Tag: Utah Mammoth

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Schmaltz Smokes Canucks In 6-2 Mammoth Victory

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Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz (8) falls against the Vancouver Canucks right wing Jonathan Lekkerimaki (23) in the first period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Mon Feb 2, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah forward Nick Schmaltz recorded a hat trick and an assist as the Mammoth dominated the hapless Vancouver Canucks 6-2.

The Utah Mammoth (28-23-4) hosted the Vancouver Canucks (18-31-6) on Monday night for the second of three home games prior to the Olympic break. Utah hoped to bounce back from Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars while Vancouver hoped to bounce back from the entirety of 2026 where they have lost 14 of 16 since the ball drop on New Year’s Eve.

Repeating the opening miscues from Saturday night, the Mammoth took an early too many men on the ice penalty at 1:24 of the first period to give the Canucks a quick man advantage. Not repeating from Saturday night, Utah killed the penalty, and as Jack McBain was sprung from the box the Mammoth had an odd-man rush as Nick Schmaltz netted his 20th goal of the season ten seconds later on a wrist shot, with John Marino and Barrett Hayton picking up the assists. Schmaltz has now tallied 20 or more goals for five consecutive seasons and for the sixth time overall in his career.

At 7:04 Vancouver tied things up with Liam Öhgren’s fourth goal of the season, assisted by Conor Garland and Teddy Blueger. The PA announcer barely mentioned Öhgren’s goal when 33 seconds later Schmaltz picked up his second goal of the night and 21st on the season to put Utah up 2-1, assisted by Sean Durzi. Kevin Lankinen stopped 7 of 9 shots in the frame, while Karel Vejmelka turned away 5 of 6.

Vancouver gave Utah a power play opportunity at 8:29 of the second period when Evander Kane went to the sin bin for tripping against Jack McBain. 16 seconds later, Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev launched one of his signature blasts from the blue line past Lankinen for his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Schmaltz and Dylan Guenther, to make it 3-1.

Utah forward Lawson Crouse made it 4-1 for Utah when a shot by John Marino deflected off of him, then off the skate of Elias Pettersson, and into the Canucks goal. The goal, which was originally credited to Lawson Crouse, and then credited to Marino before being restored to Crouse, was his 14th of the season, with Marino and Clayton Keller picking up the assists.

With just under four minutes to play in the period, Utah forward JJ Peterka got into the action with a slap shot which got past Lankinen for his 20th of the season, assisted by Kailer Yamamoto and Marino, to give the Mammoth a commanding 5-1 lead. Peterka joins Guenther and Schmaltz with 20 or more goals on the season which is tied for the most among NHL teams.

Marino’s three assists were the third time in his career that he has registered a three-point game, and with Monday night’s points he now has a new career high of 28 points on the season, surpassing his rookie point total with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019-2020. Teddy Blueger got one back for Vancouver with 71 seconds left in the frame, his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Garland and Marcus Pettersson, to end the period with a score of 5-2.

Nick Schmaltz, who already had two goals and an assist heading into the third period, his second assist of the night having been taken away when the Crouse goal was restored from Marino, made it a four point night with a hat trick at 12:22 for his 22nd goal of the season, assisted by Keller and Crouse.

Schmaltz previously registered a three-goal, one-assist night on October 17 against the San Jose Sharks. Vejmelka stopped 21 of 23 shots in recording his league-leading 26th victory. Veggie is 8-1-0 in his last nine starts at home. Vancouver has now lost 15 of 17 in 2026.

“I think there were a lot of great plays by some guys finding me,” said Schmaltz in the locker room following the game. “There was a fortunate bounce on one of them. But I was super excited to get a hat trick and help the team win.” Of Marino, who assisted on Schmaltz’s first goal, he added, “He’s a great player. I think he’s very underrated. He’s got a lot of poise with the puck. He wades off defenders and makes a lot of good plays in the middle of the ice. Super great player and I’m very happy to see him having success.” Schmaltz also noted how many different guys are contributing from game to game. “It’s awesome to see. That’s a good sign of a good team. I think that (in) depth scoring, guys are going to step up on different nights. You’ve got to do that in this league. Eighty-two games is a lot of games and you’re not going to have your best every night. So you’ve got to have a deep team that can step up and guys (that) can make plays when it matters.”

Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev praised Schmaltz’s dominant night. “It’s obviously great to see when Schmaltzy gets five.” [One of the assists was later removed.] “It’s a big night, and we’re all happy for him. And Johnny too, I think he got three points. Tonight was big and it shows that guys can make plays, create and finish. So we need more of that for sure.” Speaking of the previous two losses, Sergachev said, “The first one against Carolina, we obviously lost that game in the last three minutes. And then for Dallas, we didn’t have a good start, and that’s what left a bad taste. But tonight we had a better start, and played better overall.” On his laser beam shot from the blue line, he said, “yeah, I just took the shot. There was no screen, which was not great, but it went in. It was kind of lucky, but it was a big goal for a power play that made us confident we could shoot and go get rebounds to score.”

Head Coach André Tourigny opened his post-game remarks saying, “A big night for our special teams. I liked our PK a lot, obviously our power play as well. Even on the first power play, the way we attacked. We had the intensity. We recovered loose pucks. I liked our special teams. We were really opportunistic. We found a way to score a big goal at a key moment early in the game and throughout the game. That’s what I think of the game.” On his two offensive stars of the game, he added, “I think Schmaltzy was really good everywhere. He was good defensively, stripped pucks, and his body position was good. I liked his game a lot. Marin’s as well. I think Marin was solid in his game. His puck decision was good and made really good plays, produced, all of it.” What was different from the previous couple of contests? “I think we played well at the beginning of the game. I think we played solid. When we scored a few goals, I’ll be honest, not sure we played as well. From four minutes left in the second, we had a tough time finishing the period, and had a tough start to the third. Afterwards, we played well. Most of the game we played well. It’s just we had little spots. I think we were confident offensively, and like I said, we scored big goals at key moments. We didn’t have a lot of volume, but we had quality chances.”

Utah (29-23-4) has a shot at winning 30 games before the Olympic break when they wrap up the three-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Detroit Red Wings (33-18-6)

Defensive Dereliction Dooms Mammoth In 3-2 Loss To Dallas

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Utah Mammoth Mikhail Sergachev and the Mammoth lost a close contest to the Dallas Stars on Sat Jan 31, 2026 (photo from the Utah Mammoth X)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Kailer Yamamoto was a bright spot with two goals, but the Dallas Stars (31-14-9) capitalized on Utah (28-22-4) penalties to defeat the Mammoth 3-2 to open the last pre-Olympics homestand on Saturday night.

The Mammoth returned to Delta Center on Saturday night to face the Stars for the first of three games at home prior to the Olympic break. Utah began the 2026 portion of the season with an 8-1-1 record prior to embarking upon a four game Southeast road trip which saw a few streaks snapped for better and worse.

Opening the road trip with a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators, Mammoth netminder Karel Vejmelka won his NHL-leading 25th game of the season while winning his 5th consecutive start. Two days later, Vejmelka’s win streak would come to an end in Tampa Bay where the Lightning shut Utah out 2-0.

The next day against the Florida Panthers, backup goalie Vítek Vaněček snapped a 10-game losing streak in a 5-4 victory. Vaněček’s previous victory had been October 26 against the Winnipeg Jets. Vejmelka returned to the net on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes where the Mammoth enjoyed a 4-2 lead with 1:59 remaining in the third period when Veggie surrendered three goals in 89 seconds to give Carolina a shocking 5-4 regulation win, sending Utah home with a split of the four games on the road.

The Mammoth put themselves in an early hole in the first period, with Sean Durzi and Jack McBain each taking delay of game penalties for putting the puck over the glass, and Dallas converting both power play opportunities for goals by Thomas Harley (his fourth) and Wyatt Johnston (his 29th).

Utah got one back at 10:23 of the first on Kailer Yamamoto’s eighth goal of the season, assisted by JJ Peterka and John Marino. The goal was challenged by the Stars for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice stood as the Mammoth halved the Dallas lead 2-1.

On the assist, Peterka registered his 100th career assist. With a little more than three minutes remaining in the frame, the Stars regained their two-goal lead on Matt Duchene’s ninth goal of the season, assisted by Jamie Benn and Sam Steel. The squads headed to the locker room with Casey DeSmith stopping 5 of 6 Mammoth shots and Vejmelka turning away 7 of 10.

Whereas the opening period resulted in four goals, the second period was a hard-fought scoreless draw, with DeSmith stopping 5 shots and Vejmelka turning away 11 as the score remained 3-1 in favor of the Stars.

Kailer Yamamoto gave Utah some life with his second goal of the game and fourth in the past two games with his 9th of the season at 6:41 of the third period, assisted by Peterka and Barrett Hayton, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early defensive miscues as the Mammoth went on to lose 3-2. Vejmelka stopped 29 of 32 shots while registering his third consecutive loss.

Utah forward JJ Peterka said in the locker room after the game, “I feel like throughout the whole game, they made really good plays; they put a lot of pressure on us, especially D-zone draws for us. We had trouble executing and getting out of that zone. You have to give them credit for that.”

Yamamoto, who now has seven points in his last five games (5g, 2a), has been getting more ice time recently after having been a healthy scratch for a number of contests. He said, “I think just getting back into the lineup, obviously, is a huge confidence (boost). I haven’t played too many games here. Playing with JJ and Hayts, they’re amazing players too. They make plays with the best of them. They are very easy to read off and stuff like that. They were both fine to me.”

Head Coach André Tourigny, speaking of the performance of Barrett Hayton’s line, said, “Well, I think they work really hard and they simplify their game. I don’t think they did anything complicated. A big topic for us in the last month or so is to play the game that is in front of you. There’s some nights where there’s plays to be made. There’s some other nights, where there’s no play to be made. There was nothing tonight. There was no seam or easy possession. They played really well. So in those situations, you need to go with broken plays, with quick attacks from the forecheck or shot volume and bodies on the net. We had a little bit of stubbornness in ourselves tonight, of trying to play the game we wanted to play instead of playing the game that’s in front of us. I’m not blaming our guys, in the sense of Dallas played a hell of a game. They didn’t give us anything, but we need to learn and on those nights where maybe you don’t have your A game, you don’t have your execution, and the opponent plays well, we need to find a way to simplify and get the dirty goals.”

Tourigny acknowledged the team’s bad start, saying “We didn’t play well from the beginning in terms of, we’re not skating, if you look at those two pucks, we have time and space, so why are we not moving our feet and playing with pace. That just kind of illustrates our start and and even on the PK, we’re playing well. They have two shots and three goals on their first two power plays. It’s not like it was a shooting gallery with a lot of opportunities. They’re really good at the way they score and that’s the way they scored. They get tips and sticks on rebounds and stuff like that. We knew it, and they’re the second best power play in the league, for a reason, we need to stay out of the box in any way, shape or form. We need to find a way.”

On his team’s current anemic power play, Tourigny commented, “No doubt about it, I don’t think we have any swagger. I don’t think we have any kind of execution. At some point in this league, if you feel sorry for yourself, everybody will step in your throat, and nobody will let you get back up. So there’s no feeling sorry for yourself. You’re the best players on the team. You have an opportunity to be a difference maker, and you need to do it, and you need to hone your confidence, and you need to hone your play, and we need to be better in those situations. I think there’s a lot to be thought, to be brainstormed, maybe about that, but we need to find a way, because our five on five game is top five in the league, and right now we’re fighting for our life. We need to get our special teams, special situations, up to par.”

Next up for Utah (28-23-4) are the Vancouver Canucks (18-31-6) on Monday followed by the Detroit Red Wings (32-18-6) on Wednesday, after which the Mammoth will begin their Olympic break. When the break concludes, Utah will resume action on February 25 with another 3-game homestand, meaning they will not have played a single road game in the entire month of February with the exception of the team’s Olympians who will have been on the road in Italy.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Are We Entertained? Mammoth Erase 3-0 Deficit Foiling Flyers 5-4 In Overtime

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Mammoth captain Clayton Keller, who scored the game tying and game winning goals in Utah’s 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night, addresses the media after the game on Wed Jan 21, 2026 (photo by the author Tom Walker)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Down 4-3 and Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka was pulled from the net with moments left in the third period, Nick Schmaltz strips the puck from the Flyers enabling Clayton Keller to strike for the tying and overtime game-winning goals to help defeat Philadelphia 4-3 in overtime.

The Utah Mammoth (25-20-4) wrapped up their season-long seven-game homestand on Wednesday night against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers (23-17-8). The new year has continued to go well for Utah, which has posted a 7-1-1 record since January 1st, and entered Wednesday’s game with points in all six home games while going 5-0-1 at Delta Center.

Philadelphia jumped out to a quick start in the first period with Cam York scoring his 4th goal of the season just 30 seconds into the game, assisted by Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny.

Four minutes later, the Flyers put the Mammoth in a 2-0 hole when Christian Dvorak netted his 11th of the season, assisted by Konecny and Noah Juulsen. Samuel Ersson was perfect in goal for Philadelphia in the period, stopping all 7 Mammoth shots, while NHL wins leader Karel Vejmelka surrendered two goals on 14 shots.

The Flyers opened the second period on the power play, resulting from a high-sticking penalty by Nick Schmaltz against Owen Tippett as time expired in the first. 58 seconds into the frame, Bobby Brink put Philadelphia up 3-0 with his 12th goal of the season, cashing in on the power play opportunity, assisted by a pair of former Anaheim Ducks, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.

Mammoth forward JJ Peterka brought Utah back to within two goals of the Flyers, putting a wrist shot past Ersson from the top of the crease at 5:35 unassisted.

36 seconds later Mammoth forward Lawson Crouse narrowed the gap to 3-2 assisted by Schmaltz and Clayton Keller. Crouse’s 13th goal of the year in 50 games surpasses his 2024-2025 season mark of 12 goals in 81 contests.

Philadelphia got one back just past the halfway mark of the period when Dvorak scored his 2nd goal of the game and 12th on the season, assisted by again by Zegras and Drysdale. The Flyers skated to the locker room holding a 4-2 lead at the end of the period, with both netminders stopping 8 of 10 shots. Courtesy the Mammoth stat crew, Utah has gone 4-14-1 when trailing after two periods, while the Flyers have gone 15-0-2 when leading after two.

Tempers flared at 11:49 of the third period when a roughing minor by Noah Juulsen against Jack McBain turned into a lopsided fight where McBain pummeled Juulsen before tackling him down onto the ice. Utah capitalized on the ensuring power play with Barrett Hayton narrowing the score to 4-3 tipping in his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Dylan Guenther and Nick Schmaltz.

With 87 ticks left on the clock in regulation and Vejmelka pulled for the extra attacker, Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway had a breakaway with no one standing between him and an empty net when out of nowhere Schmaltz streaked up behind him and stripped the puck to keep Garnet from sealing Philadelphia’s victory.

With 35 seconds remaining, Mammoth captain and Team USA Olympian Clayton Keller drove to the net and put the puck past Ersson with a backhand shot, unassisted, for his 14th goal of the season to tie things up and send the game to overtime as the 16,000+ fans at Delta Center erupted in disbelief and celebration.

The 6-on-5 goal was the first in Mammoth franchise history and was the latest game-tying goal in franchise history, the previous latest game-tying goal having been scored with 1:54 remaining by Josh Doan in a 2024 game against the New York Islanders.

Doan, who was traded along with Michael Kesselring to the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason for JJ Peterka, signed a seven-year, $48.65 million contract extension on Wednesday to keep him locked up in Buffalo through the 2032-33 season.

At 2:01 of overtime it was Keller again with a snap shot, assisted by Guenther, to stun the Flyers with his 15th of the season as he launched his stick over the glass into the stands in celebration. The 5-4 victory gives Utah a 6-0-1 home record in 2026 and 8-1-1 overall in the new year.

The win further pads Vejmelka’s NHL-leading 24 victories. Once again, courtesy the Mammoth stat crew, the Mammoth are now the 13th team in NHL history to earn points in each game of a homestand of at least seven games, the last time being the Los Angeles Kings which went 5-0-2 during a stretch of the 2022-2023 season.

The Utah’s eight-game point streak matches a franchise record set last season, and the seven-game home point streak extends a franchise best run.

For the sixth time on the homestand, the Mammoth locker room blasted their victory tune, “Beer For My Horses” by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, followed by Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine.” Dylan Guenther was first on the docket to meet with the media as the locker room cleared. “Resiliance” is how he defined the game. “We did stick with it, the talk was all positive, and we all thought that we could come back and win. It was a huge character win.” What did he say to Keller on his tying goal? “Just ‘nice play, nice shot.’ To get a 6-on-5 goal –we haven’t had one this year– it was a really nice individual effort by him. Nice route by him, too. Kind of a 2-on-2, caught his guys sleeping with nice shots, so he had a good game tonight.”

Commenting on the team’s overall effort on the night, Keller said, “It was great. We stuck with it, even when we knew that we weren’t playing great, creating a lot of mistakes, but we just kept fighting. So many guys made key plays, especially Veg making saves. We talked about it in the room after, none of this happens if Nick Schmaltz doesn’t backcheck and give everything he’s got to strip them before they score on the empty net. And that’s the difference sometimes.” Of Crouse, whose goal Wednesday night surpassed his total from last season, Keller said, “He is such a great player, person, guy in the locker room, does everything for the team, and does everything right. I can’t say enough good things about him and it’s great to see him get rewarded. He’s been working on his shot a lot. He’s doing the little things, the rest of you guys might not see. So it’s great to see him get rewarded and he’s going to bring that same effort every single night.” Asked about how he is able to perform under high-pressure situations, the captain responded, “I think a lot of it is belief, and the mental talk that I’m saying to myself in my head. I’ve always trusted my training. I know I’ve done everything possible to leave myself in a good position and let the rest take care of itself. I skate every day in the summer with a couple other guys, I work on those touches and all those things.”

A joyful head coach André Tourigny took to the podium and said, “Entertainment business, heh? … What was the attendance, sixteen something? I think they all got entertained tonight.” He continued, “I’m really happy about our comeback. Obviously, that was a big goal on the power play at a key moment; we often talk about producing on the power play but also producing in key moments–and that was a key moment. Our first 6-on-5 goal in our franchise’s history was a clutch one, obviously. And in overtime, that was a really good goal. I liked the way we turned things around in the second period. There’s things we didn’t like about the game; it’s obvious if you watch the game. But I would like to focus a lot on the positives, because if I talk about what we didn’t like I think it will overshadow the good things…The key goals, the comeback, the grit we showed in the second period. We had a good push. I think the fight of (Jack McBain) was a turning point. And we all know the play of the game was (Nick Schmaltz’s) strip. Those are a lot of positives, and I don’t want to take the spotlight off those things.” Asked about how this type of game develops the team, Bear responded, “It’s a good development for our team to understand the good, the bad and the ugly. When we didn’t do what we had to do, what should have happened–we got what we deserved. And when we did what we had to do, we were successful. So we need to learn (from) that. It’s part of a long season, a process, a grind. It’s great to do it in victory and get the two points. But we need to learn from it.” The buzz at Delta Center was all about the strip by Schmaltz, without which the Mammoth would have lost in regulation. “You know what I’m happy about,” Tourigny asked. “I’m happy that everybody saw that. Because that’s what we see from (Schmaltz). I talked about it last year and I’ve talked about it this year and I’ve talked about his play away from the puck and his effort and his IQ, the way he defends, the way he strips pucks, how he gets body position and battles. Not everybody will see that and you need to pay attention. And when there’s a highlight play like that; I liked his performance and how he impacts our team. I’m glad for him and for everybody–who were here at the Delta Center or at home watching our game–who sees that. It can highlight what Nick Schmaltz means for our team.”

The way things are going, the Mammoth may not want to hit the road right now. Nevertheless, Utah (26-20-4) plays its next four games on the road beginning with an early Saturday afternoon tilt in Nashville followed by games against Tampa Bay, Florida, and Carolina before returning home on January 31 for a three-game homestand against Dallas, Vancouver, and Detroit before the Olympic break begins.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Mammoth Outshoot Stars 2-1 In Defensive Domination

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Dallas Stars left winger Jason Robertson (21) fights for the puck against the Utah Mammoth defenseman John Marino (6) in the second period at the Delta Center on Thu Jan 15, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah Mammoth and Dallas Stars were scoreless for nearly two full periods, but Marino’s third period goal put the Mammoth over the top 2-1 as Utah goes 4-0-1 at home in the new year defeating Dallas Stars.

Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev took to the ice for his 600th career game on Thursday night as the Mammoth (23-20-4) squared off for the fifth game of seven on the current homestand against the visiting Dallas Stars (27-11-9). Courtesy of the Mammoth stat crew, Sergachev joins teammates Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz, Alexander Kerfoot, and Clayton Keller in reaching the 600 game milestone in a Utah jersey.

The opening frame was a scoreless affair, as Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger stopped all ten Utah shots, and NHL wins leader Karel Vejmelka turned away the five shot attempts by the Stars.

The second period was well on its way to also being another scoreless frame, but with 7 ticks left on the clock Nick Schmaltz tipped in a perfect feed from John Marino for his 17th goal of the season, with the additional assist to Clayton Keller, for a 1-0 Mammoth lead as time expired.

With the assist by Keller, he and Schmaltz have combined on 200 goals in their careers, the first U.S.-born teammates to accomplish the feat. Oettinger stopped nine of ten shots in the period while Vejmelka remained perfect in shutting down 12 shots by the Stars.

At 1:39 of the third period, Utah forward Barrett Hayton went to the sin bin for hooking against Roope Hintz, giving Dallas an opportunity on the power play to even things up 25 seconds later on Mikko Rantanen’s 19th goal of the season, assisted by Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson.

Two minutes later, putting the puck on the net from along the dasher boards between the top of the faceoff circle and the blue line, Mammoth defenseman John Marino combined again with Nick Schmaltz to score his 4th goal of the season as his shot deflected off the body of Oettinger, high up and over his head, landing just behind the Stars netminder in the crease and trickling over the line to give Utah a 2-1 lead.

With 3:22 remaining in the game, Dallas pulled Oettinger for an extra attacker as the Stars continuously peppered Vejmelka for the rest of the game, but Veggie’s wall stood up to the onslaught to earn his league-leading 22nd win of the season. Vejmelka has allowed two or fewer goals in six of his first seven games in 2026. Improving to 4-0-1 at home in the new year, Utah’s 5-game home point streak is now the longest in franchise history.

In the locker room after the game, Schmaltz talked about this being a statement win for his squad. “That was awesome. We talked about stringing together wins, especially on home ice, and I thought those last two games on home ice were some of our best of the year. I think the way we competed no matter what the score is, if they get one, whatever, we come back and respond and (we) played hard right ‘til the end, so huge win.” The Mammoth have struggled at times to hold leads late in the 3rd period, and Schmaltz was asked about holding the lead int he final five minutes. “I think just try to limit their time and space. They’ve got a lot of good players over there, so just pressure them, try to make them make plays under pressure. Obviously Veggie made some big saves for us down the stretch, and Stenny and those guys were stuck out there for a while, but they did a great job. We won some big draws, and it was a heck of a team effort.” Indeed, Utah won 67% of their faceoffs on the night against one of the top faceoff teams in the league.

“They’re stingy, they don’t give up much,” Marino told the assembled media. “Got to play a patient game out there. Obviously, they’re a great hockey team, and they have been the last couple of years. So to be able to get that win, kind of have that confidence as a team going forward.” Commenting on the Stars push in the final minutes, Marino said, “I think everyone didn’t panic too much, whether the guys were out there, tired, everyone on the bench, no one was screaming, shouting, everyone was pretty comfortable with the situation. So we learn from that and go forward. … Veggie has been unbelievable for us here down the stretch, so you got to give him credit when credit is due. Besides that, it’s a whole team effort out there, guys blocking shots, sacrificing themselves, backchecking, just playing the right way. You get rewarded for it.”

Head Coach André Tourigny couldn’t have been more pleased with the performance of his players. “I think, first, prep second, intensity and focus from our players, help from the trench guys and Mads (John Madden) did a really good job to prep the guys on faceoffs. We knew Dallas was a top team in the league, top five on faceoffs, and they run a lot of plays through it, and they generate a lot of possessions. I think the guys were tuned in and did a really good job.” Speaking of the importance of beating a division rival ahead of Utah in the standings, Tourigny said, “We needed two points, we need to keep winning. Obviously, against our division, it’s always bigger, but I don’t think we’re at the point yet where Dallas is. So for us, we need to keep focusing on what we have to do, keep performing. We played a good game on both sides of the puck, offensively and defensively. That team was tough to play against. The process was good. The performance is good. Let’s bottle that up and keep going.” Offering his own take on shutting Dallas down in the closing minutes, Bear said, “I think we were poised, but had intensity. It’s always that you want to be calm, but you want to be intense. You want to be patient, but you want to be aggressive. It’s the same as wanting to be poised, but you want to be urgent. So I think we achieved that. The boys were in control, but really intense. They were urgent, but in control with some good poise.”

Utah (24-20-4) returns to home ice Saturday afternoon for a matinee tilt against the visiting Seattle Kraken (21-16-9) who lost Thursday night on the road in Boston.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Mammoth Unleash Six Goal Stampede, Bomb Maple Leafs To The Stone Age 6-1

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Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton (27) takes a shot against Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby (35) in the third period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tue Jan 13, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah Mammoth scored early and often in rout of Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 to improve to 5-1-1 in January.

The Mammoth (22-20-4) squared off against the Maple Leafs (23-15-7) on Tuesday night for the fourth game of seven in the current homestand.  Making his Delta Center debut in a Maple Leafs sweater was former Utah forward Matias Maccelli who has seven goals and ten assists in 34 games so far this season for Toronto, one goal and point shy of his 2024-2025 season totals in 55 games.

The Mammoth took an early lead at 3:22 of the first period when forward Michael Carcone, who wasn’t expecting to return to Utah this season but ultimately re-signed with the team in July, put the puck past Maple Leafs netminder

Dennis Hildeby for his ninth of the season, assisted by Nate Schmidt and John Marino. Carcone, who grew up about 30 miles outside of Toronto, has scored the opening goal both times Utah has faced the Maple Leafs this season as well as their most recent matchup last season. 

The Ajax, Ontario forward is enjoying a bounce-back season after scoring just seven goals in 53 games last year.  The remainder of the opening period was scoreless, with Hildeby stopping 11 of 12 shots and Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka turning away all 6 shots on goal from Toronto.

Utah forward Dylan Guenther doubled the Mammoth lead at 5:26 of the second period with his team-leading 22nd of the year, assisted by Jack McBain and Ian Cole.  Barely a minute later, Guenther lit the lamp again with a laser beam over the shoulder of Hildeby for his 23rd of the season, assisted again by McBain.

Guenther’s two goals in a 78-second span are now the fastest two goals by the same player in franchise history, surpassing the previous record of 110 seconds by Logan Cooley last October against St. Louis.  At 15:25 of the frame, German Olympian and Utah forward JJ Peterka got in on the action scoring his 16th of the season, assisted by Daniil But and Cole, much to the delight of a large group of German tourists who are attending NHL games in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles over the coming days.  The Mammoth took their 4-0 lead to the locker room, with Vejmelka stopping all 9 shots he faced in the period.

Toronto forward Calle Järnkrok spoiled Vejmelka’s shutout bid with his 6th goal of the season at 3:30 of the third, assisted by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, narrowing Utah’s lead to 4-1, but that would be the lone goal for the Maple Leafs as Utah continued to step on the gas.

At 13:29 of the final frame, Mammoth forward Jack McBain tipped in his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Guenther and Carcone, to restore Utah’s four-goal cushion.  McBain, a Toronto native, earned three points on the night against his hometown team, and now has seven points (4g, 3a) in eight career games against them.

  With three minutes remaining in the game, Daniil But put an exclamation mark on the Mammoth victory with his third goal of his rookie season, assisted by Barrett Hayton and Peterka, as Utah won its third game of the homestand 6-1 and improve to 5-1-1 in the new year.

Vejmelka stopped 19 of 20 shots in his winning effort, and leads the NHL with 21 victories this season.  Guenther’s first goal in the second period turned out to be the game-winner, his sixth on the season, just one game-winning goal shy of NHL leader Steven Stamkos who has seven. 

Defenseman Ian Cole, who recorded two assists in the game, spoke of the team’s killer attitude in his locker room interview.  “It’s more of a mindset for us, and sticking with that mindset regardless of what happens, whether we go up, whether we go down, whether it’s tied. Regardless of what the situation is, sticking with that and keeping that mindset. I think we’re getting better as we go here, but we have to keep building. That’s a good team to beat, but it’s not going to matter two days from now, so we have to do it again.” Talking about Utah’s defensive effort, which limited Toronto to 20 shots on the night, Cole said, “That’s a highly skilled team, so we want to take away time and space. You want to make sure that those skill guys have a tough time getting shots off and making plays. I think we did a pretty good job of that. It’s the right mindset, and it wasn’t just our D, It was our forwards too. We can keep good gaps, but if they don’t track back, it’s gonna be odd-man rushes all night. So they did a great job.” On the Mammoth having earned points in five straight games, Cole added, “It’s great. Accruing points is kind of the name of the game. We’re disappointed in how we let some points slip away early in the year, but as of right now, it’s kind of do or die. If we wait to find our game or we wait to turn this corner, we’re going to run out of time. There’s only eighty-two games in the season. We need to play well and play well right now. I think we’re making some great strides there.” 

Dylan Guenther added praise for the play of Michael Carcone in the game. “Yeah, he’s a really good player. I think he’s had success at every level, and he’s produced at every level. He’s worked for everything. So he’s a great guy to play with, and super fast. He’s a really big part of our team.” As for the hot start in the new year, Guenther said, “Yeah, it’s been a good stretch. I think we’ve talked about this stretch for a little bit, and have been looking forward to getting a little bit of time at home. So it’s nice to be getting points, and we play a really good team next game, so just make sure that we’re ready to go after a win like tonight.” For Utah, which fell just short of a playoff spot last season, continuing to press at this stage of the year is critical. “Yeah, I think that’s the big picture,” said Guenther. “I think we’re fighting, and every game’s a fight. So I think if we play like that every game, then, there’s a really good chance.”

A happy head coach, André Tourigny, opened his postgame remarks by saying, “Obviously, a really good game. We liked the pace of our game; the speed we had offensively and defensively. I think we attacked every shift with a lot of speed through the neutral zone and a lot of pace, a lot of pressure on their D. We knew (Toronto) was on the back-to-back; they played a big game yesterday. After the game against Columbus, I talked to you about the mindset. I said it’s not about focus, it’s not about execution. It’s the mindset we had in that game and the way we tried to play the game tonight. Obviously, we’ll take the result, but it’s more than that.” Bear talked about some of the line changes, including how McBain’s line performed as a unit. “I think they played hard and fast. They were really fast in everything they did. They never slowed down. They were coming really fast. That’s three good skaters. I think it clicked. Sometimes, it’s tough to explain why; it just happens. I think (Dylan Guenther) and (Michael Carcone) had success last year when they played together. Same thing with (Guenther) and (Jack McBain)–they had success when they played together last year. That was the rationale behind it. We were hoping (Daniil But) and JJ (Peterka) and (Barrett Hayton) would click as well. It is what it is.”  The “killer instinct” comment came up again in the interview with Tourigny, who responded, “We gave up five shots in the third. I think we kept the pace defensively. I feel, in a sense, (Toronto was) trying more plays and stuff like that. So they had a little bit more possession. Still, we played the right way. We put pucks behind; we were on them. They had no easy possessions. We were on them a lot.”

Next up for Utah (23-20-4) on Thursday are the Dallas Stars (27-11-9), who lost 3-1 to the Ducks in Anaheim on Tuesday night.

Utah Mammoth game wrap:Keller Has McBain’s Back, But Mammoth Fall To Blue Jackets 3-2 In Overtime

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Klayton Keller (9) of the Utah Mammoth had two assists against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Delta Center on Sun Jan 11, 2026 (Fox 2 News Salt Lake City file photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Clayton Keller’s first period shot went wide of the net, but bounced off McBain’s back and into the goal in first period of the Utah Mammoth’s first home ice loss of 2026 to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in overtime.

The Mammoth (22-20-3) welcomed the Blue Jackets (19-18-7) to Delta Center on Sunday afternoon for the third of seven games on the current homestand. Struggling backup goaltender Vítek Vaněček, entering the game at 2-9-1 on the season, got the start in place of Czechia Olympian Karel Vejmelka.

Not quite three minutes into the game, Columbus hit the scoreboard first on Mikael Pyythia’s first goal of the season, a wicked shot that was in and out of the net so fast that one could barely tell it was a goal at all, assisted by Danton Heinen and Ivan Provorov.

With just a few minutes remaining in the first period, Utah tied things up on a fluke goal when Clayton Keller sent the puck wide of the net and off the back of linemate Jack McBain into the Blue Jackets net. Keller has now registered assists in five consecutive home games which ties his own franchise record.

Whether it was an errant shot attempt or a mysterious pass, it resulted in McBain’s 5th goal of the season with the additional assist going to Nick DeSimone. This one is worth finding a replay on the internet to watch. Columbus netminder Jet Greaves finished the period stopping six of seven shots, while Vaněček turned away eleven of twelve for the Mammoth.

Utah started off the second period quickly at 1:02 when defenseman Mikhail Sergachev fired a bullet from the center of the blue line past everyone between him and the net for his 7th goal of the season, assisted by Keller and Nick Schmaltz, to give the Mammoth its first lead of the game.

With two and a half minutes left in the frame, McBain went to the sin bin for holding against Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, and Columbus made Utah pay for it a minute later when Charlie Coyle shot the puck off the near goalpost and then passed the rebound to Adam Fantilli in front of the net.

Vaněček stopped Fantilli, but Coyle finished the job for his seventh of the season, with the additional assist credited to Kirill Marchenko. The two squads completed the period knotted up at two apiece, with Greaves stopping seven of eight and Vaněček turning away twelve of thirteen.

The Mammoth and Blue Jackets were scoreless in the third period, but Daniil But put Utah at a disadvantage in overtime when he tripped Fantilli with 24 seconds left in regulation. Benefitting from the 4-on-3 overtime power play, Columbus dominated the 61 seconds necessary for Dmitri Voronkov to record his 16th goal of the season to put Utah away, assisted by Zach Werenski and Marchenko.

Despite saving 33 of 36 shots in the game, Vaněček’s losing streak increased to ten games, his last victory coming against the Winnipeg Jets on October 26. In the locker room after the game, Mikhail Sergachev expressed support for Vaněček “He was amazing. He held the ground for us. We gave up a little too much. He was big for us tonight. We just couldn’t get it done for him.” When asked about defending defending 4-on-3 in overtime, Sergachev said, “It is hard, but it’s easier than 5-on-3. … Pucks were flying around; high sticks everywhere; we just didn’t get to set up in our formation and didn’t get to defend that well. (Columbus) attacked right away–good on them.”

Jack McBain, who initiated the scoring with perhaps the most unusual goal of his career, said, “It wasn’t our best game, for sure. Everybody knows that. We gave up too many chances. I think we tried to overcomplicate the game. We got a little away from our identity there.” Asked about staying strong late in the third period, McBain added, “Every point matters. The kill did a good job to get it into overtime. It was unfortunate that (Columbus) was on the 4-on-3, that’s tough. But every point matters all the way through the rest of the season. … We got a point out of (tonight). It wasn’t our best game, but we’ll learn from it and move on. We have to learn…to win, how to close out games. Not our best, but we’re on to the next one.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny began his postgame remarks by saying, “I think I’m disappointed about the way we process that game, the way our thought process, mindset, our play with the puck, our play without the puck. I think V gave us an opportunity to get a point, which is a big point, which is important. I thought against St Louis, Vej bailed us out. So I was expecting definitely better from today.” When asked how the team can improve, Bear responded, “First of all, you need to sting a little bit. It’s not just about moving on. It’s about learning from it. I think there’s a lesson to learn from that game. Like I said, it’s not a matter of execution or effort. It was a matter of mindset, be ready to play the game the way it should have been played, and our decision with the puck. There’s many things that were not on par.” Tourigny was visually disappointed for Vaněček, and said of his performance, “Really good, I think. Tough situation, he didn’t play for a little bit, and came in and the guys did not play their A game in front of him, and he kept us there. I think he did a great job.”

Utah (22-20-4) returns to the ice on Tuesday for their fourth game of the homestand against the Toronto Maple Leafs (22-15-7).

NHL Note: Ten years ago today (January 11, 2016), Washington Capitals forward and future unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin passed the 500 career goals mark. Now at the age of 40, Ovi has 19 goals in the current season, and 916 for his record breaking career, 24 more than the previous record holder, Wayne Gretzky, who retired with 894 career goals.

Ovechkin also has 77 career playoff goals for good measure, which means he is 7 away from 1000 combined career regular season and playoff goals, still behind Gretzky whose combined regular season and playoff goal mark is 1016, still very much in reach for Ovechkin who continues to be productive while most of his contemporaries have been long retired.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: St. Louis Sings the Blues as Schmaltz Scores Twice in 4-2 Mammoth Victory

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The Utah Mammoth Nick Schmaltz (8) takes the puck up ice against the Ottawa Senators at the Delta Center on Wed Jan 7, 2026. Schmaltz scored two goals for the Mammoth against the visiting St Louis Blues on Fri Jan 9, 2026 in Salt Lake City. (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah Mammoth netminder Karel Vejmelka held the St. Louis Blues to two goals and becomes first in the league to pick up 20 wins in a 4-2 Mammoth win at the Delta Center.

The Mammoth (21-20-3) laced up on Friday night for the second of seven games on the current homestand against the visiting Blues (17-19-8). The Mammoth, coming off of a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, are enjoying a positive start to the new year entering the game having won three of four contests.

Utah struck first late in the first period on Nick Schmaltz’s 15th goal of the season, banging in a snap shot rebound off a shot by Clayton Keller with the additional assist to Mikhail Sergachev. Karel Vejmelka was perfect in net for the Mammoth as Utah carried a 1-0 lead into the locker room after one.

At 7:45 of the second period, Mammoth forward Lawson Crouse increased Utah’s lead to 2-0 with his 11th goal of the season from the top of the left faceoff circle, assisted by Keller and John Marino. But St. Louis got one back just ten seconds later when Iskar Sundqvist put the puck past Vejmelka for his 3rd of the season, assisted by Nathan Walker, before the arena announcer could even finish announcing the Crouse goal.

Less than four minutes later, however, Mammoth forward Schmaltz passed a rebound across the ice to the stick of defenseman Sean Durzi who one-timed a shot past Joel Hofer of the blues to regain Utah’s two-goal lead with his 3rd goal on the year, with the additional assist to Crouse.

With three and a half minutes remaining in the second period, the Blues cut their deficit to one goal as Pavel Buchnevich netted his 8th of the season with an extra attacker on the ice due to a delayed penalty call against Utah, assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud and Robert Thomas.

Seven minutes into the third period, with Snuggerud in the sin bin for high-sticking against Keller, JJ Peterka sent a pass from the right goal post up the middle in front of the crease to Schmaltz who struck again for the Mammoth with his 16th of the season, with Keller picking up the additional assist.

As reported by the Utah stat crew, Schmaltz and Keller have now factored on the same goal for the 199th time for the highest total by a pair of U.S.-born teammates in NHL history. That would be all Utah would need to go 4-1-0 in the new year, with Vejmelka stopping 26 of 28 on the night en route to becoming the first goaltender to reach 20 victories this season.

In the locker room, Nick Schmaltz talked about winning tight games. “It’s great, we’ve talked about it the last little bit here, about maintaining pressure when we’re up. I thought earlier in the year, we gave up some leads and kind of sat back and watched teams kind of dictate the play. I thought tonight was another big win. We kind of shut it down and scored a big goal, and it mattered. So it shows a lot about this group, and we got to keep it going. … I think we’re making more plays. We’re hitting each other’s tape instead of just kind of flicking it and standing around, not moving our feet. I think we’re being assertive. We’re making plays when it’s there, and when it’s not we’re putting pucks in good areas and making sure we’re putting our teammates in good spots.” With regard to his record with Keller for America-born players, Schmaltz said, “Yeah, it’s great. It feels like we’ve been playing with each other for a long time. We know where each other are at all times on the ice and we’re always looking for each other. It’s been a heck of a ride playing with him, and hopefully we have many more great memories ahead.”

Netminder Karel Vejmelka, when asked about the Mammoth being more comfortable in tight games responded, “I think so. Usually it’s all about focus and being in the right place. So, it’s the same for everybody. And we played a huge game last game. We played another big game tonight. Those one-goal games are really important for the rest of the season.” The penalty kill was big for Vejmelka, who said, “I think it’s huge for me, they cover like other guys on the rebounds. So I just need to focus on the guy who got it by. So it’s kind of easy for me and again, I just focus on what’s going to happen next.” So how does it feel to become only the second Czech native to be the NHL’s first goaltender to reach the 20-win mark in a season? “It’s a big accomplishment. Hašek is one of the best goalies in NHL history. It’s an honor, and I’m glad about it and happy for it.”

Head Coach André Tourigny began his post-game remarks by saying, “A very good game early, but Veggie made key saves. They obviously played hard, and they knew how important that division game is and everything. … Schmaltzy was possessed. He was really, really good. He won battles, the speed he had defensively, his face off, his PK, everything. I liked our power play and the movement. Obviously, our PK came up big at a key moment. But I think the answer from Jack McBain, and what happened in the last game. I think that’s probably the highlight of the night for the Bear,” referring to himself. When asked about maintaining composure down the stretch, Tourigny responded, “It’s important to stay even-keeled, to stay humble, and to play the game the right way. … You cannot get carried away, you cannot get complacent, but you have to be honest. We had a level of confidence in our play defensively. And that doesn’t mean the other team cannot score, cannot have a great scoring chance, or cannot get lucky at some point. I’m not saying they need to get lucky to have a scoring chance; it can be good as well. My point is, I had the feeling we weren’t going to beat ourselves, and they will need to beat us; they will need to do the right things to beat us. And when we made some mistakes, Veggie came up big. So we expect to play good, we want to play good, and trust in each other’s stuff to win. Our opponent tonight showed up, and they played hard, but (I’m) proud of our group.”

Next up for the Mammoth (22-20-3) are the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

Mammoth Defeats Senators 3-1 As NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Reveals Utah To Host 2027 Winter Classic

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The Utah Mammoth will host the 2027 Winter Classic at Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the University of Utah Utes football team (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–The Utah Mammoth got all the offense it would need in the first eight minutes and shut the Ottawa Senators down in the final two periods en route to 3-1 victory in first home game of 2026.

The Utah Mammoth (20-20-3) returned to Delta Center on Wednesday night, following a Big Apple road trip to kick off 2026 where they won two of three, to face the Ottawa Senators (20-16-5) for the first of a season-high seven-game homestand which ties a franchise record.

Earlier in the day, Mammoth owners Ryan and Ashley Smith held a press conference with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to announce that Utah will host the 2027 Winter Classic at Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the University of Utah Utes football team. The Mammoth are the only NHL team which has never played an outdoor game. The only other two teams never to host one are the Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks.

Prior to the puck drop, Utah recognized its four players who have been selected to represent their respective countries in February’s Winter Olympics: Clayton Keller (USA), JJ Peterka (Germany), Karel Vejmelka (Czechia), and Olli Määttä (Finland)..

Lawson Crouse put the Mammoth on the scoreboard at 3:59 of the first period when Clayton Keller skated the puck behind the net and then out front where he found the stick of Crouse who banged it in for his tenth goal of the season, with the additional assist going to Mikhail Sergachev.

Crouse has six points in his past seven games, and is now two goals shy of his total for the 2024-2025 season as well as two points ahead of last season’s overall total. Utah now has six different players with 10 or more goals which ties them for the most in the NHL.

At 7:20, the captain picked up his second assist of the night, feeding a pass to defenseman John Marino who put the puck past Ottawa netminder Leevi Meriläinen for his 3rd goal of the season and first in front of the home fans, with Nate Schmidt picking up the additional assist on the play.

The Senators would claw one back at 17:41 of the period when Ridly Greig beat Karel Vejmelka for his sixth of the season, assisted by Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson. Utah carried the 2-1 lead to the locker room, with Meriläinen stopping 7 of 9 and Vejmelka turning away 6 of 7.

Ottawa applied a lot more pressure in the second period, peppering Vejmelka with 15 shots to no avail. Utah managed only 5 shots in the frame as the score remained 2-1 after two.

At 5:41 of the third period, the Mammoth regained their two-goal lead as a pile of bodies stacked up in front of the Senators goaltender and somehow forward Daniil But pushed the puck over the line for his 2nd goal of the season, assisted by Jack McBain and Brandon Tanev.

Ottawa challenged the goal citing goaltender interference, but the decision on the ice was upheld upon video review. Utah’s defense proved stingy throughout the final frame and never gave the Senators an opening to close the gap. Vejmelka saved 32 of 33 on the night. With the 3-1 victory, the Mammoth are now 3-1-0 in the new year.

Following the game, Utah forward Lawson Crouse said, “It took a lot of grind” to win tonight’s game. “That pressure kept coming from them,” he said, “and we did a good job. We found a way to close it out and that’s what’s important. … There were ups and downs throughout the game, just like there’s gonna be in any game, but like I said earlier, we found a way to close it out and get a big point.” Crouse praised the contributions of Utah defensemen Sergachev, Marino, and Schmidt who each found the scoresheet. “It’s huge. We wouldn’t be here without our D and they contribute all over the ice, defensively and offensively. It’s great to see Johnny get one. He’s obviously a great guy and really good with the puck, and makes some solid plays. It’s nice to see him get rewarded.” Talking about Daniil But’s performance, Crouse added, “He’s got a lot of chances, and I think he had a few more tonight that probably could have gone in and it’s just weird, that’s the one that goes in. But credit to that line, they go to the net hard. It’s nice to see them get rewarded.”

Mammoth defenseman John Marino spoke of the team’s effort in the win. “We got those first two goals early, and we had a big push there in the first. They played well, and they out worked us at times, probably overall in the whole game but we snuck away with that one. I think the way we were able to sustain pressure, at least, and just limit their grade A chances.”

Marino credited Olympian Karel Vejmelka’s performance as well. “Yeah, he’s been great for us all year making those big saves. He definitely bailed us out so many times today. We want to help him out more, but when he plays like that we are a tough team to play against.”

Head Coach André Tourigny began his postgame remarks by saying, “First of all, they’re a good team. They play hard, tough to play against, and I give them a lot of credit. Second, we played very hard, especially at the end of the game.

Even when we took the lead early on, there was a little bit of an adjustment for us in the third. I really think when the game is on the line, when push comes to shove, we really raise our game. We raised our urgency, were really stingy, and we had composure. So, I like the way we closed out the game. When it was 2-1, there was no panic, no stress in our game, just urgency and focus.”

When asked his thoughts about the Winter Classic announcement, Tourigny said, “For the entire organization, [for] the fans, to have the opportunity to experience that – for us coaches and players and our families – to have that opportunity to be in that environment will be absolutely special and will be magical. I think that’s unbelievable. I think for you, for our fans, for everybody, I think that’s a unique opportunity. I’ve never had the opportunity in the NHL. … It’s a huge privilege, as much as you can watch on TV – there’s a few every year – but there’s 32 teams in the league. Not everybody has that opportunity so I think we’re fortunate. I really appreciate the league giving us that opportunity, and that’s a testimony for me to the confidence they have in Ryan and Ashley Smith – the job that they did here with SEG since the team arrived – so I’m grateful for all of it.”

The Mammoth (21-20-3) will face the St. Louis Blues (17-19-8) on Friday for the second contest of their seven-game homestand.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Stamkos Sparks Predators 4-3 Comeback Win Over Mammoth

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Alex Kerfoot (15) and the Utah Mammoth played a tight game against the Nashville Predators but couldn’t seal the deal in a one goal loss at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (Utah Mammoth X photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah began the scoring in each of the three periods, but Nashville drew even each time before taking the only lead they would need with a 4-3 win.

The Utah Mammoth (18-18-3) closed out 2025 at home on Monday night against the visiting Nashville Predators (16-17-4). Prior to the Christmas break, Utah lost a tough road game in Colorado in which backup goaltender Vítek Vaněček, who unexpectedly started in place of Karel Vejmelka who injured himself earlier in the morning, held the Avalanche to a single goal, but the Mammoth offense was completely shut down by the Colorado defense in the 1-0 loss.

Making history for the Mammoth in that game was the signing of Emergency Backup Goalie (EBUG) Colten McIntyre to a professional tryout contract. McIntyre is the first Utah-born and raised player to suit up for the franchise and sit on the team bench in the event that Vaněček should also go down.

Though his services weren’t required in the game, it was a memorable experience for the 21-year-old Park City native who won three state championships playing for Park City High School. Prior to the puck drop in Colorado, the Mammoth had McIntyre skate a lap around the rink in recognition of his roster appearance.

As a full-time practice goalie for Utah, McIntyre is already well acquainted with facing NHL-level shots on goal, and his teammates and coaching staff gave him tons of encouragement and support heading into the game. After Monday morning’s practice, McIntyre told the media that he had been kicking back in the bathtub of his Denver hotel room, watching “Scooby Doo,” when he received word that he would be suiting up. He quickly got ready, caught an Uber to Ball Arena, and signed his professional tryout agreement which permitted him to don the Mammoth jersey and join the team.

Nashville provided Utah with an early power play opportunity in the first period when Nicolas Hague went to the sin bin for high-sticking against Barrett Hayton at 4:56. The Mammoth cashed it in with Clayton Keller sending the puck to Dylan Guenther near the goal crease, who immediately passed it across to the opposite side of the net where JJ Peterka’s stick was waiting to bang the puck in for his 15th of the season.

The Predators would even things up by the halfway mark of the period on Roman Josi’s 4th goal of the season, assisted by Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos. The two squads finished the period knotted up at 1-1, with Juuse Saros stopping 10 of 11 shots for Nashville, and Vaněček turning away 6 of 7.

At 3:41 of the second period, Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev smashed a trademark laser line drive from the blue line past Saros for his 5th goal of the season, assisted by Nick Schmaltz and Sean Durzi, to put the Mammoth ahead 2-1.

That lead didn’t last long, with Predators forward Luke Evangelista finding the back of the net four minutes later with his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Tyson Jost and Nick Blankenburg. Once again, both teams went to the locker room at the period break with a tie score. Saros stopped 9 of 10 Utah shots, while Vaněček turned away 8 of 9.

Just over four minutes into the third period, Dylan Guenther continued the succession of early goals in a period with his 17th of the season, a sweet backhand past the outstretched arms of Saros to put the Mammoth ahead 3-2, assisted by Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton.

Nashville, in turn, continued their succession of responding to Utah’s offensive efforts with a goal of their own. With Utah forward Kevin Stenlund in the penalty box for slashing against Forsberg, future Hall of Famer Steven Stamkos netted his 16th of the season with just over eight minutes remaining the game, assisted by Ryan O’Reilly and Evangelista.

Barely a minute and a half later, Stamkos struck again at short range to beat Vaněček with his 17th, assisted again by O’Reilly as well as Nick Perbix, to give the Predators their first lead of the game at 4-3. Nashville opened the door for a potential Mammoth comeback committing two penalties in the closing minutes, but Utah was unable to convert the opportunities as Saros stood tall in net for the Predators. With the loss, Vaněček’s record in the crease falls to 2-9-1.

In the Mammoth locker room, Mikhail Sergachev said, “I thought we played better for most of the game. We were sloppy on the PK, and the last goal there cost us the game I think. We’ve got to be more focused in those crucial moments in the game.” Sergachev, known for being a fierce competitor, said that the team needs more fight. “We were in the fight,” Sergachev opined. “I feel like we got down on ourselves because we gave up a goal. We were up, and we thought we were going to win. Just got a little too high and didn’t defend twice there and you know, the puck (got) in the back of the net.” Talking about how to put teams away when defending a 3rd period lead, Sergachev said, “you have to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them. That’s what we got to do. We know what the problem is. We just have to work through it. There’s gonna be some lapses and stuff, but we gotta get into it and play much better there in the crucial last 10 minutes of the game.”

Responding to the question of what he wants to see from the team moving forward, said, “I think just execution. Honestly, I thought we outplayed them. They had a little bit of a push there when we went out. But I think just execution all over the ice. When you get a chance, score, pass on the tape, and just bear down. … I know we had a few days off or whatever, but I feel like there’s not that much time to waste. Every game is important, so (we need to) make sure that we’re bearing down.”

A somber Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny opened his remarks to the media by saying, “A tough, tough result. Frustrating. We played really well for the long stretch of the game at five-on-five, on our power play, even on our PK. Our one mistake, a big mistake on the PK there, the broken stick was four-on-four. We should have been more aggressive, and we gave an opportunity for them to have a clean look from the slot, so that’s unfortunate. Other than that, five-on-five, I think we did a really good job defensively, but we need to find a way in key situations and key moments and when push comes to shove, to be better.” Pointing to the positive aspects of the game, Bear commented, “We doubled them in scoring chances, so we did a lot of good. I think it would be nitpicking if I go and say ‘a little bit more of this, a little bit more of that.’ At the end of the day, I guess we doubled them at five-on-five and special teams. There’s a matter of getting opportunistic, scoring big goals in key moments. I think in the third, we gave them two chances at five-on-five, one or two. They were opportunistic, and they found a way to get the two points. We need to learn from them.” While praising the team’s overall defense, Tourigny made no mention of the elephant in the room – the goaltender situation. If Vejmelka remains out of the lineup for any extended period of time, the Mammoth will need more victories from Vaněček or look into alternatives.

The Mammoth will ring in the new year in the Big Apple with a January 1st game against the New York Islanders followed by matches against the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers before returning to Delta Center to open a season-long seven game homestand beginning January 7 against the Ottawa Senators.

Utah Mammoth game wrap:Utah Activates Afterburners, Shooting Down Jets 4-3 In Overtime 

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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.