career at the University of Minnesota, where he appeared in 79 games from 2018-2021. He Transferred to the University of Vermont, where he played in 67 games for 2 seasons from 2021-2023, scoring 7 goals and 22 assists. 

Raabe played in 98 games with the Grizzlies and had 17 goals and 39 assists. Raabe also appeared in 19 playoff games with Utah and had 3 goals and 4 assists. 

Grizzlies Sign Max Neill 

The 23-year-old Neill played with the University of Waterloo this season and scored 10 goals and 9 assists in 25 games this season. Last season he played at Lindenwood University. He played in juniors with Johnstown and Minnesota of the NAHL. Neill is 6’1” and 190 pounds. His father, Mike Neill, was a 3^rd round draft pick by the New York Islanders in 1983. He played in 5 seasons professionally. Neill will wear number 6 for the Grizz. 

Recent Transactions: 

February 8 – Grizzlies acquire defenseman Robbie Stucker in a trade with Iowa for Dakota Raabe. Stucker will wear number 40 for Utah. 

February 7 – Grizzlies sign forward Max Neill. 

February 1 – Grizzlies sign forward Jeremiah Addison. He had 1 goal and 1 assist at Tulsa on Feb. 4, 2024.  

January 30 – Forward Alex Beaucage was recalled to Colorado. Beaucage had 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games with Utah. Beaucage took 20 shots in 4 games. 

January 29 – Forward Ryan Sandelin was recalled to Colorado (AHL). 

Grizzlies Player Notes

Josh Wesley is tied for the league lead among all league defensemen with 11 goals. Wesley is 2^nd among league defenseman with 132 shots on goal. had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick vs Rapid City on January 27. Wesley has a point in 5 of his last 6 games.  Wesley had 58 shots in his last 14 games. The captain led Utah with 11 points in January (5g, 6a). 

Kyle Mayhew is 2nd among league rookie defenseman with 26 points (7g, 19a). 

Brett Stapley has a goal in 3 straight games. He has a point in 15 of his last 19 games. Stapley leads Utah in assists (26) and points (38). Stapley leads Utah with 9 multiple point games. 

Cole Gallant leads Utah with 10 assists in 12 games in January. He leads all Utah rookies with 30 points (7g, 23a). Gallant has missed the past 4 games due to injury. 

Brandon Cutler leads Utah in goals (20), PIM (59), Shots on Goal (167), Game Winning Goals (4) and power play goals (5). Cutler has a point in 6 of his last 8 games and a point in 10 of his last 14. Cutler led Utah with 7 goals in the month of January. He has 10 goals in his last 14 games and 8 goals in his last 10. Cutler leads Utah with 2 overtime game winning goals. He won the game 20 seconds into overtime on January 20 at Kansas City. He also got the OT GWG on a one-timer from the right circle on Utah’s lone power play at Tulsa on February 3^rd. 

Nathan Burke is 2nd on the Grizzlies with 14 goals. Burke is 4^th on the team with 101 shots on goal. Burke has a goal in 4 of his last 6 games. 

Mick Messner has 1 goal and 6 assists in his last 7 games. 

Dylan Fitze has 10 points (5g, 5a) in 13 games in January. Fitze was a +6 in January. 

Tyler Penner has a point in 6 of his last 8 games. Penner has 6 assists in his last 12 games. Penner has appeared in 188 straight regular season games, 212 straight including the playoffs for Utah since the start of the 2021-22 season. He has Utah's game winning goal in 2 of the last 5 games. In 13 games in January, he had 10 points (4g, 6a). He led Utah with a +7 rating in the month. 

Adam Berg has 12 points (4g, 8a) in his last 14 games. 

Aaron Aragon scored 2 goals on January 19 at KC. Aragon scored 2 more goals on January 26 vs Rapid City. 

Jeremiah Addison scored his first goal in a Utah uniform on Feb. 4 at Tulsa. Addison had 1 goal and 1 assist that night. 

Will Cranley has a .945 save percentage (122 of 129) in 4 games vs Tulsa this season. 

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is 12-6-1 over their last 19 games. Utah has won 6 straight home games. Utah is 14 -6 at home this season, outscoring opponents 71 to 54. A crowd of 10,498 was at Maverik Center on January 27, 2024. It was the Grizzlies largest home crowd since January 19, 2019 where 10,529 fans saw Utah defeat Tulsa 4-1. Utah is 3-1 in games past regulation this season. Utah is 13-3-1 when scoring first this season. Utah has scored 5 shorthanded goals this season. Utah is 11-2 when leading after 1 period and 12-2-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 8-0 at home when leading after 1 period. Utah went 7-2-1 vs Tulsa this season. Utah is outscoring opponents 13 to 6 in the third periods over their last 8 games. The Grizz are 6-6-1 in their last 13 road games. 

Players Who Have Appeared in Every Game 

There are 3 players who have appeared in all 44 games for the Grizzlies this season. They include forwards Brandon Cutler, Mick Messner and Tyler Penner. All 3 of those forwards scored a first period goal at Tulsa on February 4 in the Grizzlies 6-4 win. 

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

Overall record: 20-23-1

Home record: 14-6

Road record: 6-17-1

Win percentage: .466

Streak: Won 2

Standings Points: 41

Last 10: 6-3-1

Goals per game: 3.09 (18^th) Goals for: 136

Goals against per game: 3.52 (19^th) Goals Against: 155

Shots per game: 31.77 (Tied 12^th)

Shots against per game: 34.30 (23^rd)

Power Play: 22 for 139 – 15.8 % (26^th)

Penalty Kill: 102 for 139 – 73.4 % (28^th)

Penalty Minutes: 492. 11.18 per game. 

Shorthanded Goals: 5. 

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 5.   

Record When Scoring First: 13-3-1. 

Opposition Scores First: 7-20. 

Record in One Goal Games: 7-7-1. 

SCORING          1ST       2ND               3RD               OT/Shootout      TOTAL                      

Utah Grizzlies    34         51                   48                   3                               136

Opposition           46         59                   49                   1                               155

Team Leaders 

Goals: Brandon Cutler (20) 

Assists: Brett Stapley (26)

Points: Stapley (38)

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+11)

PIM: Cutler (59)

Power Play Points: Kyle Mayhew/Stapley (10)

Power Play Goals: Cutler (5) 

Power Play Assists: Mayhew (8) 

Shots on Goal: Cutler (167) 

Shooting Percentage: Aaron Aragon/Adam Berg (14.6 %) - Minimum 40 shots.   

Game Winning Goals: Cutler (4) 

Wins: Dante Giannuzzi (9)

Save %: Trent Miner (.917) 

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.75) 

Shutouts: Giannuzzi/Metcalf (1)