Utah Grizzlies (1995–2005)

Utah Grizzlies
City	West Valley City, Utah
League	IHL (1994–2001) AHL (2001–2005)
Founded	1994 (In the IHL)
Operated	1994–1995 as the Denver Grizzlies 1995–2005 as the Utah Grizzlies
Home arena	E Center
Colors	Maroon and White
Affiliates	New York Islanders (1994-98) Dallas Stars (2000-2004) Phoenix Coyotes (2004-2005)
Franchise history
1994–1995	Denver Grizzlies (IHL)
1995–2001	Utah Grizzlies (IHL)
2001–2005	Utah Grizzlies (AHL)
2007–present	Lake Erie Monsters
Championships
Regular season titles	1 (1994–95)
Division Championships	1 (1994–95)
Turner Cups	2 (1994–95, 1995–96)

The Utah Grizzlies were an ice hockey team in the International Hockey League (IHL) and American Hockey League (AHL). They played in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, Utah, USA at the E Center.

History

The original Utah Grizzlies moved to Utah in 1995 after one IHL season in Denver, Colorado after the NHL's Quebec Nordiques relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche. The Grizzlies were admitted to the AHL in 2001 after the IHL folded. They played their home games in the Delta Center until the E Center was built a couple seasons after their arrival in Salt Lake.

While in Denver, the Grizzlies won the 1994–95 Turner Cup, the official championship of the IHL. After relocating to the Salt Lake City area, the Utah Grizzlies once again marched to victory in the IHL playoffs. Utah swept the Orlando Solar Bears 4 games to 0 to win the 1995–96 Turner Cup. The fourth (and final) game of the series was played in the Delta Center; 17,381 fans attended, which set a national record for largest attendance at a minor league hockey game.^[1]

The franchise was granted a voluntary suspension for the 2005–06 season and on May 16, 2006 the franchise was sold to an ownership group from Cleveland, Ohio led by Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team and Quicken Loans.

After the suspension of the IHL/AHL Grizzlies, a new ownership group purchased the Utah Grizzlies identity and resurrected a team of the same name in the ECHL that started playing in the 2005-06 season.

Franchise and area facts

• Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the WHL (1969–1974)
• Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the CHL (1974–1984)
• Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the IHL (1984–1994)

The franchise was replaced by:

• Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL (2005–present)

Affiliates

• New York Islanders (1995-1998)
• Dallas Stars (2000-2004)
• Phoenix Coyotes (2004-05)

Season-by-season results

• Denver Grizzlies 1994–1995 (International Hockey League)
• Utah Grizzlies 1995–2001 (International Hockey League)
• Utah Grizzlies 2001–2005 (American Hockey League)

Regular season

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SOL	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Standing
1994–95	81	57	18	—	6	—	120	339	235	1st, Southwest
1995–96	82	49	29	—	4	—	102	291	232	2nd, Southwest
1996–97	82	43	33	—	6	—	92	259	254	3rd, Southwest
1997–98	82	47	27	—	8	—	102	276	234	3rd, Southwest
1998–99	82	39	34	—	9	—	87	244	254	3rd, Southwest
1999–00	82	45	25	—	12	—	102	265	220	2nd, West
2000–01	82	38	36	—	8	—	84	208	220	4th, West
2001–02	80	40	29	6	5	—	91	240	225	3rd, West
2002–03	80	37	34	4	5	—	83	227	243	5th, West
2003–04	80	27	42	6	5	—	65	162	230	7th, West
2004–05	80	23	50	5	2	—	53	156	265	7th, West

Playoffs

Season	Prelim	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Finals
1994–95	—	W, 3-0, MIN	W, 4-1, PHX	W, 4-1, MIL	W, 4-0, KC
1995–96	—	W, 3-2, KC	W, 4-3, PEO	W, 4-2, LV	W, 4-0, ORL
1996–97	—	W, 3-0, KC	L, 0-4, LB	—	—
1997–98	—	L, 1-3, KC	—	—	—
1998–99	Out of playoffs.
1999–00	—	L, 1-4, HOU	—	—	—
2000–01	Out of playoffs.
2001–02	—	L, 2-3, HOU	—	—	—
2002–03	L, 0-2, WBS	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Out of playoffs.
2004–05	Out of playoffs.

Team records

Single season

Goals: 46 Kip Miller (1994–95)

Assists: 60 Kip Miller (1994–95)

Points: 106 Kip Miller (1994–95)

Penalty minutes: 317 Mike MacWilliam (1995–96)

GAA: 2.21 Rich Parent (1999–00)

SV%: .928 Wade Flaherty (2001–02)

Wins: 45 Tommy Salo (1994–95)

Shutouts: 5 Mike Bales (2000–01)

• Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender

Career

Career goals: 111 Chris Taylor (1994–98)

Career assists: 167 Chris Taylor

Career points: 278 Chris Taylor

Career penalty minutes: 694 John Erskine (2000-2003)

Career goaltending wins: 73 Tommy Salo (1994–96)

Career shutouts: 7 Tommy Salo

Career games: 440 Gord Dineen (1994–2000)

References

1. "Orlando Ousted in OT" (Orlando Sentinel)

External links

• The Internet Hockey Database - Utah Grizzlies
• Denver Grizzlies on FunWhileItLasted.net