
Grizzlies Preview: Fan Appreciation Night Highlights Regular Season Finale
June 5, 2021 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release
Fort Wayne Komets (29-16-3-2, 63 points, .630 win %) @ Utah Grizzlies (34-26-5-6, 79 points, .556 Win%)
Maverik Center. June 5, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr/FloSports.
It's the final game of the regular season. It's the 3rd game of the series and Utah is 14-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series. Saturday night is Fan Appreciation Night and the Grizzlies are wearing TMNT special jersey's. Both teams are headed to the playoffs next week. Utah reached the playoffs for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons. Defenseman Ryan Lowney has a current 5 game point streak.
Playoff Scenarios
Utah is the 4 seed in the Western Conference. They will play the 1 seed in the Western Conference, which could either be Allen or Wichita.
Kelly Cup Playoffs Update
Allen can clinch the regular season Western Conference title on Saturday if: Allen wins OR Wichita loses in regulation OR Allen loses in overtime/shootout AND Wichita loses.
Wichita can clinch the regular season Western Conference title on Saturday if: Wichita wins AND Allen loses OR Wichita loses in overtime/shootout AND Allen loses in regulation.
Last Night
Fort Wayne defeated Utah 9-1 on Friday night. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 33-25. Fort Wayne went 3 for 5 on the power play and Utah was 0 for 4. Komets forward Zach Pochiro had 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists). Stephen Harper had 1 goal and 3 assists and Brandon Hawkins had 2 goals and 1 assist. Matthew Boucher scored Utah's lone goal 9:09 into the third period.
June 4: Fort Wayne 3 Utah 2
Fort Wayne led 3-0 after 1 period. Matt Hoover got Utah on the board with a shorthanded goal 5:42 into the second period. Mitch Maxwell added his 3rd of the season an unassisted power play goal 8:03 into the 3rd. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 35 to 24. Utah went 1 for 5 on the power play and was 1 for 1 on the penalty kill. Charlie Gerard led Utah with 4 shots.
Grizzlies Players Winning League Awards in 2020-21
Diego Cuglietta - Player of the Week for weekend of December 11-13.
Matthew Boucher - Player of the Week for January 18-24.
Matthew Boucher - Player of the Week for March 22-28.
Matthew Boucher - Rookie of the Month for March 2021.
Garrett Metcalf - Goaltender of the Week for April 19-25.
Parker Gahagen - Goaltender of the Week for May 3-9.
Parker Gahagen - Goaltender of the Week for May 10-16.
Trey Bradley - Player of the Week for May 17-23.
Parker Gahagen - Goaltender of the Month for May 2021.
Matthew Boucher - All-Rookie Team for the 2020-21 season.
Matthew Boucher Made the All-Rookie Team
Matthew Boucher was named to the league's All-Rookie team for the 2020-21 season. Boucher leads all league first year pros and Grizzlies skaters in Goals (23) points (49) and shots on goal (201). Matthew is the first Grizzlies player in team history to be named to the ECHL All-Rookie team. Boucher is the leading candidate for the league's Rookie of the Year honors. Boucher would not only be the first Grizzlies player to be named the Rookie of the Year but he would be the first Utah player to receive an individual award since the team joined the league prior to the 2005-06 season. Former Grizzlies trainer Cole Libby won the league's Athletic Trainer of the year in 2017.
May Recap
Utah went 11-4 in 15 games in the month of May. Trey Bradley leads Utah with 16 points in May (2 goals, 14 assists). His 16 points are tied for the league lead with 3 others, including Kansas City's Giorgio Estephan. Bradley has a +9 rating for the month. AJ White has 15 points in May (6 goals, 9 assists). Ty Lewis has 10 points in May (5 goals, 5 assists). The month was highlighted by a 7 game winning streak, sweeping Rapid City from May 4-8 and winning 3 games the following week at Tulsa on May 14-16.
2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)
Overall record: 34-26-5-6
Home record: 20-9-3-3. Utah has outscored opponents 116 to 102 at home.
Road record: 14-17-2-3
Win percentage: .556 (4th in Western Conference).
Streak: Lost 2.
Standings Points: 79
Last 10: 5-5.
Goals per game: 2.83 (11th). Goals for: 201
Goals against per game: 3.08 (10th). Goals against: 219
Shots per game: 32.44 (3rd).
Shots against per game: 29.18 (3rd).
Power Play: 16.9 % - 47 for 278 (7th).
Penalty Kill: 84.1 % - 217 for 258 (5th)
Penalty Minutes: 978 (13.77 per game).
Shorthanded Goals: 11 (Tied for 3rd)
Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 10 (Tied 10th)
Players Used: 52.
Record When Scoring First: 21-9-2-1
First Goal Win Loss
Utah Grizzlies 21 12
Opposition 13 25
Team Leaders (2020-21 season)
Goals: Matthew Boucher (24)
Assists: Trey Bradley (34)
Points: Boucher (51)
Plus/Minus: Matt Abt (+8)
PIM: Teigan Zahn/Hayden Hodgson (86)
Games Played: Cedric Pare (66)
Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney (17)
Power Play Goals: AJ White (9)
Shots on Goal: Boucher (207)
Shooting Percentage: AJ White (14.6 %) - Minimum 45 shots.
Game Winning Goals: White (5)
Wins: Parker Gahagen (9)
Save %: Gahagen (.925) - Minimum 8 games
Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.17). - Minimum 8 games
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd OT SO TOTAL Shots 1st 2nd 3rd OT TOTAL
Utah Grizzlies 56 80 58 4 3 201 Utah Grizzlies 753 784 719 44 2300
Opposition 70 77 61 5 6 219 Opposition 648 758 614 46 2066
Roster
Forwards: Travis Barron, Matthew Boucher, Trey Bradley, Pat Cannone, Charlie Gerard, Hayden Hodgson, Matt Hoover, Jack Jenkins, Ty Lewis, Mason Mannek, Mitch Maxwell, Cedric Pare, Joe Wegwerth. AJ White.
Defenseman: Luke Bafia, Brandon Fehd, Cole Fraser, Miles Gendron, Garrett Johnston, Alex Lepkowski, Ryan Lowney, Wyatt McLeod, Teigan Zahn.
Goaltenders: Parker Gahagen, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.
Last Week's Games
Thursday, May 27, 2021 - Utah 2 Kansas City 5 - Cedric Pare, Sasha Mutala each scored goals. Utah outshot KC 26 to 21. Neither team had a power play in the game.
Friday, May 28, 2021 - Utah 2 Kansas City 5 - Garrett Johnston and Ty Lewis scored goals in the loss. Utah was 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.
Saturday, May 29, 2021 - Utah at Kansas City. 6:05 pm. Utah is now 14-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series. Cedric Pare had 2 assists. Hayden Hodgson and Charlie Gerard each had a goal. Parker Gahagen saved 27 of 28.
This Week's Games
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 - Fort Wayne 3 Utah 2 - Matt Hoover and Mitch Maxwell each score goals. Both teams had a shorthanded goal. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 35 to 24.
Friday, June 4, 2021 - Fort Wayne 9 Utah 1 - Matthew Boucher and Travis Barron were a +1 for Utah. Utah outshot Fort Wayne 33 to 25.
Saturday, June 5, 2021 - Fort Wayne at Utah. 7:10 pm. TMNT Night (specialty jerseys) Shoot For Your Shot after the game. Fan Appreciation Weekend.
All times Mountain
Nest Week's Games
2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Opponent and dates are to be determined at a later date.
Utah plays Allen if Allen defeats Rapid City on Saturday.
Active Streaks
Goal Streaks: Matthew Boucher (1).
Assist Streaks: Ryan Lowney (2), Sasha Mutala (1).
Point Streaks of 2 or more: Lowney (5), Boucher (2).
Multiple Point games
12 - Matthew Boucher
11 - Trey Bradley
9 - AJ White
7 - Cedric Pare
6- Charlie Gerard, Ryan Lowney, Ty Lewis
5 - Riley Woods, Matt Hoover.
4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner.
3 - Miles Gendron, Travis Barron.
2 - Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, Joe Wegwerth, Mitch Maxwell, Hayden Hodgson, Alex Lepkowski.
1 - Jack Jenkins, Braylon Shmyr, Ian Scheid, Matt Abt, Ryker Killins, Josh Dickinson, Brayden Gelsinger, Brandon Fehd, Wyatt McLeod, Sasha Mutala.
2020-21 Number of Times Grizzlies Face Different Opponents
Allen - 18 games.
Rapid City - 16 games.
Tulsa - 12 games.
Kansas City - 11 games.
Wichita - 9 games.
Fort Wayne - 3 games at Maverik Center from June 3-5.
Wheeling - 3 games. Only 3 games vs an Eastern Conference opponent.
#Boucher4ROY
Matthew Boucher has put together a season worthy of the league's Rookie of the Year honors. Boucher currently leads all league rookies in goals (24), points (51) and shots on goal (207). He is also 5th with 27 assists. Boucher leads the team and all league rookies with 12 multiple point games.
Among Rookies
Goals - 24 (1st) - 2nd is Wichita's Jay Dickman with 19.
Assists - 27 - 5th
Points - 51 (1st) - 2nd is Dickman with 47.
Shots on goal - 207 (1st) - 2nd is teammate Charlie Gerard with 175.
7 Have Double Digit Goal Seasons
Matthew Boucher (24), Cedric Pare (17), Charlie Gerard (16), AJ White (15), Ryan Lowney (11) Pat Cannone and Trey Bradley (10) each have a double digit goal season.
Grizzlies Record is Outstanding When Leading After 1st and 2nd
Utah is 12-4-0-1 when leading after 1 period and 21-4-1-1 when leading after 2.
Grizzlies Like Home Cooking
Utah has outscored opponents 116 to 102 at home this season. The Grizz are 20-9-3-3 at Maverik Center, earning 46 standings points in 35 games.
Many 1 Goal Games
35 of the 71 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests. This season the Grizzlies have played in 18 games past regulation. Utah is 18-6-11 in 1 goal games.
ECHL Stories from June 5, 2021
- Grizz Win 6-0 in Regular Season Finale, Will Face Allen in Playoffs - Utah Grizzlies
- Mavericks Beat Thunder in Final Game of Season - Kansas City Mavericks
- Thunder to Face Komets in Western Conference Semifinals - Wichita Thunder
- Thunder Closes Regular Season with Loss in KC - Wichita Thunder
- Paterson Stones Rush with 33-Save Shutout - Rapid City Rush
- Repaci scores hat trick, but Solar Bears fall 4-3 in finale - Orlando Solar Bears
- Florida Claims Brabham Cup with Win over Orlando - Florida Everblades
- Nailers Win Season Finale, 5-2 - Wheeling Nailers
- Nailers Best Fuel in Final Regular Season Game of the Year - Indy Fuel
- Stingrays Salute Fans with 4-1 Victory - South Carolina Stingrays
- Florida Claims Brabham Cup as ECHL Regular-Season Champions - ECHL
- Blades Announce Schedule for First Round Home Games - Florida Everblades
- ECHL Transactions - June 5 - ECHL
- Grizzlies Preview: Fan Appreciation Night Highlights Regular Season Finale - Utah Grizzlies
- Game Preview: Stingrays vs. Icemen, June 5 at 6:05 PM - South Carolina Stingrays
- Blades Need One Point for Brabham Cup - Florida Everblades
- Game Day Preview: First Place Americans, Host Last Place Rapid City - Allen Americans
- Komets Throttle Grizzlies on Friday Night - Utah Grizzlies
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.
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