Winnipeg Jets center Cole Pefetti (91) battles for the puck against the Utah Mammoth defenseman John Marino (6) in the second period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sun Dec 21, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah Mammoth Alexander Kerfoot scores in second appearance following return, and Clayton Keller gets the OT game-winner in final home game before Christmas in 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

The Mammoth (17-17-3) wrapped up their brief two-game homestand on Sunday evening, their final home game before Christmas, against division rival Jets (15-17-2).

At 5:17 of the first period, Mammoth forward Dylan Guenther lined a bullet just wide right of the Winnipeg net which ricocheted off the rear dasher boards and past the left side of the net to linemate Lawson Crouse who put the puck past Connor Hellebuyck for his 9th goal of the season, with the additional assist going to Barrett Hayton. 

Crouse is now just three goals shy of his 2024-2025 scoring mark.  A little more than four minutes later, Utah captain Clayton Keller found JJ Peterka in front of the net and wired a perfect lateral pass from behind the goal line and onto Peterka’s stick who knocked the puck in for his 14th goal of the season, with Nick Schmaltz picking up the additional assist, increasing the Mammoth lead to 2-0.

Peterka now trails only Dylan Guenther for the team in goals. In an opening period with very few shots on goal, Hellebuyck turned away 5 of 7 while Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka stopped all four shots by the Jets.

Three minutes into the second period, a series of crisp tic-tac-toe passes from the Mammoth offense concluded with Kerfoot, playing in just his second game of the season since returning from injury, blasting a slap shot past Hellebuyck, who was screened by Liam O’Brien, for his first goal of the year, assisted by Sean Durzi and Mikhail Sergachev to make it 3-0 Utah. 

It was Kerfoot’s first goal since last March 30 at Chicago. Shortly past the halfway mark of the period, O’Brien went to the sin bin for interference against Neal Pionk, and Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor cashed in the power play goal for his 16th of the season, assisted by Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi, narrowing the gap to 3-1.  Shots on goal remained on the low side in the second period, with each netminder turning away 7 of 8.

With less than 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd period, the Jets scored 2 goals in 25 seconds to suddenly even the score at 3-3 with 4:12 to play.  First, Kyle Connor scored his second of the game with a slap shot for his 17th on the season, assisted by Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele. Then Morgan Barron netted his 7th of the season on a snap shot, assisted by Tanner Pearson.  The remainder of the period, both teams played not to lose rather than making any aggressive moves which might backfire.

The Mammoth wasted no time in the overtime period, with Keller scoring the game-winner just 13 seconds into the frame, the fastest overtime goal in franchise history, assisted by Dylan Guenther and Mikhail Sergachev. 

Keller’s 12 goal of the season, and third game-winner, improved Utah’s home record to 9-6-1, and 18-17-3 overall.  He leads the Mammoth with ten multi-point games this season.  Vejmelka is tied for the NHL lead with 15 wins.

During his postgame remarks, Lawson Crouse talked about the final five minutes of the game.  “Yeah, we made it interesting for ourselves,” Crouse began. “Obviously I feel like Gunner has been clutching in OT all season long. Incredible pass, incredible shot by Kells. Definitely not the way we wanted the third period to go. But credit to our group. That’s not easy. They scored two right away and then right into OT pretty much so credit to the group for having the right mindset and being able to get the win.” Crouse described the team’s biggest asset as “the way that we play in unison with each other. I think when we’re playing at our best, we’re getting pucks in deep and we’re taking away time and space of the opponent. We just have to get to that and stick to that for 60 minutes.” He was particularly happy for Kerfoot to get his first goal of the season.  “We’re so happy and proud to have him back in our lineup. He fills a big hole for our group as a leader. Just super proud and happy for him.”

Captain Clayton Keller said that the third period was “obviously not great.” He continued, “We still have to make plays, even if we’re winning. Whatever the score is, they’re gonna make a push. That’s something that we’ve talked about and tried to get better at. I think just learning from it. You’d rather mess up and try to do the right thing than just be safe and see what happens. I think that’s something that we have to learn from and do moving forward.” He was also happy to have Kerfoot back in the lineup.  “He’s such a great player. He can play anywhere in the lineup. He’s a great leader, someone that we missed when he was out. Just all the little things that he does on the bench, during the game, in the locker room. I can’t say enough great things about Kerf and how good of a person he is and player as well. It’s awesome getting him back. We definitely have had more juice since he’s been back.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny’s opened his postgame comments by saying, “There is quite a bit to unpack from that game. That was a huge and important game against a division rival. They found a way to win and get the two points. We had a two-goal lead in the third. I would’ve loved to close that game right there. I think they got a little bit nervous and lost their composure with the puck. Like I often say, there are two important things when you’re protecting a lead: it is having poise with the puck… Having poise with the puck doesn’t mean being slow; it means being fast, keeping your feet moving, moving the puck, and having a lot of pace defensively, which is our strength. They had one scoring chance in the first 13 minutes of the third because we had pace, because we’re on them. Then, we became a little too conservative, and they were able to come back. Without spending too much time on that, we need to retain them when they tie the game. How we responded was taking the momentum back. We went, we forechecked, we had good opportunities and possession in their zone, and from there, they had nothing. That was a good response. There are many teaching moments in that game, and many things we can do better. But there are things we can build on. We played 53 minutes of really good hockey, and we deserve to have the lead by two goals. We stumbled for a little while, and we need to learn from it, get better, and take that seriously. At the same time, we can also be proud of when adversity was there, we responded right away, and we were really strong in our finish and found a way to get the two points. We had a little bit of everything today.”

Talking about the first two periods, Bear said, “Well, I will say four lines contributed. The line that did not score was absolutely elite at shutting down one of the best lines in the league, and they played a hell of a game. They scored a goal as well, but I am really proud of the way Hays, Gunner, and Crosser handled it. Sometimes, the way I match lines, I am not a hard match line guy, which causes them a little bit of ice time. It is a big pill to swallow for them, but they do it for the benefit of the team. I always want to make sure the line is playing against the top line, and the other side is fresh. I don’t want a tired line. Sometimes, as I said, it causes them a little bit of ice time. But they manage it like pros, and they did a really good job. I am really proud of them, no doubt about it. We talked about a little bit of adjustment we wanted in the O-zone and it paid off. The boys did a good job. We scored a goal under those kinds of restrictions; we still score in the blue paint. We won a lot of battles, so there were a lot of positives against the team to defend really well.”

Tourigny acknowledged that the game had its flaws. “Well, I can’t say that today was a Picasso, to be honest. We were nervous with the puck in our zone, but we were at the offensive blue line, turning the puck over. That is a teaching moment. The intention was right, but we still have to grow, understand it, and buy in 100%. They opened the door, they came in, and that could have hurt us big time. Every point is important. We have one more game before Christmas, and it will be a good test. It is the best team in the league, and we need to manage the game the right way.”

The Mammoth will play the Avalanche on Tuesday in Colorado, and then return to Delta Center for a single game against the Nashville Predators following the Christmas break before ringing in the new year in the greater New York area with a January 1st game against the Islanders followed by contests against the Devils and Rangers before returning home for a season-long 7-game homestand beginning January 7 against the Ottawa Senators.