Grizzlies Gameday: Rivalry Night in Boise

Grizzlies Gameday: Rivalry Night in Boise 

Utah Grizzlies (24-27-1, 49 points, .471 Win %) @ Idaho Steelheads (35-142-1, 73 points, .702 Win %)  Date: February 28, 2024 Venue: Idaho Central Arena 

Game Time: 7:10 pm.  

Streaming/TV: FloHockey - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11055081-2024-utah-grizzlies-vs-idaho steelheads?nav_id=75 

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

Wednesday’s Matchup 

It’s the opener of a three-game series between the Grizzlies and Steelheads. Utah is 1-5 vs Idaho this season. The  Grizz are 10-5-1 in their last 16 games. Brandon Cutler leads the Grizzlies in goals (23) and shots on goal (196).  Brett Stapley has 7 goals in 11 games in February. Cutler and Stapley are both a +6 in 11 games in February. Kyle  Mayhew is 2^nd among all league rookie defenseman with 34 points (8 goals, 26 assists). Mick Messner has 2 goals and 5 assists in his last 6 games. Dylan Fitze has 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 games. Utah has outscored  opponents 24 to 15 in the third periods over their last 16 games. The Grizz are 17-3-1 when scoring first this season.  The Steelheads are 8-1-1 over their last 10 games. Idaho is in second place in the Mountain Division with 73  standings points and a .702 Winning percentage.  

Grizzlies Sign Defenseman Cody Corbett

Defenseman Cody Corbett signs with the Grizzlies. Corbett played in 2 games with Utah this season, appearing in the February 16th and 17th games vs Wheeling. Corbett has appeared in 189 ECHL games in his career with 8 different clubs and 95 AHL games with 3 different teams. Corbett will be facing his former team this week as he appeared in 35 games with Idaho in the 2017-18 season, where he had 3 goals and 18 assists.   

Games This Road Trip  

Friday, February 23, 2024 – Utah 7 Kansas City 4 – Dylan Fitze scored 3 goals. Aaron Aragon, Cole Gallant and  Josh Wesley each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Kyle Mayhew had 2 assists. Adam Berg had 1 goal. Utah was 2 for 4 on  the power play and a perfect 5 for 5 on the penalty kill. The Mavericks were led by Jacob Hayhurst, who had 2 goals  and 1 assist. Max Andreev had 1 goal and 2 assists.  

Saturday, February 24, 2024 – Utah 5 Kansas City 7 – Alex Beaucage, Brandon Cutler, Dylan Fitze, Mick Messner  and Josh Wesley all scored a goal for Utah. KC outshot Utah 38 to 28. Mavericks went 2 for 3 on the power play.  Utah was 1 for 2. Jeremy McKenna led KC with 3 goals and 1 assist.  

Sunday, February 25, 2024 – Utah 0 Kansas City 3 – Cale Morris got a 27 save shutout for KC. Mavericks got  goals from Jack McLaughlin, Cole Coskey and Nolan Walker. Both teams had 27 shots on goal.  Wednesday, February 28, 2024 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena. 

Friday, March 1, 2024 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena. 

Saturday, March 2, 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 Next Homestand  

Friday, March 8, 2024 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. AFCU Friday.  

Saturday, March 9, 2024 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center.  

Monday, March 11, 2024 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Smith’s Family Night.  Saturday, March 16, 2024 – Norfolk at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Military Night.  

Sunday, March 17, 2024 – Norfolk at Utah. 3:10 pm. Maverik Center.  

Monday, March 18, 2024 – Norfolk at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Smith’s Family night. 

What a Turnaround for the Grizzlies

At the Christmas break the Grizzlies had a record of 8-17 and were in last place in the Mountain Division. Since  Christmas Utah is 16-10-1 over a 27-game stretch and they are in fourth place in the division. Brandon Cutler leads  Utah with 14 goals since Christmas. Brett Stapley has 13 goals. Kyle Mayhew leads Utah with 18 assists after the  Christmas break.  

The Captain is Back…. In Colorado 

Grizzlies captain Josh Wesley returned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on February 26^th. Wesley leads all league  defensemen with 14 goals. Wesley has a point in 14 of his last 19 games with Utah. He has appeared in 7 games  with Colorado and has 1 assist and a +3 rating.  

Grizzlies Player Notes 

Kyle Mayhew is 2nd among league rookie defenseman with 34 points (8g, 26a). Mayhew had 4 assists and was a  +4 on February 10 at Idaho. 

Brett Stapley has 7 goals in his last 11 games. He has a point in 20 of his last 27 games. Stapley leads Utah  in assists (30) and points (46). Stapley leads Utah with 11 multiple point games. He is a +6 in 11 games in February. Cole Gallant is tied for 2nd on the team with 26 assists. Gallant scored the game winner 6:50 into the third period  on February 16 vs Wheeling. Gallant is 2^nd on the team with 10 multiple point games. 

Brandon Cutler leads Utah in goals (23), PIM (65), Shots on Goal (196) and is tied for the club lead in Game  Winning Goals (4). Cutler has a point in 7 of his last 10 games and 11 of his last 16 games. Cutler led Utah with 7  goals in the month of January. He has 11 goals in his last 18 games. 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 16 goals. Burke has a goal in 6 of his last 14 games. Burke scored the  game winning goal 6:17 into overtime on Feb. 10 at Idaho. 

Mick Messner has 3 goals and 11 assists in his last 15 games. Messner had 4 assists in Utah’s 4-2 win over  Wheeling on Feb. 16. Messner had 1 goal and 5 assists in a 3-game series vs Wheeling. 

Dylan Fitze scored 3 goals on February 23rd at Kansas City. Fitze became the first Grizzlies player to earn a Hat  Trick this season. 

Tyler Penner has appeared in 196 straight regular season games, 220 straight including the playoffs for Utah since  the start of the 2021-22 season. 

Adam Berg has 16 points (7g, 9a) in his last 21 games. 

Alex Beaucage has 47 shots on goal in 10 games with Utah. He has 3 goals and 4 assists in 10 games. Aaron Aragon scored 2 goals on January 19 at KC. Aragon scored 2 more goals on January 26 vs Rapid City. Dante Giannuzzi leads Utah with 11 wins this season. 

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes 

Ryan Kinasewich won his 100th game as Utah's head coach on Feb. 17. Utah was 8-17 prior to Christmas and they  are 16-10-1 since the Christmas Break. Utah has won 8 of their last 10 home games. Utah is 16 -8 at home  this season, outscoring opponents 80 to 65. Utah is averaging 7,159 fans per game over their last 12 home games.  Utah has had 6 home games with over 7,600 fans. Utah is 4-1 in games past regulation this season. Utah is 17-3-1  when scoring first this season. Utah has scored 5 shorthanded goals this season. Utah is 14-2 when leading after 1  period and 14-2-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 9-0 at home when leading after 1 period. Utah has outscored  opponents 24 to 15 in the third periods over their last 16 games. The Grizz are 8-8-1 in their last 17 road games. 

Recent Transactions: Texeira Returns to Club  

February 28 - Grizzlies sign defenseman Cody Corbett. Corbett played in 2 games with Utah earlier this season on Feb. 16-17 vs Wheeling. 

February 26 – Goaltender Arvid Holm and Defenseman Josh Wesley were each recalled to Colorado (AHL).  February 23 – Defenseman Keoni Texeira released from loan with San Jose (AHL), returns to Grizz.  February 19 – Defenseman Josh Wesley reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL).  

February 19 – Grizzlies released defenseman Cody Corbett.  

February 16 – Goaltender Arvid Holm and Forward Alex Beaucage were reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL).  Both Beaucage and Holm have NHL deals with the Colorado Avalanche. Beaucage has previously played in 4  games with Utah, scoring 1 goal and 3 assists. Beaucage had 20 shots on goal. Holm joins the Grizzlies for the first  time.  

February 16 – Utah signs defenseman Cody Corbett. He last played with Kalamazoo in the 2021-2022 season.  February 16 – Utah released forward J.C. Campagna. He had 1 goal and 4 assists in 12 games.  

Tyler Penner the Ironman 

Forward Tyler Penner has been an ironman for the Grizzlies as he has appeared in every game for the club since the  start of the 2021-22 season. He has played in 196 straight regular season games and 220 if you include the 24  playoff games he has appeared in over the past 2 seasons. Penner has 33 goals and 39 assists in his Grizzlies career.   

Players Who Have Appeared in Every Game  

There are 3 players who have appeared in all 52 games for the Grizzlies this season. They include forwards Brandon  Cutler, Mick Messner and Tyler Penner.  

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

Overall record: 24-27-1 

Home record: 16-8 

Road record: 8-19-1 

Win percentage: .471 

Streak: Lost 2 

Standings Points: 49 

Last 10: 6-4 

Goals per game: 3.13 (17^th) Goals for: 163 

Goals against per game: 3.56 (22^nd) Goals Against: 185 

Shots per game: 31.02 (Tied 15^th) 

Shots against per game: 34.29 (23^rd) 

Power Play: 27 for 161 – 16.8 % (24^th) 

Penalty Kill: 118 for 161 – 73.3 % (28^th) 

Penalty Minutes: 550. 10.58 per game.  

Shorthanded Goals: 5.  

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 5.  

Record When Scoring First: 17-3-1.  

Opposition Scores First: 7-24.  

Record in One Goal Games: 9-7-1. 

Team Leaders  

Goals: Brandon Cutler (23)  

Assists: Brett Stapley (30) 

Points: Stapley (46) 

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+11) 

PIM: Cutler (65) 

Power Play Points: Kyle Mayhew (12) 

Power Play Goals: Josh Wesley (6)  

Power Play Assists: Mayhew (10)  

Shots on Goal: Cutler (196) – 3^rd in the league.  

Shooting Percentage: Aaron Aragon (16.1 %) - Minimum 50 shots.  

Game Winning Goals: Cutler/Stapley (4) 

Wins: Dante Giannuzzi (11) 

Save %: Trent Miner (.917)  

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.75)  

Shutouts: Giannuzzi/Garrett Metcalf (1)