GRIZZLIES PREVIEW: UTAH AT TULSA ON MAY 1, 2021

Utah Grizzlies (23-20-5-6, 57 points, .528 win %) @ Tulsa Oilers (24-24-6-2, 56 points, .500 Win%)

BOK Center. May 1, 2021. 6:05 pm MST. Mixlr.

It’s the last game of a 2 game weekend series and the final game of the 6 game trip. It’s the 9th of 12 season meetings between the division rivals. Utah is 3-3-1-1 vs Tulsa this season, with Utah taking 3 of the 4 games vs Tulsa on March 24, 26-28 at Maverik Center. 3 of the 8 meetings between Utah and Tulsa have been decided past regulation. 4 of the 8 games have been 1 goal games.

April Recap

Utah was on the road for 11 of the 14 games in the month. Utah went 5-7-1-1 in 14 games. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 10 points in April (5 goals, 5 assists). Charlie Gerard had 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists).The highlight of the month was Utah winning 2 of 3 games at Allen on April 23-25. In 6 April games Garrett Metcalf went 3-3 with a 2.17 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. Kevin Carr and Peyton Jones each won 1 game in the month.

April Scoring Leaders

Goals: Boucher and Gerard – 5.

Assists: Ryan Lowney, Cedric Pare, Ty Lewis, Boucher – 5.

Plus/minus: Lowney, Pare (+4).

Players who appeared in all 14 games in April: Boucher, Gerard, Lowney, Pare, AJ White, Matt Hoover, Teigan Zahn.

Michael Prapavessis played in 13 of the 14 games.

Charlie Gerard Continues to Produce

Gerard has a point in 5 of his last 8 games. He took 64 shots in 14 games in April. Gerard is 3rd on the team with 13 goals. He has appeared in 31 games for Utah and 8 with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in his 2020-21 rookie campaign.

Recent Transactions: Utah adds Bafia and Davis

Defenseman Luke Bafia was claimed off waivers from Kansas City and has been signed by the Grizzlies. Bafia played in 37 games with Kansas City this season, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists. Bafia’s first professional goal was at Maverik Center on January 18th vs Utah. Luke played his college hockey at Western Michigan University from 2017-2020.

Kevin Davis was reassigned to Utah from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Davis is in his 3rd season as a pro. He had 2 goals and 20 assists in 27 games for Utah in the 2018-19 season. Davis also appeared in 25 games with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL in 2018-19, scoring 3 goals and 12 assists. Last season with Utah, Davis had 16 assists in 41 games. He has played in 55 games with the Eagles and 69 games with Utah in his pro career.

Bafia and Davis each played in last night’s game at Tulsa.

Last Week

Utah won 2 of the 3 games at Allen last weekend. Utah won 4-2 on April 23rd as Ty Lewis and Charlie Gerard each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Allen won 4-2 on April 24th. Utah won 2-1 last Sunday to win the series. Charlie Gerard had a goal in each of the 3 games last weekend and had a great case to win the league’s player of the week honors with 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in the series at Allen.

Last Week’s Games

Friday, April 23, 2021 – Utah 4 Allen 2 – Ty Lewis and Charlie Gerard each had 1 goal and 1 assist. Mitch Maxwell had 2 assists. Garrett Metcalf saved 24 of 26 to earn his 3rd win of the season.

Saturday, April 24, 2021 – Utah 2 Allen 4. Charlie Gerard and Travis Barron each scored a goal. Gerard ended the evening with 1 goal and 1 assist. Utah outshot Allen 35 to 27, including a 19 to 4 shot advantage in the 3rd period. Utah went 1 for 3 on the power play while Allen went 2 for 5.

Sunday, April 25, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 1:05 pm. – Grizzlies are now 10-2-0-1 in the 3rd game of a series. Charlie Gerard scored the GWG 4:48 into the 3rd period. Cole Fraser scored first for Utah with 15 seconds left in the second period.

This Week’s Games

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 – Utah 2 Wichita 6 – Travis Barron and Cedric Pare scored goals for Utah. Utah outshot Wichita 35 to 25.

Friday, April 30, 2021 – Utah 3 Tulsa 6 – Tulsa scored 5 goals in the first 6:44 of the game. Utah scored 3 of the last 4 goals in the game. Utah scored 1 goal in each of the 3 periods last night. Ryan Lowney scored his 9th goal of the season in the first period. Hayden Hodgson scored his first goal in a Utah uniform m

Saturday, May 1, 2021 – Utah at Tulsa. 6:05 pm.

Next Week’s Games

Tuesday, May 4, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Wednesday, May 5, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Friday, May 7, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Saturday, May 8, 2021 – Rapid City at Utah. 7:10 pm.

All times Mountain.

Lots of Shots

Utah has taken 424 shots over the last 11 games (38.5 per game). Utah leads the league by averaging 33.74 shots per game.

Grizzlies Scoring First

Utah has scored first in 7 of their last 9 games.

2020-2021 Regular Season Totals (league rankings)

Overall record: 23-20-5-6

Home record: 13-6-3-3

Road record: 10-14-2-3

Win percentage: .528 (5th in Western Conference).

Streak: Lost 2.  

Standings Points: 57

Last 10: 4-5-1

Goals per game: 2.83 (12th). Goals for: 153

Goals against per game: 3.24 (13th). Goals against: 175

Shots per game: 33.74 (1st). Utah has taken 424 shots in the last 11 games.

Shots against per game: 29.83 (4th).

Power Play: 16.7 % – 36 for 215 (7th).

Penalty Kill: 82.7 % – 162 for 196 (8th). Utah is 10 for 10 on the PK over the last 3 games.

Penalty Minutes: 674 (12.48 per game).

Shorthanded Goals: 6 (Tied for 7th) Shorthanded Goals Allowed: 8 (11th)

Players Used: 49. Luke Bafia and Kevin Davis appeared in their first Grizzlies game last night. Davis last night entered his 3rd season appearing in games with Utah.

Attendance: 43,020 (1,721 per game).

Record When Scoring First: 16-7-2-1

Team Leaders (2020-21 season)

Goals: Matthew Boucher (20)

Assists: Boucher (25)

Points: Boucher (45)

Plus/Minus: Jack Jenkins (+9)

PIM: Teigan Zahn (77)

Games Played: Cedric Pare (53)

Power Play Points: Ryan Lowney/Pat Cannone (13) AJ White leads team with 6 power play goals.

Shots on Goal: Matthew Boucher (179) – Tied for 2nd in league.

Shooting Percentage: AJ White/Pat Cannone (13.0 %) – Minimum 30 shots.

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

Wins: Brad Barone/Kevin Carr/Peyton Jones (5)

Save %: Garrett Metcalf (.935) – Minimum 4 games

Goals Against Average: Metcalf (1.96). – Minimum 4 games

Roster

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

Defenseman: Luke Bafia, Kevin Davis, Brandon Fehd, Cole Fraser, Garrett Johnston, Alex Lepkowski, Ryan Lowney, Michael Prapavessis, Teigan Zahn.

Goaltenders: Kevin Carr, Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf.

Active Streaks

Goal Streaks: Pat Cannone, Ryan Lowney, Hayden Hodgson, Matthew Boucher (1).

Assist Streaks: Ryan Lowney (2), Cedric Pare, Travis Barron, Teigan Zahn (1).

Point Streaks of 2 or more: Lowney, Cannone (2).

Boucher Enjoying the Home Cooking Maverik Center

Matthew Boucher has a point in 11 of his last 12 home games.

Pat Cannone Has Been Consistent

Cannone has a point in 8 of his last 11 games. Pat has missed the last 5 games.

Multiple Point games

10 – Matthew Boucher

6- Charlie Gerard

5 – Trey Bradley, Riley Woods, Cedric Pare.

4- Pat Cannone, Hunter Skinner, Ryan Lowney.

3 – Miles Gendron, Matt Hoover, AJ White, Ty Lewis.

2 – Diego Cuglietta, Nick Henry, Joe Wegwerth, Travis Barron, Mitch Maxwell.

1 – Jack Jenkins, Alex Lepkowski, Braylon Shmyr, Ian Scheid, Matt Abt, Ryker Killins, Josh Dickinson, Brayden Gelsinger, Brandon Fehd, Hayden Hodgson.

Season Series vs Tulsa

It’s the 9th season meeting between the clubs. Utah won 3 of 4 games vs Tulsa on March 24, 26-28 at Maverik Center. Tulsa swept Utah in a 3 game series on January 8th-10th at BOK Center. The Grizzlies originally had Tulsa on the schedule for December 18th and 19th at Maverik Center but the games were postponed due to COVID protocols. Matthew Boucher leads Utah with 9 points vs Tulsa (5 goals, 4 assists). Cedric Pare and Charlie Gerard each has 3 goals vs the Oilers. Tulsa’s Adam Pleskach has 7 goals vs Utah in 8 games. Utah is at Tulsa on May 14-16.

Utah 3 @ Tulsa 6 (Apr 30 2021)

Tulsa 1 @ Utah 2 (Mar 28 2021) OT – Cedric Pare OT game winner.

Tulsa 3 @ Utah 6 (Mar 27 2021)

Tulsa 3 @ Utah 1 (Mar 26 2021)

Tulsa 2 @ Utah 4 (Mar 24 2021)

Utah 2 @ Tulsa 3 (Jan 10 2021) SO

Utah 0 @ Tulsa 1 (Jan 9 2021)

Utah 2 @ Tulsa 3 (Jan 8 2021) OT