GRIZZLIES PREVIEW: UTAH AT ALLEN, APRIL 1, 2021

Utah Grizzlies (17-13-4-5, .563 Win %) at Allen Americans (22-13-2 .622 Win%)
April 1, 2021 | 6:05 PM | Game #41 | Allen Events Center
Referee: Andrew Bruggeman
Linesmen: Trent Williams, Daniel Barnes.

Where to See and Hear the Game

You can catch every game on Flohockey.TV, the new home for ECHL.TV. The games can also be heard on Mixlr, the new broadcast home for Grizzlies hockey.
Watch Live:  https://www.flohockey.tv/
Listen Live: https://mixlr.com/utah-grizzlies

The Match-up

It’s the first game of the 3 game series. It’s the 9th season meeting between the clubs, with Utah winning the most recent game on March 14th by a 5-1 score.

Boucher Named League Player of the Week

Boucher was named the league player of the week from March 22-28. It’s the 2nd time this season the first year pro has won the award. He previously won from January 18th-24th. Boucher has been named the game’s number 1 star in 2 of his last 4 games. He leads the team with 8 multiple point games. He also leads the team and all league rookies in goals (15), assists (20), points (35) and shots on goal (125).

Recent Transactions

Travis Barron and Ty Lewis were each reassigned to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Barron has 3 assists in 9 games, while Lewis has 2 goals and 8 assists in 14 games. Hayden Hodgson was acquired on March 27th from Wheeling for future considerations. He made his team debut last night, wearing number 39. Defenseman Hunter Skinner was loaned to the Hartford Wolf Pack on March 25th. Skinner, 19, has 7 goals and 10 assists in 25 games for Utah. Goaltender Brad Barone was traded to the Rapid City Rush on March 24th. Barone in 2 seasons with Utah had a record of 9-5-2-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 2.74 goals against average.

Hunter Skinner Signs NHL Entry-Level Deal with Rangers

Defenseman Hunter Skinner, now with the Hartford Wolf Pack, signed an NHL Entry-level contract with the New York Rangers on March 29th. Skinner played in 26 games with the Grizzlies and had 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists). Skinner was drafted in the fourth round, 112th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Rangers.

Local Boy in Net

Grizzlies signed goaltender Garrett Metcalf on March 16th. He made his professional debut on March 28th as Utah won 2-1 and Metcalf saved 24 of 25 shots to earn his first pro win. He was born in Salt Lake City on March 5th, 1996. Metcalf was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the 6th round, 179th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He played with Long Island University in the 2020-21 season and had a 2-7 record with a .901 save percentage and a 4.02 GAA. Metcalf also played in 2 seasons at Mercyhurst University in 2019 and 2020. Garrett has good size at 6’4” and 190 pounds.

Many April Road Games

12 of the next 15 games will be away from Maverik Center. The only 3 home games for Utah in April will be on the 14th, 16th-17th vs Kansas City.

1 Goal Games

21 of the 40 games Utah has played this season have been 1 goal contests. 4 of the 8 games vs Allen have been decided by 1 goal.

Very Competitive Western Conference

All 7 teams in the Western Conference have a .512 winning percentage or better. 13 of the 14 teams in the league have a .500 win rate or better.

Utah Series vs Allen

It’s the 9th season meeting between the clubs. Utah is 2-3-1-2 vs Allen this season. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 9 points (5g, 4a). Hunter Skinner, now with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, had 7 points (3g, 4a) in 8 games. Cedric Pare has 4 goals vs Allen. Trey Bradley and Ryan Lowney each have 2 goals vs the Americans. For Allen, Jesse Mychan has 11 points (6g, 5a) vs Utah in 8 games.

Allen 1 @ Utah 5 (Mar 14 2021)

Allen 5 @ Utah 4 (Mar 13 2021) OT

Allen 6 @ Utah 2 (Mar 12 2021)

Utah 3 @ Allen 5 (Mar 3 2021)

Utah 1 @ Allen 2 (Feb 9 2021) SO

Allen 3 @ Utah 4 (Jan 31 2021)

Allen 3 @ Utah 2 (Jan 30 2021) SO

Allen 5 @ Utah 2 (Jan 29 2021)

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

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 18-13-4-5

Home record: 12-5-2-3

Road record: 6-8-2-2

Win percentage: .563 (4th in Western Conference).

Streak: Won 2.

Standings Points: 45

Last 10: 5-4-1

Goals per game: 3.00 (6th). Goals for: 120

Goals against per game: 3.33 (13th). Goals against: 133

Shots per game: 32.75 (3rd).

Shots against per game: 29.60 (6th).

Power Play: 19.8 % – 32 for 162 (2nd).

Penalty Kill: 81.3 % – 113 for 139 (11th).

Penalty Minutes: 492 (12.30 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 5 (3rd) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 5 (Tied for 10th)

Players Used: 46.

Attendance: 36,828 (1,674 per game).

Record When Scoring First: 11-5-1. 

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (15)

Assists: Boucher (20)

Points: Boucher (35)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+8)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (54)

Power Play Points: Pat Cannone/Ryan Lowney (11)

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (125)

Shooting Percentage: Nick Henry (20.0%) – Minimum 15 shots.

Game Winning Goals: Pat Cannone/Nick Henry/Matthew Boucher/Cedric Pare (2)

Wins: Brad Barone (5)

Save %: Parker Gahagen (.930) – Minimum 3 games

Goals Against Average: Gahagen (2.12). – Minimum 3 games

Current Roster

Forwards: Matthew Boucher, Trey Bradley, Pat Cannone, Charlie Gerard, Hayden Hodgson, Matt Hoover, Christian Horn, Jack Jenkins, Mitch Maxwell, Cedric Pare, Jared Pike, Joe Wegwerth. AJ White.

Defenseman: Brandon Fehd, Miles Gendron, Garrett Johnston, Alex Lepkowski, Ryan Lowney, Michael Prapavessis, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders: Kevin Carr, Trevor Gorsuch, Garrett Metcalf.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Cedric Pare (2), Pat Cannone (1).

Assist Streaks: Matthew Boucher (3), Ryan Lowney (2), AJ White, Charlie Gerard (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Boucher (3), Pare, Lowney, Cannone, White (2)

Last Week’s Games (All games can be seen on Flohockey.tv and Mixlr)

Wednesday, March 24th, 2021 – Tulsa 2 Utah 4. Matthew Boucher scored 3 goals in the 3rd period. Trevor Gorsuch stopped 30 of 32 Tulsa shots.

Friday, March 26th, 2021 – Tulsa 3 Utah 1. Mitch Maxwell scored his first goal of the season. Utah outshot Tulsa 35-25.

Saturday, March 27th, 2021 – Tulsa 3 Utah 6. 6 different Grizz forwards scored goals. Trevor Gorsuch saved 38 of 41 to get his 2nd win of the series. Matthew Boucher had 1 goal and 2 assists and Cedric Pare had 1 goal and 1 assist.

Sunday, March 28th, 2021 – Tulsa 1 Utah 2 (OT). Cedric Pare scored overtime game winner. Garrett Metcalf saved 24 of 25 in pro debut. Pat Cannone scored game tying goal 12:44 into the period. Utah is now 5-0 on Sundays at home.

This Week’s Games

Thursday, April 1st, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Friday, April 2nd, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, April 3rd, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm.

Next Week’s Games

Friday, April 9th, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, April 10th, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm.

Saturday, April 11th, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 3:05 pm.

All times Mountain.