Grizzlies Gameday: April 3, 2026 – Wichita at Utah 

Wichita Thunder (25-29-6-4, 60 points, .469 point %) @ Utah Grizzlies (25-32-8-1, 59 points, .447 point %)

Date: April 3, 2026  Venue: Maverik Center Game Time: 7:10 pm

Streaming: FloHockey – https://www.flohockey.tv/events/14334375-2026-wichita-thunder-vs-utah-grizzlies 

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

Next Game: April 4, 2026. Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm. Star Wars Night

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

Friday’s Matchup 

It’s the second of a three-game series between the Grizzlies and Thunder. It’s the seventh of 8 meetings this season between the clubs. Utah is 3-2-1 vs Wichita this season. The Grizzlies are 40-18-7 all-time vs Wichita. Evan Friesen has 3 goals in his last 2 games. Andrew Noel is a +3 in his last 3 games.

Grizzlies Among League Leaders

Danny Dzhaniyev has 15 points (6g, 9a) in his last 12 games. Dzhaniyev leads Utah with 18 multiple point games. Dzhaniyev is tied for the league lead with 260 shots on goal. Danny is tied for 2^nd in the league with 66 points and is tied for 3^rd with 43 assists. Reed Lebster is tied with Allen’s Danny Katic for second in the league with 31 goals and is tied for 13^th with 56 points. Lebster is tied for 5^th in the league with 213 shots on goal. Aiden Hansen-Bukata is third among rookies with 37 assists, second among rookies with 19 power play assists and third with 21 power play points. 

Games Remaining in the 2025-26 Regular Season 

April 3, 2026 – Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm. 

April 4, 2026 – Wichita at Utah. 7:10 pm. Star Wars Night. 

April 7, 2026 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm. 

April 10, 2026 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. 

April 11, 2026 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm. Fan Appreciation Night. 

April 12, 2026 – Rapid City at Utah. 3:10 pm. Final regular season game in Grizzlies history. All Times Mountain. 

Grizzlies Win 6-3 in Series Opener

April 1, 2026 – Wichita 3 Utah 6 – Aiden Hansen-Bukata, Cy LeClerc and Nicholas Niemo each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Dylan Gratton had 2 assists and was a +2. Mikey Colella and Evan Friesen each added a goal. Danny Dzhaniyev had 1 assist and led Utah with 4 shots on goal. Utah outshot Wichita 32 to 24. Grizzlies went 1 for 2 on the power play and 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. 

Danny Dzhaniyev Named League Rookie of the Month for March 2026 

SHREWSBURY, N.J. – Utah Grizzlies’ forward Danny Dzhaniyev has been named the Howies Hockey Tape ECHL Rookie of the Month for March. Dzhaniyev scored six goals and added eight assists for 14 points in 11 games during the month.

The 23-year-old had at least one point in eight of his 11 games, while posting multiple points five times. He had three assists on March 7 at Cincinnati and notched his second hat trick of the season on March 15 against Tulsa. Dzhaniyev was named ECHL Player of the Week for the week ending March 15 after recording seven points (6g-1a) in three games.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dzhaniyev leads ECHL rookies with 43 assists and 66 points, which are tied for third and tied for second overall in the league respectively, while his 260 shots on goal are tied for the most in the league.

Prior to turning pro, Dzhaniyev recorded 93 points (34g-59a) in 146 career games at Penn State University and 47 points (24g-23a) in 98 career games in the United States Hockey League with Dubuque and the U.S National Under-17 and Under 18 Teams. It’s the second straight month where a Grizzlies forward has won the ECHL Rookie of the Month award. Reilly Connor was the winner for February 2026. Dzhaniyev is the ninth Grizzlies skater to win the league’s Rookie of the Month award. 

Grizzlies Rookie of the Month Winners

Danny Dzhaniyev – March 2026. 

Reilly Connors – February 2026. 

Brandon Cutler – November 2021.

Matthew Boucher – March 2021. 

J.T. Henke – December 2018. 

Austin Ortega – February 2018. 

Ralph Cuddemi – January 2017. 

Rob Hennigar – March 2009. 

Tyler Haskins – February 2008. 

Team Notes

Utah went 17-15-3-1 on the road this season. Utah scored 127 goals on the road (3.52 goals per game). Utah went to 20 rounds of a shootout at Cincinnati on March 8. It was the longest shootout in team history and the fourth time in league history where a shootout has gone 20 or more rounds. Utah has scored 34 third period goals over their last 24 games. The Grizzlies have used 59 players this season. Four players have appeared in all 66 games this season: Danny Dzhaniyev, Evan Friesen, John Gelatt and Reed Lebster. Utah is 18-9-3 when scoring first and 16-2-2 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 21-4-4 when leading or tied after 2 periods. Utah is 24-9-4 when scoring 3 or more goals. Utah has used 9 different goaltenders this season. 16 Grizzlies skaters have scored their first professional goals this season. Utah is 11-0-1 when allowing less than 3 goals. Utah has 12 games where they scored 6 or more goals and 6 games of 7 or more. Four different goaltenders have earned a shutout this season. It’s the first time that’s happened in Utah’s ECHL era. 

Grizzlies Have Had Many Players This Year 

Marek Hejduk and Isak Posch each made their Grizzlies debut on March 29 vs Allen. They are the 58^th and 59^th players to appear in a game for Utah this season. That passes each of the last two years when the Grizzlies had 51 players in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Utah has used 32 forwards, 18 defensemen and 9 goaltenders. Josh Zinger is the 18^th different defenseman to appear in a game for Utah. 

The team record for the most players used in a single season is 63, which was set in the 1996-97 season. 

Seasons Where the Grizzlies Have Used 50 or More Players

63: 1996-97

59: 2025-26. 

53: 2011-12. 

52: 1997-98, 2020-21.

51: 2023-24, 2024-25.

50: 2009-10. 

Grizzlies Are Almost Dead Even on the Shot Count

This season the Grizzlies have taken 2073 shots on goal (31.41 per game) and they have allowed 2067 shots on goal (31.32 per game). Utah has outshot opponents in 33 of 66 games this season (14-16-3 record when outshooting opponents). Utah is 10-16-5-1 when being outshot. 

Save That Puck It’s His First Pro Goal

There have been 16 Grizzlies skaters who have scored their first ECHL goals this season. 7 of the 16 players to score their first pro goals this season have been defensemen. 

October 18 – Jack Ricketts. 

October 19 – Christian Felton. 

October 25 – John Gelatt. 

October 30 – Danny Dzhaniyev. 

November 22 – Christophe Fillion. 

November 28 – Connor Kelley.

November 29 – Colby Enns. 

December 6 – Aiden Hansen-Bukata. 

January 16, 2026 – Mikey Colella. 

January 24 – Luke Antonacci 

February 4 – Mike Gelatt

March 6 – Dylan Gratton. 

March 20 – Mathieu Boislard. 

March 29 – Cy LeClerc 

April 1 – Nicholas Niemo, Ryan Rosborough. 

2025-2026 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals  

Overall record: 25-32-8-1

Home record: 7-17-5 

Road record: 17-15-3-1

Win percentage: .447

Standings Points: 59

Last 10: 4-4-1-1

Streak: 1-0

Goals per game: 3.24 (Tied 8^th) Goals for: 214

Goals against per game: 3.64 (Tied 28^th) Goals Against: 240

Shots per game: 31.41 (12^th) Total Shots: 2073

Shots against per game: 31.32 (21^st) Total Shots: 2067

Power Play: 47 for 223– 21.1 % (8^th)

Penalty Kill: 157 for 198 – 79.3 % (Tied 20^th)  

Penalty Minutes: 664. 10.06 per game.  

Shorthanded Goals: 5.  

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 7. 

Record When Scoring First: 18-9-3. 

Opponent Scores First: 7-23-5-1.  

Record in One Goal Games: 6-6-8-1 

Games Decided Past Regulation: 2-0-8-1

Attendance per game: 4,408.   

Team Leaders  

Goals: Reed Lebster (31) 

Assists: Danny Dzhaniyev (43)

Points: Dzhaniyev (66)   

Plus/Minus: Maxim Barbashev (+8)

PIM: Mathieu Boislard (60)  

Power Play Points: Danny Dzhaniyev (23)

Power Play Goals: Tyler Gratton (10) 

Power Play Assists: Dzhaniyev (21)  

Shots on Goal: Danny Dzhaniyev (260) 

Shooting Percentage: Evan Friesen (16.1 %) – Minimum 60 shots 

Game Winning Goals: Lebster (5) 

Wins: Dylan Wells (7)

Save %: Kyle Keyser (.917) - Minimum 2 games. 

Goals Against Average: Kyle Keyser (2.43) – Minimum 2 games. 

Shutouts: Kaskisuo, Keyser, Miska, Wells (1)   

Streaks 

Goals: Evan Friesen, Cy LeClerc (2) Aiden Hansen-Bukata, Mikey Colella, Nicholas Niemo, Ryan Rosborough

Assists: Danny Dzhaniyev (3) Hansen-Bukata, Colby Enns, Dylan Gratton, Marek Hejduk, Niemo, Andrew Noel, Ryan Taylor. 

Points (2 or more): Dzhaniyev (3) Friesen, LeClerc (2) 

Multiple Point Games 

Danny Dzhaniyev – 18

Reed Lebster – 11 

Tyler Gratton – 10

Aiden Hansen-Bukata - 9 

Evan Friesen – 7 

Reilly Connors, Luke Manning, Stepan Timofeyev – 6 

Griffin Ness – 5  

Maxim Barbashev – 4 

Noah Ganske, John Gelatt, Garrett Pyke, Neil Shea – 2 

Dylan Gratton, Mike Gelatt, Shawn Kennedy, Cy LeClerc, Nicholas Niemo, Jack Ricketts, Henri Schreifels, Robbie Stucker – 1 

Grizzlies Players Winning League Awards 

March 2026: Danny Dzhaniyev – Rookie of the Month. 

March 9-15, 2026: Danny Dzhaniyev – Player of the Week. 

February 2026: Reilly Connors – Rookie of the Month. 

October 20-26, 2025: Dylan Wells - Goaltender of the Week.