Grizzlies Gameday: Fan Appreciation Night at Maverik Center

Grizzlies Gameday: Fan Appreciation Night at Maverik Center

Kansas City Mavericks (51-11-4-2, 108 points, .794 Win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (31-35-3, 65 points, .471 Win %) 

Date: April 6, 2024 Venue: Maverik Center Game Time: 7:10 pm. 

Streaming: FloHockey – https://www.flohockey.tv/events/11056531-2024-kansas-city-mavericks-vs-utah-grizzlies?nav_id=75 

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

Saturday’s Matchup

It’s the final home game of the 2023-24 regular season for the Grizzlies. It’s the 9^th of nine meetings this season between the clubs. For the Grizzlies it’s the last of a six game homestand. Utah is 21-12-2 on the season, outscoring teams 118 to 111. The Grizz are 17-1-1 at home when scoring first. Utah is 11-0 at home when leading after 1 period and 14-1 at home when leading after 2 frames. Utah is 8-1-2 at home in one-goal games. The Grizz have outscored opponents 48 to 35 in the third periods over their last 33 games.

Kyle Mayhew has a point in 8 of his last 9 games. Mayhew leads all league rookie defensemen with 55 points (15, 40 assists). Josh Wesley leads all league defensemen with 18 goals as well as 8 power play goals. Brett Stapley leads Utah with 47 assists and 70 points, ranking in the top ten in both categories. Brandon Cutler has a point in 9 of his last 11 games (6 goals, 9 assists). Utah is 6-0-3 in games decided past regulation. Utah is 23-5-2 when scoring first this season.

It’s a potential first round playoff match-up in the Mountain Division playoffs as Kansas City clinched the division title on March 29^th. The Mavericks lead the league with a +101-goal differential on the season. They have 46 regulation wins this season, which leads the league. The next closest team in the league is Toledo with 38. 

The Mavericks are 28-3-2-1 on the road this season. On Wednesday night the Mavericks set a new league record for road victories in a single season. 

Games This Week

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 – Kansas City 5 Utah 1 – Utah’s Alex Beaucage scored 56 seconds into the game. Connor Mayer scored his first professional point with an assist. It was Mayer’s pro debut with Utah. KC responded with 5 unanswered goals. Jacob Hayhurst and Cade Borchardt each had 1 goal and 1 assist. KC outshot Utah 35 to 26. Mavericks were 1 for 3 on the power play. Utah was 0 for 1. 

Friday, April 5, 2024 – Kansas City 7 Utah 4 – Utah got goals from Alex Beaucage, Brandon Cutler, Josh Wesley and Connor Mayer. KC was led by Jeremy McKenna, who had 2 goals and 3 assists. Jacob Hayhurst had 2 goals and 2 assists. Max Andreev. Had 1 goal and 2 assists for the Mavericks, who clinched the Brabham Cup. Utah was 2 for 4 on the power play and 2 for 2 on the penalty kill.  

Saturday, April 6, 2024 – Kansas City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Fan Appreciation Night presented by Les Schwab. 

Next Week’s Road Games 

Friday, April 12, 2024 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena. 

Saturday, April 13, 2024 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena. 

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

All Times Mountain. 

Grizzlies Player Notes 

#6 Connor Mayer made his pro debut on April 3 vs Kansas City and he registered an assist in his first pro shift. Mayer scored his first pro goal on April 5 vs KC. Mayer had 7 goals in his 5 year stint at Colorado College.  

#7 Brett Stapley had 23 points (7g, 16a) in his last 16 games. The 22 points in March tied for the league lead with Kalamazoo's Erik Bradford. Stapley has a point in 19 of his last 28 games. Stapley leads Utah with 47 assists and 70 points. He leads Utah with 17 multiple point games.

#8 Luke Manning - Scored his first pro goal on March 29 vs Idaho. Manning has a goal in 2 of his last 4 games. Manning had 2 assists on April 5. It was his second multiple point game of the season. 

#10 Mick Messner has 4 points (1g, 3a) in his last 4 games. Messner is tied for the league lead among rookies with 3 shorthanded goals.  

#13 Dylan Fitze has 11 goals and 9 assists in his last 20 games. Fitze has a point in 7 of his last 10 games (4g, 6a).

#20 Josh Wesley leads all league defensemen with 18.  Wesley leads all league defensemen with 8 power play goals. Wesley is 2^nd among league defenseman with 185 shots on goal. Wesley has 4 goals and 7 assists in his last 13 games.

#21 Tyler Penner has appeared in 213 consecutive regular season games for Utah, 237 if you include the playoffs. 

#24 Nathan Burke is 4^th on the club with 18 goals. 

#25 Cole Gallant has 9 points in 14 games in March (3g, 6a). Gallant has 8 different 2 assist games. Gallant is 3^rd on the club with 34 assists.

#26 Alex Beaucage scored 2 goals and 3 assists vs RC on March 8. Beaucage had 16 points (6g, 10a) in 13 games in March. Beaucage has 111 shots in 26 games. He has a point in 17 of his 26 games with Utah. Beaucage was the league’s Player of the Week for March 4-10, 2024.

#27 Kyle Mayhew had 19 points in 13 games in March (7g, 12a).  Mayhew leads all league rookie defenseman with 55 points (15g, 40a). The 15 goals are tied for 2nd in the league among league defensemen. Mayhew is 3rd among league rookies with 18 power play assists. Mayhew has a point in 8 of his last 9 games. 

#29 Brandon Cutler has 21 points in 14 games in March (9g, 12a). He has a point in 13 of his last 16 games and 2 or more points in 6 of his last 15 games. Cutler is 2^nd in the league with 258 shots on goal and is tied for 3rd with 34 goals. Cutler leads Utah with 10 power play goals. Cutler has 15 multiple point games this season. 

Grizzlies Team Notes 

Utah went 7-5-2 in the month of March. They scored 52 goals in 14 games in March. It was the third straight month where Utah had a .500 point percentage or better. Utah has won 13 of their last 21 home games (13-6-2 record). Utah is 21-12-2 at home this season, outscoring opponents 118 to 101. Utah is averaging 6,664 fans per game over their last 23 home games. Utah has had 9 home games with over 7,600 fans. Utah is averaging 5,917 fans per game and is on pace for their largest average attendance since the 2002-03 season when the Grizz averaged 6353 fans per game when the club was in the AHL. Utah is 6-3 in games past regulation this season. Utah is 23-5-2 when scoring first this season. Utah has scored 5 shorthanded goals this season. Utah is 16-2 when leading after 1 period and 18-2-1 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 12-0 at home when leading after 1 period. Utah has outscored opponents 48 to 35 in the third periods over their last 33 games. The Grizz are 10-12-1 in their last 23 road games. 

Scoreboard Watching

Utah is currently in fourth place in the Mountain division. The Grizz have a 2-point lead over fifth place Allen. 

3^rd - Tulsa – 67 games played, 29-30-7-1 record – 66 Points. 5 games left, 1 home, 4 away. (2 vs Wichita – 2 away. 3 vs Allen – 1 home 2 away). 

4^th - Utah – 69 games played, 31-35-3 record – 65 points. 3 games left (1 home vs Kansas City, 2 away at Idaho). 

5^th. Allen – 67 games played, 30-34-2-1 record – 63 Points. 5 games left, 4 home, 1 away ( 2 vs Adirondack, 3 vs Tulsa – 2 home, 1 away). 

6^th -  Wichita – 67 games played, 25-33,8-1 record – 59 Points. 5 games left, 2 home, 3 away (2 vs Tulsa – 2 home, 3 at Rapid City). 

7^th. Rapid City – 67 games played, 27-37-4 record – 58 Points. 4 games left, 3 home, 1 away (1 at Idaho, 3 vs Wichita). 

Grizzlies Sign Defenseman Connor Mayer

The Utah Grizzlies have signed defenseman Connor Mayer. In a separate roster move the Grizzlies released forward Max Neill. Mayer played at Colorado College for 5 seasons from 2019-2024. In the 2023-24 season he tied for the team lead in plus/minus among defenseman at +11. He appeared in 159 games at Colorado College, where he scored 32 points (7 goals, 25 assists). Mayer was a member of the NCHC all-academic team for four straight seasons from 2021-24. Mayer majored in Economics at CC. Mayer is a native of Champlin, Minnesota. He will wear number 6 for the Grizzlies. Mayer had 1 assist in his pro debut on April 3 vs Kansas City. The assist came in his first shift as a pro. He scored his first professional goal 18:02 into the second period on April 5. 

Mountain Division Champion Kansas City Mavericks 

Kansas City leads the league in goals per game at 4.28 and they are 3^rd in goals allowed per game at 2.79. The Mavericks have outscored opponents 113 to 55 in the third period this season. Kansas City is 28-3-2-1 on the road this season. They are led by Patrick Curry, who is 2^nd in the league in goals (36) and points (80). Max Andreev is 3^rd in the league with 53 assists and he leads the league in plus/minus (+34). Nolan Walker has a 32.4 shooting percentage on the season (33 goals on 102 shots). 

Grizzlies Among League Leaders 

Brandon Cutler is tied for 3^rd in the league with 34 goals this season. He is 2^nd in shots on goal with 260. 

Brett Stapley is tied for 10th in the league with 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists). The 47 assists are tied for 10^th most in the league. 

Josh Wesley leads the league in goals among defensemen with 18. Wesley leads all league defensemen with 8 power play goals and is 2^nd among defensemen with 185 shots on goal. Kyle Mayhew is 5^th among league defensemen with 55 points. The 55 points for Mayhew lead all rookie defensemen. Mayhew is 3^rd among league rookies with 18 power play assists.

Brandon Cutler Joins Grizzlies 30 Goal Club 

Brandon Cutler scored his 30^th goal of the season on March 18^th vs Norfolk. Cutler is the first Grizzly to reach 30-plus goals since Caleb Herbert tallied 32 goals for the 2018-19 club. Current Grizzlies Head Coach Ryan Kinasewich is the only player to have multiple 30 plus goal seasons in team history. 

Grizzlies Single Season Goals Leaders

Ryan Kinasewich – 48 (2009-10). 

Kinasewich – 39 (2005-06). 

Kip Miller – 38 (1997-98). 

Mark Lawrence – 36 (1997-98). 

Brett Lievers – 36 (1995-96). 

John Purves – 36 (1999-2000). 

Brandon Cutler – 34 (2023-24). 

Caleb Herbert – 32 (2018-19). 

Tom May– 31 (2008-09). 

Sean Tallaire – 31 (1999-2000). 

Brad Lauer – 31 (1998-99). 

Paul McIlveen – 30 (2011-12). 

AJ Perry – 30 (2009-10). 

Great Crowds at Maverik Center 

A big crowd of 8562 on Military Night saw the Grizzlies win a 5-4 overtime thriller. It was the 6^th time this season the Grizzlies had a crowd of over 8000. Utah has had 9 games with over 7600 fans at Maverik Center. For the season Utah is averaging 5,917 fans per game and they are on pace to have the largest average attendance since the 2002-03 season when the AHL’s Grizzlies averaged 6,353 per game. 

Tyler Penner Appeared in his 213^th Straight Regular Season Game 

Grizzlies’ ironman Tyler Penner appeared in his 200^th straight regular season game on March 8 vs Rapid City. Penner has 34 goals and 41 assists in his Grizzlies career. Penner is in his third season with the Grizzlies. He played with the Birmingham Bulls in the SPHL in the 2020-21 season. Penner played his college hockey at Colgate University from 2016-2020. Penner’s current streak is at 213 straight regular season games and 237 games including playoffs. Penner had 2 assists in Utah’s 5-2 victory over Norfolk on March 17. 

Players Who Have Appeared in Every Game 

There are 3 players who have appeared in all 69 games for the Grizzlies this season. They are forwards Brandon Cutler, Mick Messner and Tyler Penner. 

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

Overall record: 31-35-3

Home record: 21-12-2 

Road record: 10-23-1 

Win percentage: .471

Streak: Lost 2.   

Standings Points: 65

Last 10: 4-5-1

Goals per game: 3.20 (13^th) Goals for: 221

Goals against per game: 3.68 (24^th) Goals Against: 254

Shots per game: 31.52 (13^th) 

Shots against per game: 33.70 (23^rd) 

Power Play: 46 for 224 – 20.5 % (11^th)

Penalty Kill: 161 for 215 – 74.9 % (27^th) 

Penalty Minutes: 730. 10.58 per game. 

Shorthanded Goals: 5. 

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8. 

Record When Scoring First: 23-5-2. 

Opposition Scores First: 8-30-1. 

Record in One Goal Games: 12-9-3. 

Games Decided Past Regulation: 6-0-3

Team Leaders 

Goals: Brandon Cutler (34)  

Assists: Brett Stapley (47) 

Points: Stapley (70) 

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+11) 

PIM: Cutler (77) 

Power Play Points: Kyle Mayew (22)

Power Play Goals: Brandon Cutler (10) 

Power Play Assists: Mayhew (18) 

Shots on Goal: Cutler (260) – 2^nd in the league. 

Shooting Percentage: Nathan Burke (13.8 %) - Minimum 55 shots. 

Game Winning Goals: Cutler (5) 

Wins: Dante Giannuzzi (13) 

Save %: Trent Miner (.917) 

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.75) 

Shutouts: Giannuzzi/Garrett Metcalf (1)