
Grizzlies Gameday: Teddy Bear Toss and Ugly Sweater Night at Maverik Center
December 21, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release
Tahoe Knight Monsters (16-7-1-1-, 34 points, .680 point %) @ Utah Grizzlies (6-16-3, 15 points, .300 point %)
Date: December 21, 2024 Venue : Maverik Center Game Time: 7:10 pm.
Streaming : FloHockey - https://www.flohockey.tv/events/12620178-2024-tahoe-knight-monsters-vs-utah-grizzlies?nav_id=75
Audio/Radio: Grizzlies YouTube channel. - https://www.youtube.com/@THEUTAHGRIZZLIES
Next Home Game: December 27, 2024 - Rapid City @ Utah. 7:10 pm.
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.
Saturday's Matchup
It's the third of a five game homestand for the Grizzlies as they take on the Tahoe Knight Monsters. It's the 8th meeting this season between the clubs. Utah is 2-4-1 vs Tahoe this season. Tahoe has scored 50 goals in their last 9 games.
Grizzlies Star Performers
Derek Daschke has a point in 9 of his last 10 games and a point or more in 14 of 17 games this season. Daschke leads Utah with 16 assists, 20 points and a +3 rating on the year. Cole Gallant leads Utah forwards with 14 assists.
Briley Wood has 5 goals in his last 6 games and 10 points (6g, 4a) in his last 10 games. Wood has a point in 8 of his last 10 games. Andrew Nielsen has 8 assists in 8 games for Utah. Cole Fonstad has 6 assists in 8 games. Luke Manning has 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 5 games. Keaton Mastrodonato has a goal in 3 straight games. Goaltender Vinny Duplessis earned his first pro win on Friday night vs Tahoe.
Grizzlies Team Notes
Utah is 4-0 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is 3-1 when leading after 1 period. Utah is 4-2-2 when outshooting opponents. Utah is 2-1-3 in one goal games. Utah is 4-3-2 when scoring first. 35 of their 72 goals this season came in the second period(s). Utah has 5 power play goals in their last 7 games. Utah is 6-1-1 when they score 4 or more goals. Utah has scored a second period goal in 11 straight games.
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 3 Tahoe 7 - Keaton Mastrodonato, Luke Manning and James Shearer each scored a goal for Utah. Tahoe got 3 goals from Sloan Stanick and Simon Pinard had 1 goal and 3 assists. Tahoe outshot Utah 30 to 27. Both teams went 1 for 2 on the power play.
December 18, 2024 - Tahoe 7 Utah 6 - Utah got goals from 6 different forwards. Briley Wood got the tying goal with 3:54 left in the third period. Derek Daschke, Mick Messner and Andrew Nielsen each had 2 assists. Nielsen was a +2 to lead Utah. Utah outshot Tahoe 41 to 36. Utah went 1 for 2 on the power play, Tahoe was 1 for 1.
December 20, 2024 - Tahoe 3 Utah 6 - Vinny Duplessis saved 34 of 37 to earn his first pro win. Keaton Mastrodonato had 1 goal and 1 assist. Luke Manning, Andrew Nielsen and Bryan Yoon each had 2 assists. Craig Armstrong, Derek Daschke, Gianni Fairbrother, Mick Messner and Neil Shea each had 1 goal. Tahoe outshot Utah 37 to 27.
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. Derek Daschke leads Utah with 7 points in 7 games vs Tahoe (1g, 6a). Dylan Fitze and Luke Manning each have 4 goals and 2 assists vs Tahoe this season. Keaton Mastrodonato has 3 goals in 5 games vs Tahoe.
The Knight Monsters are led by Sloan Stanick, who has 13 points (5g, 8a) and a +6 rating in 7 games vs Utah. Jett Jones (Currently with the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights) has 8 goals and a +9 rating in 6 games vs Utah. Jake McGrew has 5 goals and 5 assists in 7 games vs Utah.
Recent Transactions
December 18 - Grizzlies sign defenseman Cody Corbett.
December 15 - Forward Neil Shea reassigned to the Grizzlies 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).
December 9 - Goaltender Adam Scheel was recalled by Colorado (AHL).
Milestones
Cody Corbett will be appearing in his 200th ECHL game on Saturday night. Corbett also has 95 games of AHL experience. Both Derek Daschke and Cole Gallant appeared in their 100th professional games on Friday night. Daschke scored a second period goal and Gallant had 1 assist. Mick Messner has appeared in 103 professional games, all of them with the Grizzlies. Messner has played in 103 straight games since joining the club.
Tahoe Knight Monsters
The Tahoe Knight Monsters are in their first season as a franchise. They have a record of 16-7-1-1. They have been a strong team at home (9-3-1-1) as well as being a good road team (7-4). The Knight Monsters have won 8 of their last 9 games and are 8-2 in their last 10. Sloan Stanick leads all league rookies with 28 points (12g, 16a) in 23 games. Bear Hughes is averaging a point per game with 21 points (6g, 15a) in 20 games. Tahoe is 13-3-1 when scoring first. The Knight Monsters have been a strong third period club as they have outscored opponents 39 to 24. Tahoe leads the league in goals per game at 4.16.
Grizzlies Trivia
The Grizzlies are 4-2 over their last 6 Teddy Bear Toss Nights. Utah has scored 28 goals in their last 6 Teddy Bear Toss nights. Last year Kyle Mayhew scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal late in the first period in Utah's 7-3 victory over Allen on December 9, 2023.
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 (9): Cody Corbett, 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: 6-16-3
Home record: 3-7-2
Road record : 3-9-1
Win percentage : .300
Standings Points : 15
Last 10 : 1-7-2
Streak : 1-0-1
Goals per game : 2.88 (14th) Goals for : 72
Goals against per game : 4.72 (29th) Goals Against : 118
Shots per game : 30.96 (12th)
Shots against per game : 35.08 (28th)
Power Play : 12 for 75 - 16.0 % (21st)
Penalty Kill : 35 for 62 - 56.5 % (29th)
Penalty Minutes : 261. 10.44 per game.
Shorthanded Goals : 1.
Shorthanded Goals Allowed : 1.
Record When Scoring First: 4-3-2.
Opposition Scores First : 2-13-1.
Record in One Goal Games : 2-1-3
Games Decided Past Regulation : 2-0-3
Team Leaders
Goals : Briley Wood (8)
Assists : Derek Daschke (16)
Points : Daschke (20)
Plus/Minus : Daschke (+2)
PIM : Andrew Nielsen (30)
Power Play Points : Daschke/Mick Messner (5)
Power Play Goals : Briley Wood (3)
Power Play Assists : Daschke (4)
Shots on Goal : Mick Messner (76)
Shooting Percentage : Neil Shea (15.4%) - Minimum 38 shots.
Game Winning Goals : Cameron Buhl/Derek Daschke/Gianni Fairbrother/Kade Jensen/Keaton Mastrodonato (1)
Wins : Adam Scheel (5)
Save %: Scheel (.885)
Goals Against Average : Scheel (3.98)
Streaks
Goals: Keaton Mastrodonato (3) Craig Armstrong, Derek Daschke, Gianni Fairbrother, Mick Messner, Neil Shea (1)
Assists: Andrew Nielsen (3), Cole Fonstad, Cole Gallant (2) Reed Lebster, Luke Manning, Mastrodonato, Bryan Yoon (1)
Points (2 or more): Daschke (4) Manning, Mastrodonato, Nielsen (3) Fonstad, Gallant, Lebster, Messner, Shea (2)
Multiple Point Games
5 - Derek Daschke
4 - Mick Messner, Briley Wood
3 - Luke Manning, Andrew Nielsen,
2 - Aaron Aragon, Cole Gallant, Reed Lebster, Neil Shea.
1 - Cameron Buhl, Gianni Fairbrother, Dylan Fitze, Cole Fonstad, Kade Jensen, Keaton Mastrodonato, Cade Neilson, Bryan Yoon.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from December 21, 2024
- Grizzlies Win 6-4 Thriller on Teddy Bear Toss Night - Utah Grizzlies
- Knight Monsters Lose Again to Utah - Tahoe Knight Monsters
- Rush Ties Game Twice in Third, Drops Finale in Idaho - Rapid City Rush
- Steelheads Complete Sweep of Rush as Pelton-Byce Scores Late for Game Winner - Idaho Steelheads
- Thousands of Teddy Bears Flood the Ice; Mavericks Can't Solve Boyko - Kansas City Mavericks
- Bison Fall In Encore Meeting Against Iowa - Bloomington Bison
- Beaucage's Late Goal Propels Trois-Rivieres To Win Over Norfolk - Norfolk Admirals
- Thunder Finishes Pre-Holiday Schedule with Loss to Americans - Wichita Thunder
- Back-To-Back Wins for the Lions in Norfolk - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Tough Third Period Costs Blades - Florida Everblades
- Stingrays Rally For 4-1 Win Over Everblades - South Carolina Stingrays
- Heartlanders Ripple Bison, 6-1 - Iowa Heartlanders
- Hawkins, Dornbach Tally Goals in Loss to Wheeling - Toledo Walleye
- Fuel Defeat Komets with Hausinger Hatty - Indy Fuel
- Mariners Fall in Worcester Despite 31 Shots - Maine Mariners
- Muse Shines In 5-1 Railers' Win Over Maine - Worcester Railers HC
- Royals Quiet Thunder 6-3 - Adirondack Thunder
- Game Day #22 - Lions de Trois-Rivières vs. Norfolk Admirals - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Nailers Bounce Back to Beat Toledo, 5-2 - Wheeling Nailers
- Oilers Exact Revenge By Shutting Out Mavericks On Teddy Bear Toss - Tulsa Oilers
- K-Wings Ride Shorthanded Heroics to Victory Saturday - Kalamazoo Wings
- Americans End Losing Streak at Eight - Allen Americans
- ECHL Transactions - December 21 - ECHL
- Bison Claim Forward Mitch Walinski - Bloomington Bison
- K-Wings Sign Rookie Forward Drake Pilon - Kalamazoo Wings
- Charles Martin Called Back up by Wranglers - Rapid City Rush
- ECHL Announces Fines, Suspensions - ECHL
- Wichita Returns Home Tonight to Host Allen - Wichita Thunder
- Grizzlies Gameday: Teddy Bear Toss and Ugly Sweater Night at Maverik Center - Utah Grizzlies
- Game Day #22 - Lions de Trois-Rivières vs. Norfolk Admirals - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Rush Game Notes: December 21, 2024 at Idaho Steelheads - Rapid City Rush
- Mavericks Rally to Beat Oilers in Overtime - Kansas City Mavericks
- Ty Pelton-Byce Scores Overtime Winner Completing Hat-Trick in 6-5 Win Over Rapid City - Idaho Steelheads
- Oilers Earn Point Against Surging Mavericks in Overtime Loss - Tulsa Oilers
- Duplessis Gets First Pro Win as Utah Defeats Tahoe 6-3 - Utah Grizzlies
- Gladiators Win Fifth Straight Game, 3-1, Over Orlando on Home Ice - Atlanta Gladiators
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Utah Grizzlies Stories
- Utah Grizzlies 2024-25 Season in Review
- Grizzlies Finish 2024-25 Season with a 6-3 Road Victory
- Connors Scores Twice, Friesen Gets First Pro Goal in 5-2 Utah Win
- Utah Grizzlies Defenseman Derek Daschke Named First Team All-ECHL
- Fitze and Manning Scored for Utah in 3-2 Loss at Rapid City

