
Grizzlies Weekly: 9 Game Road Trip Begins on Friday
January 3, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)
Utah Grizzlies News Release
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)
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