Grizzlies Gameday: Neil Shea Returns to the Grizzlies for the Road Trip Finale

Grizzlies Gameday: Neil Shea Returns to Grizzlies for Road Trip Finale in Tahoe 

Utah Grizzlies (5-15-2, 12 points, .273 point %) @ Tahoe Knight Monsters (14-6-1-1, 30 points, .682 point %) 

Date: December 15, 2024 Venue: Tahoe Blue Event Center Game Time: 4:00 pm. 

Streaming: FloHockey – https://www.flohockey.tv/events/12620098-2024-utah-grizzlies-vs-tahoe-knight-monsters?nav_id=75 

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

Next Home Game: December 18, 2024 - Tahoe @ Utah. 7:10 pm.

Neil Shea Reassigned to Grizzlies

Forward Neil Shea was reassigned to the Grizzlies from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Shea has a goal in all 5 games he’s played with Utah this season (5 goals, 3 assists). Shea has taken 31 shots and has a 16.1 shooting percentage for Utah this season. Shea scored 1 goal and 2 assists and had a +2 rating in 8 games with the Eagles. 

Sunday’s Matchup

It’s the last of a three-game road trip for the Grizzlies as they are in Tahoe for the first ever series. Utah split a two-game series vs Tahoe in November, winning 6-4 on November 9^th and falling 6-2 on November 10^th. The Grizz are 2-1-2 in one goal games. 

Briley Wood has 4 goals in his last 4 games and 7 points (5g, 2a) in his last 7 games. Wood has a point in 6 of his last 7 games. Derek Daschke has an assist in 6 of his last 7 games. Daschke has points in 11 of 15 games this season and he leads Utah with 13 assists. Cole Fonstad has 4 assists in 5 games for Utah this season. Andrew Nielsen has 3 assists in 5 games with Utah. Gianni Fairbrother is tied for 3^rd among league defensemen with 6 goals. Grizzlies have a second period goal in 8 straight games. Tahoe has scored 33 goals in their current 6 game winning streak. 

Games vs Tahoe in December

December 12, 2024 – Utah 2 Tahoe 8 – Aaron Aragon and Luke Manning each scored a goal for Utah. 13 of Tahoe’s 18 skaters had 1 or more points. Tahoe captain Luke Adam had 5 assists. Tahoe outshot Utah 39 to 38. 

December 14, 2024 – Utah 2 Tahoe 5 – Briley Wood and Dylan Fitze each scored a second period goal for Utah. Tahoe got 1 goal and 1 assist performances from Luke Adam, Jett Jones and Jake McGrew. Tahoe outshot Utah 38 to 26. 

December 15, 2024 – Utah at Tahoe. 4:00 pm. Tahoe Blue Event Center. 

December 18, 2024 – Tahoe at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Bud Light Wednesday. 

December 20, 2024 – Tahoe at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. AFCU Friday. 

December 21, 2024 – Tahoe at Utah. 7:10 pm. Maverik Center. Teddy Bear Toss, Ugly Sweater Night. 

Utah split a 2-game series vs Tahoe in November, winning 6-4 on Nov. 9 and losing 6-2 on Nov. 10. Dylan Fitze has 3 goals and 2 assists vs Tahoe. 

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 in Pacific Time Zone for First Time Since 2015

The Grizzlies last victory in the pacific time zone was an 8-3 score at Bakersfield on March 13, 2015. Brenden Walker had 2 goals, and 3 assists and Jacob Johnston had 2 goals and 1 assist to lead Utah to the win. 

Recent Transactions

December 15 – Forward Neil Shea reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL). 

December 12 – Grizzlies sign forward Brayden Nicholetts. 

December 12 – Grizzlies release defenseman Kyle Pow.

December 12 - Forward Keaton Mastrodonato reassigned to Utah from Colorado (AHL). Mastrodonato played in 13 games with Colorado. He had 1 assist for Utah in the 2024-25 season opener at Idaho on October 18. 

December 9 – Goaltender Adam Scheel was recalled by Colorado (AHL). 

Tahoe Knight Monsters

The Tahoe Knight Monsters are in their first season as a franchise. They have a record of 14-6-1-1. They have been a strong team at home (8-3-1-1) as well as being a good road team (6-3). The Knight Monsters have won 6 straight games and are 7-3 in their last 10. Tahoe is led by Simon Pinard, who is tied for 12^th in the league with 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists). Sloan Stanick has 21 points (8g, 13a) in 20 games. Stanick leads all league rookies with 6 power play assists and is 2^nd with 8 power play points. Bear Hughes is averaging a point per game with 17 points (5g, 12a) in 17 games. Tahoe is 11-3-1 when scoring first. The Knight Monsters have been a strong third period club as they have outscored opponents 33 to 19. Tahoe is 2^nd in the league in goals per game (3.95). 

Grizzlies Team Notes 

Utah is 3-0 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 2-1 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 4-2-1 when outshooting opponents. Utah is 2-1-2 in one goal games. Utah is 3-3-2 when scoring first. 27 of their 57 goals this season have come in the second period(s). Believe it or not the -11 goal differential in the second period (27-38) is the Grizzlies best period this season. Utah has 3 power play goals in their last 4 games. Utah is 5-1 when they score 4 or more goals. They have a second period goal in 8 straight games. 

Grizzlies Looking for a Win

The Grizzlies’ 12 game losing streak ties a team record, which was previously set during the 2007-08 season when they lost 12 straight games from March 2-31, 2008. They had 1 other 10 game losing streak, which came in the 2006-07 season.

Utah Grizzlies 2024-2025 Roster

Forwards (17): Aaron Aragon, Craig Armstrong, Adam Berg, Cameron Buhl, Dylan Fitze, Cole Fonstad, Cole Gallant, Reed Lebster, Luke Manning, Keaton Mastrodonato, Mick Messner, Cade Neilson, Brayden Nicholetts, Neil Shea, Tyson Upper, Blake Wells, Briley Wood. 

Defenseman (8): Derek Daschke, Kabore Dunn, Gianni Fairbrother, Kade Jensen, Andrew Nielsen, Dilan Savenkov, James Shearer, Bryan Yoon. 

Goaltenders (2): Jake Barczewski, Vincent Duplessis. 

2024-2025 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals 

Overall record: 5-15-2

Home record: 2-7-1 

Road record: 3-8-1

Win percentage: .273

Standings Points: 12

Last 10: 0-9-1

Streak: 0-11-1

Goals per game: 2.59 (16^th)  Goals for: 57

Goals against per game: 4.59 (29^th) Goals Against: 101

Shots per game: 30.86 (12^th) 

Shots against per game: 35.18 (28^th)

Power Play: 10 for 66 – 15.2 % (22^nd) 

Penalty Kill: 30 for 55 – 54.5 % (29^th)

Penalty Minutes: 240. 10.91 per game. 

Shorthanded Goals: 1.  

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 1. 

Record When Scoring First: 3-3-2.

Opposition Scores First: 2-12. 

Record in One Goal Games: 2-1-2 

Games Decided Past Regulation: 2-0-2 

Team Leaders 

Goals: Briley Wood (7) 

Assists: Derek Daschke (13) 

Points: Derek Daschke (16) 

Plus/Minus: Reed Morison/Neil Shea (+1) 

PIM: Kyle Pow (27) 

Power Play Points: Daschke (5)

Power Play Goals: Briley Wood (3) 

Power Play Assists: Daschke (4)

Shots on Goal: Mick Messner (67) 

Shooting Percentage: Briley Wood (15.6 %) - Minimum 30 shots. 

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

Wins: Adam Scheel (5)

Save %: Scheel (.885) 

Goals Against Average: Scheel (3.98)