Grizzlies Gameday: Series Continues in Wichita

Grizzlies Gameday: Road Trip Continues in Wichita 

Utah Grizzlies (5-5-1, 11 points, .500 point %) @ Wichita Thunder (7-7-1, 15 points, .500 point %) 

Date: November 21, 2024 Venue: INTRUST Bank Arena Game Time: 6:05 pm. 

Streaming: FloHockey – https://www.flohockey.tv/events/12609859-2024-utah-grizzlies-vs-wichita-thunder?nav_id=75 

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

Next Home Game: November 27, 2024 – Indy at Utah. 7:10 pm. 

Thursday’s Matchup

It’s the second of a three-game series at Wichita. It’s the second of nine regular season meetings between the clubs. Utah is 12-3 over the past three seasons vs Wichita. For the Grizzlies it’s the fifth game of a seven-game road trip. Utah is 1-2-1 on the current road trip and 3-3 away from home this season. 

The Grizzlies have been a high scoring team at Maverik Center as they have 17 goals in 4 home games this season. 

Utah is averaging 35.36 shots per game, which ranks second in the 29-team league. Utah is 8^th in the league with 3.45 goals per game. The Grizzlies have the fewest penalty minutes in the league with 72 (6.55 per game). Utah is 3-0 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 4-1-1 when outshooting opponents. Utah is outshooting opponents 145 to 123 in the second periods this season. The Grizzlies have scored 4 or more goals in 6 of 11 games this season. 

Cole Gallant has 8 assists in his last 5 games. Gallant has a current 5 game assist streak. Gallant has an assist in 6 straight road games. Mick Messner has 18 shots on goal over his last 4 games.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders 

Adam Scheel leads the league in minutes (615) and saves (303). Gianni Fairbrother is tied for the league lead for goals among defensemen with 5 goals. All 5 of Fairbrother’s goals have come against Allen. Fairbrother has 8 points (5g, 3a) in 8 games in November. Derek Daschke is tied for 2^nd among league defenseman with 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists). Daschke is tied for 4th among league defenseman with 41 shots on goal. Daschke has a point in 8 of 11 games. Daschke has 31 shots on goal over his last 7 games. 

Games This Road Trip 

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 – Utah 1 Allen 3 – Gianni Fairbrother scored the game tying goal 12:46 into the third period. Brayden Watts scored the game winner for Allen 16:30 into the third. Allen outshot Utah 37 to 27. Allen went 1 for 3 on the power play, Utah was 0 for 3. 

Friday, November 15, 2024 – Utah 2 Allen 3 (Overtime) – Adam Berg and Bryan Yoon each scored a goal for Utah. Allen got 2 goals and 1 assist from Brayden Watts, including the game winner 6:31 into overtime. Utah outshot Allen 47 to 37. Utah was 1 for 3 on the power play, Allen was 1 for 2. Mick Messner led Utah with 6 shots on goal. 

Saturday, November 16, 2024 – Utah 5 Allen 4 (Overtime) – Derek Daschke scored an overtime power play goal 5:38 in. Daschke had 1 goal and 2 assists. Cole Gallant had 3 assists. Mick Messner had 1 goal and 1 assist. Briley Wood had 2 assists. Aaron Aragon, Gianni Fairbrother and Luke Manning each scored a goal for Utah. The Grizzlies outshot the Americans 44 to 36. Adam Scheel stopped 32 of 36 in the win. 

Wednesday, November 20, 2024 – Utah 2 Wichita 5 – Mick Messner and Derek Daschke each scored a second period goal for Utah. Daschke had 1 goal and 1 assist. Cole Gallant had 2 assists. Wichita got goals from 5 different players. 12 of 18 Wichita skaters had 1 or more points. Thunder outshot the Grizz 39 to 28. Utah was 1 for 2 on the power play and 1 for 1 on the penalty kill. 

Thursday, November 21, 2024 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm. INTRUST Bank Arena. 

Friday, November 22, 2024 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm. INTRUST Bank Arena. 

Sunday, November 24, 2024 – Utah at Tulsa. 2:05 pm. BOK Center. 

All Times Mountain. 

Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. Every Grizzlies game can be streamed on FloHockey and audio coverage is available on the Grizzlies YouTube channel. 

Grizzlies Player Notes 

#3 Craig Armstrong took a season high 6 shots at Wichita on Nov. 20. Armstrong has 10 shots in his last 3 games and 21 shots through 11 games. Armstrong is a +2 in 3 different games this season. 

#4 Bryan Yoon has a point in 6 of his first 10 games this season (3g, 3a). Yoon has a 17.6 shooting % (3 for 17). Yoon is currently out with an injury. 

#5 Derek Daschke leads the team in assists (10), points (13) and shots on goal (41).  Daschke has 13 points in 11 games (3 goals, 10 assists). Daschke has a point in 8 of his 11 games. He leads Grizzlies defenseman with a +2 rating. Daschke leads Utah with 5 power play points (1g, 4a). Daschke has 3 or more shots in 8 of 11 games. 

#10 Mick Messner is tied for the club lead with 5 goals. Messner leads Utah forwards with 39 shots on goal. Messner has 34 shots in 8 games in November. Messner has a point in 8 of his 11 games. He has 8 points (3g, 5a) in 8 games in November. Buhl has 2 or more shots in 7 of 10 games this season. 

#11 Cameron Buhl was the number 1 star on Nov. 9 vs Tahoe as he scored the game tying and game winning goals in the third period. Buhl has 3 goals this season, all of them assisted by Dylan Fitze.  

#12 Blake Wells was injured on opening night at Idaho (October 18^th) and is out with an upper body injury. 

#13 Dylan Fitze scored three points in the third period on November 9 vs Tahoe (1 goal, 2 assists). Fitze has assisted in all 3 of Cameron Buhl’s goals. Fitze has 5 points (2g, 3a) in his last 6 games. 

#14 Briley Wood has a point in 6 of his last 10 games. Wood has 3 assists in his last 2 games. 

#15 Aaron Aragon scored his first goal of the season on Nov. 16 at Allen.

#16 Luke Manning has a point in 6 of his last 10 games (2g, 6a). Manning is second in the club with 3 power play assists. Manning has 3 or more shots in 5 different games this season.

#17 Reed Lebster leads Utah with 2 power play goals. Lebster has 2 or more shots in 8 of his 10 games with Utah and 3 or more shots in 6 different games.  

#19 Adam Berg scored a goal in his first shift in his return to the club 3:08 into the first period on Nov. 15 at Allen. Berg reunites with Utah after playing in 9 games with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers. Berg scored 9 goals and 14 assists in 50 games with the Grizzlies last season. 

#20 Chase Hartje has played in 4 games this season.

#23 Kade Jensen scored his first pro goal at Rapid City on October 25, 2024. That night Jensen had 1 goal and 1 assist. Jensen has 2 goals and 1 assist in 11 games this season. 

#24 Gianni Fairbrother has 5 goals and 3 assists in his last 8 games. His 5 goals are tied for the league lead among blueliners. All 5 of his goals this season have come against Allen. Fairbrother had 2 goals, 1 assist and 8 shots on goal vs Allen on Nov. 2. He was named Grizzlies Captain on October 23rd. It's the third straight season that a defenseman has been named Grizzlies captain (Josh Wesley 2023-24, Connor McDonald 2022-23). Fairbrother scored a goal which turned out to be the game winner in his first game as Utah’s captain on Nov. 1. 

#25 Cole Gallant has 8 assists in his last 5 games and an assist in 5 straight. Gallant leads Utah in assists (11) and plus/minus (+5). He had 3 assists at Allen on November 16 and 2 helpers vs Wichita on November 20. Gallant has 19 shots in his last 6 games. 

#26 Tyson Upper tied for a season high with 3 shots at Allen on Nov. 9.  

#27 Cade Neilson scored a goal in his pro debut on Nov. 1^st vs Allen. Neilson got into a fight halfway through the first period on Nov. 2. Neilson got his first north American pro assist on Nov. 9 vs Tahoe. Neilson had 1 assist in 4 games with the EIHL’s Glasgow Clan this season. Neilson has a point in 3 of his 8 games with Utah.   

#28 Kabore Dunn has 1 assist this season (Oct. 26 at Rapid City). Dunn has 9 shots on goal this season, with 4 coming on Oct. 26 at RC. 

#34 Adam Scheel leads the league in saves (303) and minutes (615). Scheel has started 10 of Utah’s 11 games. 

#42 Nick Pastorious leads Utah with 18 penalty minutes this season. He has 5 shots on goal and 1 assist 

#74 James Shearer has 3 assists this season. He has been paired up with Gianni Fairbrother to start the season. In 78 career games with Utah he has 9 goals, 28 assists and a +10 rating. 

Grizzlies Team Notes 

The Grizzlies have been a high scoring team at Maverik Center as they have 17 goals in 4 home games this season. 

Utah is averaging 3.45 goals per game, which ranks 8th in the leauge. The Grizzlies are averaging 35.36 shots per game, which ranks 2nd in the league. The Grizzlies have the fewest penalty minutes in the league with 72 (6.55 per game). Utah is 3-0 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 4-1-1 when outshooting opponents. Utah is outshooting opponents 145 to 123 in the second periods this season.

Grizzlies/Thunder Connections

Thunder goaltender Aaron Dell played in 29 games with the Grizzlies during the 2013-14 season. He had a record of 19-7-3 with a 2.14 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Dell has appeared in 130 NHL games over a 7 season stretch from 2016-2023. 111 of Dell’s 130 games came as a member of the San Jose Sharks. Thunder goaltender Trevor Gorsuch played in 6 games for Utah in the 2020-21 season. Gorsuch had a 2-2-1 record with a 2.89 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. 

Utah Grizzlies 2024-2025 Roster

Forwards (15): Aaron Aragon, Craig Armstrong, Adam Berg, Cameron Buhl, Dylan Fitze, Cole Gallant, Reed Lebster, Luke Manning, Mick Messner, Reed Morison, Cade Neilson, Nick Pastorious, Tyson Upper, Blake Wells, Briley Wood. 

Defenseman (8): Derek Daschke, Kabore Dunn, Gianni Fairbrother, Chase Hartje, Kade Jensen, Kyle Pow, James Shearer, Bryan Yoon. 

Goaltenders (2): Vincent Duplessis, Adam Scheel. 

2024-2025 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals 

Overall record: 5-5-1

Home record: 2-2 

Road record: 3-3-1

Win percentage: .500

Standings Points: 11

Last 10: 5-4-1

Goals per game: 3.45 (8^th) Goals for: 38

Goals against per game: 4.00 (28^th) Goals Against: 44

Shots per game: 35.36 (2^nd) 

Shots against per game: 34.18 (26^th)

Power Play: 7 for 32 – 21.9 % (7^th)

Penalty Kill: 13 for 22 – 59.1 % (29^th)

Penalty Minutes: 72. 6.55 per game. (Fewest penalty minutes in the league). 

Shorthanded Goals: 1.  

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 1. 

Record When Scoring First: 3-1-1.

Opposition Scores First: 2-4. 

Record in One Goal Games: 2-0-1 

Games Decided Past Regulation: 2-0-1 

Team Leaders 

Goals: Gianni Fairbrother/Mick Messner/Neil Shea (5) 

Assists: Cole Gallant (11) 

Points: Derek Daschke (11) 

Plus/Minus: Gallant (+5) 

PIM: Nick Pastorious (18) 

Power Play Points: Daschke (5)

Power Play Goals: Reed Lebster/Mick Messner (2) 

Power Play Assists: Daschke (4)

Shots on Goal: Daschke (41) 

Shooting Percentage: Gianni Fairbrother (17.9 %) - Minimum 20 shots. 

Game Winning Goals: Cameron Buhl/Derek Daschke/Gianni Fairbrother/Kade Jensen (1) 

Wins: Adam Scheel (5)

Save %: Adam Scheel (.894) 

Goals Against Average: Scheel (3.51) 

Shutouts: (0)

Streaks 

Goals: Derek Daschke, Mick Messner (2)

Assists: Cole Gallant (5) Derek Daschke (3) Briley Wood (2)

Points (2 or more): Gallant (5), Daschke (3) Messner, Wood (2)

Multiple Point Games

4 – Derek Daschke

3 – Mick Messner

2 – Cole Gallant, Luke Manning, Neil Shea, Briley Wood

1 – Cameron Buhl, Gianni Fairbrother, Dylan Fitze, Kade Jensen, Reed Lebster,