ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Grizzlies Weekly: 9 Game Road Trip Begins on Friday

Published on January 3, 2024 under ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release


Utah Grizzlies salute their fans
Utah Grizzlies salute their fans
(Utah Grizzlies)

West Valley City, Utah - The Utah Grizzlies swept the Tulsa Oilers in a three-game series at Maverik Center last weekend. The Grizz outscored the Oilers 9 to 4 in the set.

Brett Stapley led the way for Utah as he scored 2 goals and 4 assists in the series. Stapley had 2 goals and 1 assist in Utah's 3-2 win on December 29th. Stapley had 2 assists and Cole Gallant had 1 goal and 1 assist in a 5-2 win on December 30th. Josh Wesley scored Utah's lone goal in a 1-0 win on New Year's Eve to complete the sweep. Goaltender Dante Giannuzzi got a 32 save shutout on December 31st. It was his first professional shutout. He had 5 clean sheets in 5 seasons in the WHL.

The Grizzlies are on the road for 9 straight games. The face the Newfoundland Growlers on Friday and Saturday at 3:30 pm and Sunday at 12:30 pm.

The next homestand for the Grizzlies is on January 24, 26-27 vs Rapid City. Tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000. Saturday the 27th is the popular Guns N Hoses day with charity games in the afternoon leading up to the Grizzlies 7:10 pm face-off.

Games This Week

Friday, January 5, 2024 - Utah at Newfoundland. 3:30 pm. Mary Brown's Centre.

Saturday, January 6, 2024 - Utah at Newfoundland. 3:30 pm. Mary Brown's Centre.

Sunday, January 7, 2024 - Utah at Newfoundland. 12:30 pm. Mary Brown's Centre.

All Times Mountain.

Tickets for every Grizzlies home game is available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

Games Last Week

Friday, December 29, 2023 - Tulsa 2 Utah 3 - Brett Stapley led Utah with 2 goals and 1 assist. Brandon Cutler scored a power play goal. Cole Gallant had 2 assists. Will Cranley saved 25 of 27 in his Maverik Center debut as he earned his first win for Utah.

Saturday, December 30, 2023 - Tulsa 2 Utah 5 - Cole Gallant had 1 goal and 1 assist. Brett Stapley had 2 assists. Utah also got goals from Adam Berg, Aaron Aragon, Mick Messner and Nathan Burke. Utah was 1 for 4 on the power play and 5 for 5 on the penalty kill.

Sunday, December 31, 2023 - Tulsa at Utah. 3:10 pm. Maverik Center.

Outstanding Crowds at Maverik Center

Utah had a season high crowd of 7681 at Maverik Center on December 29th vs Tulsa. On December 30th a crowd of 7346 saw Utah won 5-2. Over the last 4 home games Utah has a combined crowd of 34,005, an average of 6,801 per game. For the season Utah is averaging 5,167 fans per game.

Transactions: Cory Thomas Traded to Trois-Rivieres, Burke Returns From AHL Loan

January 2 - Cory Thomas traded to Trois-Rivieres. Defenseman Cory Thomas was traded to the Trois-Rivieres Lions to complete a trade where the Utah Grizzlies received forward Cole Gallant for future considerations.

Thomas played in 20 games with Utah this season and had 3 assists. In the 2022-23 season he had 7 assists in 40 games for Utah. He also had 1 assist in 4 games in the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

January 2 - Nathan Burke returns from loan with the AHL's Ontario Reign. Burke played in 1 game with Ontario and had 1 shot on goal on Dec. 31, 2023 vs Henderson.

Could We Finally See an Overtime Game?

The Grizzlies are the only team in the league who have yet to play a game past regulation. Last season the Grizzlies had 9 games decided past regulation. They were 3-4 when the game ended in OT and 2-0 when it ended in a shootout.

Player Notes

Brett Stapley has 2 goals and 4 assists in his last 3 games. Stapley had 2 goals and 14 assists in 15 games in December. Stapley leads Utah with 7 multiple point games.

Kyle Mayhew is among defenseman league leaders with 6 goals. Mayhew has an assist in 3 straight games.

Cole Gallant had 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in December.

Tyler Penner has appeared in 172 straight regular season games, 196 including the playoffs.

Brandon Cutler has 6 goals and 3 assists in his last 12 games. Cutler has 4 power play goals in his last 10 games. Cutler leads Utah with 4 power play goals and 98 shots on goal.

Mick Messner has 6 goals in his last 12 games.

Bryan Yoon leads Utah in plus/minus (+4).

Dante Giannuzzi earned his first professional shutout on Dec. 31 vs Tulsa as he saved all 32 shots. Giannuzzi had 5 shutouts in 5 seasons in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks.

Bear Bites: Grizzlies Team Notes

Utah is 9-3 when scoring first and 9-0 when scoring first at home. Utah is the only team in the league who has not played a game past regulation. Utah is 11-6 at home this season, outscoring opponents 57 to 47. Utah has 4 shorthanded goals this season. Utah has outshot opponents 302 to 268 in the third period. Utah is 7-2 when leading after 1 period and 9-2 when leading after 2 periods. Utah is averaging 6,801 fans over their last 5 home games.

2023-2024 Utah Grizzlies Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 11-17

Home record: 11-6

Road record: 0-11

Win percentage: .393

Streak: Win 3

Standings Points: 22

Last 10: 4-6

Goals per game: 2.79 (26th) Goals for: 78

Goals against per game: 3.29 (16th) Goals Against: 92

Shots per game: 30.64 (20th)

Shots against per game: 32.96 (20th)

Power Play: 15 for 91 - 16.5 % (24th)

Penalty Kill: 65 for 89 - 73.0 % (28th)

Penalty Minutes: 347. 12.39 per game.

Shorthanded Goals: 4

Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 4.

Record When Scoring First: 9-3.

Opposition Scores First: 2-14.

Record in One Goal Games: 4-6.

SCORING 1ST 2ND 3RD OT/Shootout TOTAL

Utah Grizzlies 20 32 26 0 78

Opposition 28 34 30 0 92

Team Leaders

Goals: Nathan Burke/Brandon Cutler (10)

Assists: Brett Stapley (19)

Points: Stapley (24)

Plus/Minus: Bryan Yoon (+4)

PIM: Cutler (49)

Power Play Points: Stapley (8)

Power Play Goals: Cutler (4)

Power Play Assists: Stapley (6)

Shots on Goal: Brandon Cutler (98)

Shooting Percentage: Cole Gallant (16.7 %) - Minimum 25 shots.

Game Winning Goals: Cutler/Stapley (2)

Wins: Trent Miner (4)

Save %: Miner (.916)

Goals Against Average: Miner (2.52)

Shutouts: Metcalf (1)

Multiple Point Games

7 - Brett Stapley

5 - Brandon Cutler, Cole Gallant.

4 - Nathan Burke.

3 - Mick Messner.

2- Kyle Betts, Jordan Martel, Kyle Mayhew, Dakota Raabe, Bryan Yoon.

1 - Adam Berg, J.C. Campagna, Gianni Fairbrother, Dylan Fitze, Jacob Semik, Keoni Texeira, Josh Wesley.

Streaks

Goals: Josh Wesley (1)

Assists: Kyle Mayhew, Brett Stapley (3)

Points (2 or more) - Mayhew, Stapley (3)

Check out the Utah Grizzlies Statistics

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Utah Grizzlies salute their fans
Utah Grizzlies salute their fans
   



ECHL Stories from January 3, 2024


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