ECHL Utah Grizzlies

2013-2014 Grizzlies Season Review; Best Season on Ice in 14 Years

Published on April 29, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


The Grizzlies finished the first year of the Tim Branham era with a 38-24-3-6 record, the third best record in the Western Conference and the second best home record in the league. Utah had their highest average attendance at 5,004 since 2003-2004 and the largest attendance increase in the ECHL at 8.2-percent.

2013-2014 Timeline

July 8, 2013: Tim Branham named seventh Head Coach of the Utah Grizzlies.

August 7, 2013: Affiliation announced with Anaheim Ducks.

October 18, 2013: Jamie MacQueen becomes the sixth player in Grizzlies history to score four goals in a game in a season opening 4-1 win over Idaho before 7,835 fans on opening night at Maverik Center.

December 21, 2013: The Grizzlies enter Christmas Break with a seven-game winless skid and a conference worst 7-14-1-2 record overall.

December 27, 2013: Utah rallies down 1-0 to beat Colorado 2-1 and start a 4-game winning streak and a league best 31-10-2-4 record to finish the season.

January 29, 2014: The Grizzlies beat Las Vegas 2-1 to set an all-time record 11-game home unbeaten streak at Maverik Center.

January 31, 2014: The Grizzlies win 5-2 in Bakersfield to start a key midseason 6-2-0-1 nine-game road trip, with games played in six cities over 16 days.

February 3, 2014: Aaron Dell named Goaltender of the Month for January, starting a stretch of three-straight months in which the Grizzlies would have a goaltender named Goaltender of the Month with Igor Bobkov winning in February and March. It became the first time in league history that a team has been represented by the Goaltender of the Month in three-straight months.

March 29, 2014: Martin Lee scores at the buzzer as the Grizzlies beat Colorado 2-1 in a huge game in terms of playoff seeding.

April 11, 2014: The Grizzlies beat Idaho 3-2 to clinch the third seed in the Western Conference.

April 25, 2014: The Grizzlies season ends in Bakersfield, falling four games to one in a series where the first four games were tied in the third period, decided by a goal and games three and four were decided in overtime.

Wins

38 wins was the most for the team since 2002-2003 and the team's best winning percentage since 1999-2000.

More Home Ice Numbers

The Grizzlies went 23-6-2-5 this season at Maverik Center, with the fewest home losses in the ECHL and their second best home winning percentage in team history at .736.

Team Record

173 goals allowed were the fewest given up in team history. Utah's previous low for goals allowed was 220 in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 during an 82-game schedule.

Goaltending

The Grizzlies finished the season with two of the top four ranked goaltenders in the ECHL. Ducks prospect Igor Bobkov (2) went 17-8-2-2 with a 2.04 goal-against-average and a .921 save percentage. Aaron Dell (4) went 19-7-0-3 with a 2.14 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage.

Defense First Hockey In Branham Regime

The Grizzlies finished third in the ECHL allowing just 2.44 goals-per-game, fourth in shots allowed at 27 per-game and fifth on the penalty-kill at 86.6-percent. Last year the Grizzlies ranked last in goals allowed, last on the penalty-kill and fourth to last in shots allowed.

Start To Finish

17 of the Grizzlies 22 players or 77-percent from their opening day roster were with the team when the playoffs came to an end.

Paquette

Utah's second leading scorer Danick Paquette finished the year with career highs in goals (23), points (49) and penalty minutes (262). Utah was 17-3 when Paquette scored a goal this year.

Plus-Minus Leader

Utah defenseman Martin Lee finished second among all ECHL defensemen with a plus-26.

All-Time Lows, Just For Laughs

The Grizzlies recorded an all-time team low 0 shots on goal in the third period of a 3-2 shootout win over Colorado on February 12. 2 nights later in a 4-3 shootout win over the Eagles was the first time in 674 ECHL games that the Grizzlies have not drawn a power-play.

Check out the Utah Grizzlies Statistics

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