Becanic Wins Pro Debut as Pyke Delivers Two Goals in Utah’s 3-1 Victory

Pyke Scores Twice as Grizzlies Win Regular Season OpenerBecanic Wins Pro Debut as Pyke Delivers Two Goals in Utah's 3-1 Victory

Greenville, South Carolina – Garrett Pyke scored two goals to lead the Utah Grizzlies to a 3-1 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the regular season opener. Grizzlies Head Coach John Becanic earns his first professional win as Utah opens the regular season on the winning note.

Greenville scored first as Cam Hausinger redirected a Jordan Power shot 5:18 into the contest. Utah got on the board 6:29 in as Garrett Pyke scored from the left point. Captain Mick Messner picked up the lone assist. The score was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.

Neither team scored in the second period as Utah outshot Greenville 15 to 5. Pyke scored the game winner on a blast from the left point stick side past Greenville goaltender Mattias Sholl 7:49 into the third period. Pyke was a +3 for the Grizzlies in the victory, his defensive partner Christian Felton was a +2. Ty Voit scored an empty netter with 59 seconds remaining in regulation to clinch the victory.

There were ten different Grizzlies players making their debuts tonight, including winning goaltender Dryden McKay, who saved 25 of 26.

Becanic is the ninth head coach in Grizzlies history and Utah is now 6-2-0-1 all-time in head coaching debuts.

The Grizzlies road trip continues on Saturday night at Atlanta. Face-off from Gas South Arena is at 5:10 pm mountain time. The Grizzlies home opener is on October 25, 2025 and tickets for the home opener and every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

3 stars

  1. Garrett Pyke (Utah) – 2 goals, +3, 4 shots.
  2. Dryden McKay (Utah) – 25 of 26 saves.
  3. Mattias Sholl (Greenville) – 34 of 36 saves.