Tag: Utah Mammoth

Utah Mammoth game wrap: No Crosby, No Malkin, No Problem For Penguins In 4-3 Comeback Win Over Mammoth

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Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) takes a shot on goal agianst the Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) in the first period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sat Mar 14, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah got off to a hot start on two first period goals by Dylan Guenther, but fell victim to undisciplined play as Pittsburgh fought back to deliver a fourth straight loss to the Mammoth 4-3.

The Utah Mammoth (34-26-6) closed out its brief two-game homestand on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-18-15). Absent from the Penguins lineup were future Hockey Hall of Fame forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and it was noticeable on the ice as the game unfolded, or so it seemed in the beginning.

Dylan Guenther single-handedly accounted for all scoring in the opening frame. At 5:06 of the first, Guenther stole the puck from Penguins forward Blake Lizotte at the blue line and shot the puck under the outstretched pads of Pittsburgh goalie Stuart Skinner for his team-leading 32nd goal of the season, unassisted.

91 seconds later, with Anthony Mantha in the penalty box for cross-checking against Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth forward Barrett Hayton put the puck off the goal post behind Skinner, and as the puck trickled along the goal line Penguins defenseman Connor Clifton knocked it away but directly into the skate blades of Guenther who was crashing the net.

Both the puck and Guenther crossed the goal line as the net came off of its moorings. The call on the ice was no-goal, but upon video replay it was determined that the puck had first crossed the goal line followed by Guenther.

Pittsburgh did not challenge whether the puck was kicked into the net, resulting in Guenther’s 33rd goal of the season, again unassisted, and the second-fastest two goals in franchise history. Earlier this season he established the fastest franchise two-goal mark in 78 seconds against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to NHL States, he is just the second NHL player to record two unassisted goals in under two minutes since the 2018-2019 season. With the ice sheet seemingly tilted in the direction of the Penguins goal throughout the period, Utah took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Karel Vejmelka turned away all 7 shots by Pittsburgh, while Skinner turned away 12 of 14.

The Mammoth were sailing through the first half of the game when they ran into penalty trouble beginning at 13:39 of the second period when Lawson Crouse went to the sin bin for high sticking against Parker Wotherspoon.

A half minute later, Alexander Kerfoot joined him when he was whistled for interference against Rickard Rakell, giving the Penguins a lengthy 5-on-3 power play. Pittsburgh didn’t squander the opportunity as Anthony Mantha scored his 25th goal of the season, assisted by Erik Karlsson and Egor Chinakhov. Up to that point the game had seemed rather one-sided but with 2:34 remaining in the frame, Thomas Novak tied things up with his 15th goal of the season, assisted by Wotherspoon and Mantha. Utah managed only four futile shots on goal in the period while Vejmelka stopped 4 of 6 by the Penguins.

Utah began the third period on the penalty kill due to a late second period hooking penalty by Ian Cole against Bryan Rust. At 1:24, Rust converted the power play for his 24th goal of the season, assisted by Rakell and Chinakhov to take their first lead of the game 3-2.

Not quite three minutes later, Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole tied things up again 3-3 with his 3rd goal of the season, assisted by Alexander Kerfoot and Kevin Stenlund. Just past the 8-minute mark of the frame, the Penguins regained the lead on forward Noel Acciari’s 8th goal of the season, assisted by Wotherspoon and Karlsson, which ended up being the difference in the game.

“I think we’ve been trying to make a concerned effort to stick with the game plan, even though there were stretches of that game where we did a really good job sticking to it, and there were stretches where we kind of deviated and we got away from it,’ said defenseman Ian Cole in the locker room following the loss. “They ended up cutting out plays and transitioned back on us and, you know, call it ‘unforced errors, so yeah, we’re going to have to do some soul-searching and figure out how we want to win.”

Dylan Guenther opined, “I think you learn from stuff like this, but as much as you want to break everything down, you can’t beat yourself up for too long–there’s 15 games left, so make sure we learn from it, but it doesn’t bleed into our other games. … Learning’s important. But you don’t want it to bleed, you don’t want to get too emotional, if we get down 2-0 in the next game, you don’t want that to kind of snowball, I think it’s just the next shift. And being aware of the things that we have to fix, but making sure that it’s a clean slate going into every game.”

Head Coach André Tourigny began his post-game remarks saying, “(It’s) disappointing. The first angle is that we had full control of that game, and instead of playing a mature, simple – get above them, put pucks deep and stuff like that – we forced the play with the puck and tried to do way too much. We took penalties in the (offensive) zone – most of them, except one – five in a row in the second. We gave them hope (with) bad line changes and stuff like that. So it’s not like we played (badly). Even if you play well but you (make) the wrong decisions and you don’t manage the game the right way, it’s a song we (sang) two months ago, before the break. The guys fixed it, we had success, but now we have to do it all over again. The lack of maturity today in our game and our management cost us the game. We were in full control, we had no reason.”

In his sober analysis of his team’s performance, Bear conceded, “It would have been unfair to win today, the way we managed the game. And I believe we generated way more offense than them – at five-on-five, we were the better team. It doesn’t matter, if you don’t manage the game the right way. It’s too good of a league. It’s not a league where you can gamble, and we gambled and we lost the game. … We had a great start, scored a big goal on the track on a strip, scored on the power play. We’re playing well, putting pucks at the net, we have traffic, we have opportunities – we’re in control. That has to be enough, and it wasn’t.”

The Mammoth (34-27-6) play a pair of games on the road next week in Dallas and Las Vegas before returning Friday for a four-game homestand beginning with the Anaheim Ducks.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Chicago Steals Season Sweep Against Utah In 3-2 Overtime Win

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Utah Mammoth Logan Cooley (92) take control of the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks Ryan Greene (20) at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thu Mar 12, 2026 (Utah Mammoth X photo)

March 12, 2026

by Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Nick Schmaltz was cheered following his 8-year contract extension, as was MacKenzie Weegar in his Utah Mammoth home debut, but the Chicago Blackhawks completed the 4-0 season sweep in overtime with a 3-2 win Thursday night.

The Mammoth (34-26-5) returned to action at Delta Center on Thursday following a successful 3-1-1 road trip.  The team made headlines a day earlier when it was announced on Wednesday that forward Nick Schmaltz had signed an 8-year $64 million contract extension, locking up one of the final key pieces of the team’s core for the long term.  

At the conclusion of Utah’s inaugural season, several players remarked during exit interviews how much they enjoyed moving to Salt Lake City, particularly the players with young families who had integrated with their neighborhoods and had found so many activities for their children.  A short recap of some of their remarks at the time:

Defenseman Sean Durzi (signed through 2028): “One thing I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about is how well the organization has handled things and treats us, and then you look at the group and the direction we’re heading in, it’s gotta be a destination. I can’t say enough good things, from top to bottom, what this organization has done for myself and for the guys.”

Forward Liam O’Brien (signed through 2027): “It’s such a great city to have a family. My wife and my daughter really enjoy it. … It’s been great and I think there’s so much to do, too, with the kids in this area as well, so we really appreciate that. … We’ve got four or five guys with kids all within maybe six months of each other.”

Forward Logan Cooley (signed through 2034): “Right when we got here in the summer last year, the whole ceremony of welcoming us and the whole place is sold out and you could feel the excitement right away, and the first game was just unbelievable. … Neighbors have been great.”  

Forward Dylan Guenther (signed through 2033): “I think the ownership group is unbelievable, everything’s first class, our new practice facility is crazy nice, and the players they want to be here and they want to play here and they want to win in Utah.”  

Goalie Karel Vejmelka (signed through 2030): “I love the nature here, I love Utah. … It’s really easy to live here and I really like to spend some time outside when I have a day off. … The community and the hockey fans are great. We couldn’t ask for a better organization as a brand new team, so it’s just fun to play here and to live.”

Defenseman Ian Cole (UFA at end of 2026): “I feel like [Utah] is very family oriented.  There’s trampoline parks and play places, and a ton of fun stuff.” A teammate’s daughter was having a birthday party at a trampoline park later that day, to which Cole added, “that’ll be a ton of fun and I think that it’s something that kids love and there’s so many options, … so it’s a great place to raise a family for sure.”

Forward Lawson Crouse (signed through 2027): “I think when you take a look at our team, where we’re headed, the abilities and the skills that we have, that this is going to be a top place to play in the league. … I love waking up to the mountains every day. I find a sense of calming in that. Obviously we get a lot of sun here which is huge outside of the rink, and it’s just so beautiful when you drive around here, it’s a beautiful place. People are so friendly, and I couldn’t think of a better spot to raise my daughter here.”

Forward Alexander Kerfoot (UFA at end of 2026): “We’re building a lot of good things here. It’s an exciting time to be a part of this team and a part of this organization … we’re excited for the future. … I think that the trajectory that this team is on right now is something that we want to be a part of. I want to be on a team that’s trending in the right direction, and I think that the future here is really bright, and we want to be a part of that.”

Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (signed through 2030): “Utah is my home now. I could live here after I’m retired. I love this place.  People are very nice. It’s great. … Especially the guys who have families, I think this is the place to be. I haven‘t seen anything better yet.” 

Head Coach André Tourigny (signed through 2027): “What impressed me most are the people. Everywhere I go, from the restaurant, from everywhere in the crowd, even when I was coming in the Jazz game, it’s not necessarily the same fans, but people were talking about how much they embrace hockey, they didn’t know hockey and now they love the game, they love the team, and they love to come to the game. You never know, you’re going in a new city, people were talking about the culture of hockey, it’s not the same – we didn’t feel that at all. We didn’t feel we were kind of unknown or whatever, we really feel the people embrace our team and how excited they were. When you go somewhere and you feel people want you, that makes you feel really damn good. It’s tough to not get up, get out of your bed and not be excited, you’re excited, let’s get better today, let’s get at it, and I think that’s a credit to the people I just mentioned before, from our players to our ownership, but especially the fans.” 

General Manager Bill Armstrong: “The experience for myself, my family, my wife, it’s been incredible in Utah. Our neighborhood, the kids.  We went to the grocery store the other day, and a lady was petting our dogs and we were walking and she found out that we were with the hockey club, and she couldn’t thank us enough, ‘Thank you for coming!’ I can’t express the gratitude we have for our fans and the people of Utah.” 

Other key players under contract for several years to come include Captain Clayton Keller (2029), forwards JJ Peterka and Jack McBain (2030), newly acquired defenseman MacKenzie Weegar (2031), and now Nick Schmaltz, Keller’s longtime linemate, signed through 2034 when the Winter Olympics come to Salt Lake City. “Getting guys locked in long-term just shows the commitment to winning here,” Schmaltz said to the assembled media at the new Mammoth practice facility in Sandy. “I think we’re right on the edge of being a really great team.” Of linemate Keller, Schmaltz said, “We’ve got a special bond. I think me and Keller have a special chemistry that you can’t really find around the league. He’s definitely a guy that I want to play with for the rest of my career. He makes my job a lot easier and we read off each other super well.” 

“There was never a doubt that Utah is where I want to play the rest of my career, and I’m thrilled to sign an eight-year extension,” Schmaltz said.  “We have a great core of players, and I know we can do some special things together here in Utah. We have a very bright future, and I am thankful to Ryan and Ashley Smith for wanting me to be a part of the group that will one day bring a Stanley Cup to Utah.” Of the Mammoth ownership, Schmaltz added, “Ryan and Ashley, they’ve given us every single tool to get better every single day. They built this amazing practice facility, they’ve done stuff at the Delta Center, renovations to make the building better. It just seems like they’re all-in on us. They do whatever it takes to win and they make our job easy, just to go out and perform.”  Schmaltz recalled his first impression of Utah when the players first arrived after the announcement of Smith Entertainment Group’s acquisition of the franchise. “Seeing hundreds of kids lined up, excited to have an NHL team, then going to the Delta Center that night with a sold-out crowd just to see us walk on the stage. It was eye-opening.”

With the new contract, which includes a full no-movement clause for the next two seasons, a no-trade clause for the following two seasons, and conditional no-movement clauses beyond that, Schmaltz can safely put down permanent roots.  “My fiancée and I love it here, so we’re super excited to get settled down and hope we can find some real estate here.” He shouldn’t have any difficulty doing that.

General Manager Bill Armstrong admitted that he had lost sleep over Schmaltz’s pending unrestricted free agent status. “The thought of losing Nick left me sleepless night after night after night, thinking about what he would get in free agency,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t want to lose him.” Armstrong joked about the text messages he would receive from Schmaltz’s agent when he had a hat trick or other noteworthy performances, and how at one point during a game he caught the glare of Schmaltz’s fiancée, telepathically messaging to him to get the contract done.

“We are thrilled that Nick chose Utah and wants to remain with the team for the next eight years,” Armstrong said. “Nick is a tremendous player and person who is very deserving of this contract. We expect him to continue producing on the ice and leading our young, skilled forwards for years to come.  This is another great day for Mammoth fans and our organization.”

“There’s a lot of momentum building around our team, and extending Nick Schmaltz is an important part of continuing that,” SEG Chairman and CEO Ryan Smith said at the press conference.  “Utah is becoming a true destination in the NHL, and Nick’s long-term commitment reflects the excitement around what we’re building here.”  Smith continued, “I think people are starting to see, ‘Utah’s actually a place I want to live. You leave this facility, you’ve got that beautiful mountain range right in the back. You can get anywhere around here. You can fly anywhere. Utah’s pretty special and I think everyone is starting to see that.”

Getting back to Thursday night’s hockey game between the Mammoth and the visiting Chicago Blackhawks (24-29-11), Utah had gone 0-2-1 against them in their three prior encounters this season, two of them having taking place just this month.  In the starting lineup for the Mammoth was MacKenzie Weegar, acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames during the road trip.

The opening period was a scoreless draw, with Spencer Knight stopping all 6 Utah shots on goal, and Karel Vejmelka turning away all 4 shots from Chicago.

Dylan Guenther opened the scoring in the second period, netting his team-leading 31st goal of the season on a snap shot at close range over the right shoulder of Knight into the top corner of the net, assisted by Logan Cooley and Mikhail Sergachev, who returned to the lineup after a four game absence with a lower body injury. Guenther becomes the first player in franchise history to score 31 or more goals, surpassing Clayton Keller’s inaugural season tally of 30.  The remainder of the frame remained scoreless, with Knight stopping 6 of 7 Mammoth shots and Vejmelka turning away all 8 attempts by Chicago.

19 seconds into the third period, Jack McBain and Ilya Mikheyev got into a tussle and went to the penalty box for roughing against one another. During the 4-on-4, Chicago’s Sam Rinzel used his arm to raise Clayton Keller’s stick into his own face, and was miraculously awarded the benefit of a high sticking penalty against Keller.  Replays showed just how blatant Rinzel’s self-harm was, but the Blackhawks cashed in on the 4-on-3 advantage to tie the score when Tyler Bertuzzi put the puck past Vejmelka for his 28th of the season, assisted by Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, as the booing fans made clear their contempt for the officiating. Near the midpoint of the third, Chicago pulled ahead 2-1 when Frank Nazar scored his 10th og the season, assisted by Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi. With just over six minutes remaining in regulation, JJ Peterka tied things up again at 2-2 with his 22nd of the year, assisted by Michael Carcone, which ultimately sent the game into overtime.  

The Mammoth and Blackhawks traded chances for nearly four minutes of the bonus frame, but with just over a minute remaining, Nick Schmaltz went hard at the Chicago net and crashed into the boards as the Blackhawks recovered the puck and drove the length of the ice with a 3-on-2 where Connor Bedard completed Chicago’s season sweep over Utah with 63 seconds left on his 27th goal of the season, assisted by Alex Vlasic and Nick Lardis. 

Mammoth forward Jack McBain, who recorded a career-high 10 hits in the game (Liam O’Brien owns the franchise record with 11), faced the media in the locker room after the game.  “I thought our group had a really good effort, we were really physical,” McBain began.  “It’s a team that’s gotten the best of us so far this year, and again tonight, but I thought we played a good game.” Of teammate Michael Carcone, who registered 8 hits of his own, McBain said, “[Carcone] is a good player, he’s feisty, he gets into battles, he’s really good on the forecheck, he’s obviously really fast, and he’s a fun guy to play with. I thought he had a strong game tonight. He made a great play on the backcheck there. It’s a huge point for us, obviously, two would’ve been better, but we’re going to be proud of the effort and carry on.”

JJ Peterka, who initially tied the game in the third period, spoke on the challenge of playing the Blackhawks this season. “They play with a lot of speed, they’re obviously a highly skilled team. They make a lot of good plays. I think they had very good chances. I think that’s what we’ve been struggling with.”

Head Coach André Tourigny began his post-game comments by saying, “Not the result we wanted, but we played a hell of a game. We hit, we were physical, we’re fast. We generated a lot of offense. We actually had 33 shot attempts from the slot, probably our highest of the season. Jack McBain was a force out there, physical. It was huge for us. I think there’s a lot of positives, a lot of stuff I like about that game. Carcs, hell of an effort on the tying goal, tracks, trip. Timely goal from JJ, but we’re in that stage where we need to find a way to get two points, no doubt. But as well, we got a big point, and we played a hell of a game. I liked the way we played, and if we play like that, the result will follow. Proud of the guys, proud of the effort. The attitude on the bench, chatting in the room, four lines going, four lines buying pressure and being tough to play against. Other than the score, there’s not much I didn’t like.” Speaking of Chicago, who rank 30th out of 32 teams this season, Bear said, “Yeah, they’re a better team than people think. Look at their game, before they played us last game, they had just lost in overtime against Dallas. They’re in the game every night. Before the break, they had a hell of a stretch where they were in the game all the time. They can skate, they have size, and their goaltending is really good, so they’re in the game every night, so you need to be as close as possible to perfection. It’s a good team. We’ve been there where we were the younger team, where we were in the probably 60 games during the season, where we were in the mix, but we had a stretch of games where we lost too many games and that got us out of the race. That’s exactly what has happened to Chicago. They had a stretch where they could not win games. They won something like two or three games on a stretch of 15 and 16 games that pushed them out of the race. Other than that, if you look at their record, every other stretch of the season, they are as good as any team who are in the mix to make the playoffs. So they’re a good team. There’s no excuses. We are capable of beating that team. I don’t want to use excuses. I want to give them credit, and I know tonight, we played well enough to win. It was not like that during all the games against them, but tonight, I liked our effort.” Tourigny skillfully declined comment about Rinzel’s lifting of Keller’s stick into his own face.

Utah (34-27-5) wraps up a brief two-game homestand on Saturday with an evening tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-18-15), after which they’ll hit the road for a pair in Dallas and Las Vegas.  The Penguins are tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the most overtime losses this season.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Blackhawks Blank Fossilized Mammoth 4-0 at the Delta Center

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 Arvid Soderblom #40 and Tyler Bertuzzi #59 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after a game against the Utah Mammoth at Delta Center on March 1, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Eli Rehmer/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah was never really engaged in sluggish Sunday matinee performance to wrap up Olympics-interrupted homestand which began in January.

The Utah Mammoth (31-21-4) took to the ice early Sunday afternoon for the first of three games against the Blackhawks (22-28-9) in a 12 day span, the next one taking place in Chicago on March 9 following three days later when Utah returns to Delta Center on March 12 from a five-game road trip. The Blackhawks behind the goaltending of Arvid Soderblom shutout the Mammoth 4-0 on Sunday.

The first period seemed destined to end in a scoreless draw, until Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt was whistled for tripping against Frank Nazar to give Chicago their fourth power play opportunity of the opening frame. Teuvo Teravainen was able to convert the man advantage for the Blackhawks with his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi, to give Chicago a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room. Blackhawks Soderblom went 8-for-8 in turning away Mammoth shots on goal, while Karel Vejmelka stopped 11 of 12.

Utah has often struggled in second periods of play this season, but in this game the lack of potency was even more evident than usual. At 11:38, Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole attempted to clear the puck in a battle behind the net with Chicago forward Landon Slaggert, but sent it right up the middle and straight to the stick of Blackhawk forward Nick Foligno who easily beat Vejmelka for his third goal of the season, unassisted, to double the lead at 2-0.

89 seconds later, Slaggert would lob a shot at the net which bounced off of Vejmelka’s glove and over his shoulder into the back of the net for Slaggert’s third goal of the season, assisted by Oliver Moore and Artyom Levshunov, to make it 3-0 Chicago against the listless Utah defense. Soderblom finished the period a perfect 10-for-10 in saves, while Vejmelka stopped seven of nine.

A minute into the third period, the Blackhawks opened the door for the Mammoth when Louis Crevier went to the sin bin for tripping against Clayton Keller. But continuing the defensive meltdown of the second period, Utah promptly coughed up a shorthanded goal to Teravainen, his second goal of the game, to put Chicago up 4-0, which is where things ended up at the end of 60 minutes. Throughout the game, the Mammoth skated as if chained to anvils on both legs.

Possibly the most serious, competitive athlete in Utah’s lineup, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, was dispatched to face the media in the locker room. “Obviously, it’s a tough, tough performance, and our fans deserve better, a lot better than that,” Sergachev began. “But, you know, it just happens to everyone. We’ve been playing really good hockey lately, and we just got to get back to that, and through hard work. And we’re gonna do it.” What was the difference between Sunday afternoon and Thursday night’s dominant victory over the Minnesota Wild? “We just felt connected against Minnesota, Sergachev said. “We were trying to get open for each other, we were working for each other in the D-zone, when our guy got beat, the second guy would always be there to help. Today just didn’t feel like that, and throughout the whole game.” Of course, it is difficult to get an offense going when taking so many penalties, albeit the only Utah penalty the remainder of the game was a 10-minute misconduct awarded to Sean Durzi with 58 seconds left in regulation, and did not result in a shorthanded situation. Sergachev addressed that, saying, “when you’re disconnected, you’re chasing the game, and when you’re chasing the game, you’re taking penalties. Then just one goes over the other, and you’re losing the game that way. And we’ll let it slip, obviously, and in the second period, we just can’t do that. Obviously, we didn’t play well throughout the whole game, but that moment in the second period, I think we could have helped a little better, maybe score a goal. But it doesn’t really matter. Give Chicago credit, they played a hell of a game. They’re a good, fast team.”

Head Coach André Tourigny stated to open his post-game remarks, “I am obviously extremely disappointed about all of us: coaches and players. I think we have to be much better. There is no reason that (game) should ever happen. That kind of effort in front of fans… I am really disappointed in us, and it is on all of us, starting with me. That cannot happen again.” Tourigny agreed with the sentiment that the team just didn’t have their head in the game. “I don’t know how you play like that. I do not have much explanation for why our head was in that space. I don’t know. … Other than JJ’s line, I don’t think we did one good thing tonight. … I don’t think anyone was good. JJ’s line was alright. I don’t think about the goaltender or power d, power forward, forecheck, our back check, our d-zone, our power play, our PK.. I cannot find you a bright spot.”

Utah (31-22-4) plays its first road game since January 29 on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals (31-24-7), followed by games in Philadelphia, Columbus, Chicago, and Minnesota before returning home on March 12 where they hope to give the fans a better performance against the Blackhawks than they experienced on Sunday.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Mammoth Make Minnesota Weary In 5-2 Drubbing

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Utah Mammoth Clayton Keller (9) shot gets pass Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Fri Feb 27, 2026 (photo by Tom Walker)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–A tired Minnesota Wild squad, coming off of a 5-2 win in Colorado on Thursday, were outpaced start to finish by Utah’s high energy performance February 27, 2026 this tine losing to the Utah Mammoth 5-2 at the Delta Center.

The Utah Mammoth (30-24-4) squared off on Friday night against the Minnesota Wild (35-14-10) for the second of three contests between the teams this season. Back in October the Mammoth defeated the Wild in Minnesota by a score of 6-2. Two Utah players reached significant milestones during the game, with defenseman Nate Schmidt appearing in his 800th career game and forward Jack McBain suiting up for his 300th.

Schmidt is one of just six active undrafted players to reach the 800 game milestone. Matt Boldy, who scored the opening goal of Team USA’s victory over Canada in the Olympic gold medal game in Milan last Sunday, leads the Wild with 34 goals, while Team USA teammate Quinn Hughes leads his squad averaging 28:13 in time on the ice.

Utah forward Alexander Kerfoot gave Minnesota a power play opportunity at 11:38 of the first period, going to the penalty box for hooking against Ryan Hartman. The Mammoth did a great job of intercepting and clearing the puck, enabling a steady stream of fresh bodies with multiple short shifts.

With a half minute remaining in the penalty kill, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev took the puck up the ice from Utah’s defensive zone and across the Wild blue line where he dished the puck to McBain who skated the puck around the backside of the net before passing to Logan Cooley who then sent the puck back to Sergachev at the top of the blue line.

Sergachev put the puck back up the middle where McBain deflected it to Cooley who found the five-hole of Minnesota netminder Jesper Wallstedt for a shorthanded goal with 15 seconds remaining in the penalty kill. Cooley’s 15th goal of the season is his first since November 28 in Dallas, coming in his second game back from Injured Reserve.

The shorthander was the second of the season and third overall in Cooley’s career. The Mammoth took the 1-0 lead into the locker room, with Wallstedt stopping 14 of 15 Utah shots in the period, and Karel Vejmelka turning away all 5 Wild attempts.

At 4:26 of the second period, Mammoth Captain Clayton Keller doubled Utah’s lead with his 18th goal of the season, a wrist shot, assisted by Nick Schmaltz. A few minutes later, Associate Captain Lawson Crouse beat Wallstedt with a backhand for his 15th on the year, assisted by Keller and Schmaltz, to put the Mammoth up 3-0.

At 14:03 of the period, with Kailer Yamamoto in the sin bin for tripping Danila Yurov, Kirill Kaprizov got one back for the Wild with his 33rd goal of the season, assisted by Boldy and Mats Zuccarello. Later in the frame, Utah’s leading scorer Dylan Guenther thought he had his 28th goal of the season, but upon video review it was clear that the play was offside. Nevertheless, the Mammoth finished the second period holding onto a 3-1 lead. Shots were more even during the frame, with Wallstedt stopping six of eight and Vejmelka turning away nine of ten.

Barely over a minute into the third period, with a power play carrying over from the second when Minnesota defenseman Zach Bogosian was whistled for interference against Michael Carcone, Barrett Hayton put Utah up 4-1 on a slap shot for his 8th goal of the season, assisted by Sergachev and Keller.

With the assist, Keller becomes the first Utah player to reach 100 assists with the team since relocating from Arizona. With just over seven minutes remaining in regulation, the Mammoth spent what seemed like an eternity passing the puck around in the Wild zone, which often leads fans to scream “Shoot the puck!” to no avail as one too many passes results in the defending team thwarting the scoring effort.

This time, however, Lawson Crouse found the back of the net for his second goal of the game and 16th of the season, assisted by Sean Durzi and Jack McBain, to give Utah a commanding lead with time slipping away for the Wild. Crouse already has four more goals this season with March and April to go than he had in all of 2024-2025. Minnesota managed to scrounge up one final sign of life when Matt Boldy scored his 35th of the season, assisted by Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson, but they completely ran out of steam afterward.

Trailing 5-2, the Wild never bothered to pull Wallstedt for an extra attacker in the closing minutes. Vejmelka stopped 21 of 23 shots for his 28th win of the season which ties him with Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the most NHL wins so far this season.

In the visitor locker room after the game, defenseman Brock Faber was asked about his Team USA teammate, Clayton Keller. “Playing against him every time, it feels like the past two years he’s definitely had our number. He’s so skilled, so fast. He was put in a little different role there, and he still bought into that role, and that just shows the person he is, how unselfish he is, and how bad he wanted to help that team win. I’ve said it so many times, he’s definitely one of the hardest players, in my opinion, to play against in this league. It shows his character, too, when he’s put in a little different role and still found a way to make the most of it.”

In the Mammoth locker room, Lawson Crouse talked about coming back after Wednesday’s loss to Colorado. “Yeah, just a great bounce-back game. The game the other night was a little bit difficult. Obviously, coming in after that much time off, we felt that we were playing towards our identity. We have talked a lot about that the last couple days. And just such a great answer from our group to go out there and play the way that we did for a full 60 minutes.” Asked about Keller’s persistent success against the Wild, Crouse said, “seems like it doesn’t matter what team we’re playing and he’s still picking up points. He’s just a lot of fun to play with, and a lot of credit to Schmaltz too. They play so well together, reading off each other. It’s just a lot of fun to play with them and a lot of fun to watch.”

For his part, Keller told the media, “We’re obviously a really fast team and can make a lot of plays, but I think the biggest thing for us is sticking to our identity as much as we can. It’s hard to do. I think we’ve gotten better as the years have gone on. The good teams are the most consistent. Even when you don’t feel your best, you find a way. I think we’re showing steps in the right direction. There’s got to be more consistency.” Keller continued to break down the game. “Obviously, a good first. Then in the second, there are times this year where we’ve kind of let off for whatever reason, if we didn’t score a few or they make a big save, but tonight, we just kept rolling it over shift after shift in the second. Just tried to play direct, simple, make them work for everything. I think we did a good job of that tonight.” Of his own line, he said, “Since we’ve been together, there’s some chemistry. We’re always talking about different things that we see in practice days, morning skate, and throughout the games. I think Crouser has been so big for us. He creates so much space for me and Schmaltzy. He does the little things that separate us. It’s great to see that he can finish too. He’s a really smart player, and I really enjoy playing with him.”

Of Keller and Schmaltz’s line, head coach André Tourigny said, “They have that sense, and they can hunt pucks and create turnovers and are good on the forecheck and stuff like that. They’re hungry, they want to go at it, and they stay on top of their opponent. What I like about them, and through the years, when they started to play together a few years ago, they were a rush line. I believe if you want to be a really good line, you need to be more in there, even if you’re productive on the rush. When the game gets tight and push comes to shove, you need to be able to be good at creating traffic by the net, be good on the forecheck, be good at playing in the dirty area and playing that grind game. That line became really good with the years of doing it. You saw today, the goal of Kells is a turnover caused by a lot of pressure on one of the best defensemen in the world. That shows how good, how good they can be when they have that aggression.” Asked about Cooley’s skating ability in his second game back from injury, Bear said, “It’s elite. I think what makes that kind of player special is he’s not just fast, but he’s smart. He can change direction, he can jump in the hole, he can see the space, he can be elusive, and he can make you think he’s going there, and then he’s going there. That makes him special. His skating is really, really good, but there’s other good skaters in the league, I’m not saying at his level, he’s probably in the top tier of the league and even more, but it’s more about adding the IQ to that. That’s what makes the difference. What I did like about his skating today, it was not fast and in the corner. It was fast and at the net, and that play will set up the next play and the next time where he can make a pass and so on and so forth.”

Tourigny spent some time talking about Lawson Crouse’s return to form this season. “It starts with his mindset. I don’t have enough time to express how much I respect this guy. Last year, rightfully so, he was feeling bad, and you see this year he was ready. You see how good he is, but more importantly, he handled that like a man, like a character, like an elite individual when you have adversity. When things are going well, this doesn’t need a university class to indulge yourself. It’s just a little bit of common sense and you’re good. When push comes to shove and it’s really tough and it’s really hard, and things are not going well, and you end up indulging yourself the way you did last year, he took ownership, took responsibility, stood in front of you, stood tall, head up and owned it. That means a lot. That meant a lot for me, I’m sure it meant a lot for you, for our fans, for our players in that room, for our management, everybody was kind of like okay that not a guy who points fingers and looks for excuses. He’s a guy who takes responsibility. He said to me in my exit meeting, we don’t need to talk. I will do my talking when I am back for training camp. I think he’s speaking really loudly this year. The respect I have for a guy who goes through adversity, everybody stumbles in life like it’s how you react to adversity. That’s why he’s one of our leaders and we’re really proud of him.”

Utah (31-24-4) closes out the homestand on Sunday with a 2:00pm tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks (22-27-9), whom they will play three times over a period of twelve days. The Mammoth continue to hold onto the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Mammoth Buried By Avalanche 4-2 In Return From Olympic Break

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Utah Mammoth Clayton Keller is a celebrated Olympian returning from the 2026 Winter Olympics to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wed Feb 25, 2026 (photo by Tom Walker-Sports Radio Service)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah Captain Clayton Keller was celebrated for his Team USA gold medal, but Colorado came out on top in return to NHL action. February 25, 2026 by Tom Walker

Three weeks ago the Utah Mammoth (30-23-4) wrapped up a trio of home games prior to the Olympic break with a dominating 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, giving Utah a 12-4-1 record in the new year. With play resuming Wednesday night at Delta Center against the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche (37-9-9), the Mammoth hoped to revive their momentum for the back half of the monthlong homestand which will also include games against the Minnesota Wild on Friday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. In a fluke of the schedule, Utah did not have a single road game the entire month of February.

One of the biggest questions entering Wednesday night’s contest was the impact on each team resulting from numerous players having recently returned from Olympic play in Milan. Mammoth captain Clayton Keller returned to Utah sporting gold for Team USA.

Olli Määttä brought home bronze for Finland, while JJ Peterka and Karel Vejmelka gained valuable experience while representing Germany and Czechia. Eight Avalanche players also participated in the 2026 Olympic games including gold medalist Brock Nelson, whose family has participated in each of the 3 Team USA gold medal squads going back to 1960 and 1980; Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews who represented Canada in their silver medal effort; and Määttä’s Finnish teammates Mikko Rantanen, Artturi Lehkonen, and Joel Kiviranta. Gabriel Landeskog also competed for Sweden.

Returning to the ice for the Mammoth from Injured Reserve were Logan Cooley, who had been out since December 5, and Alexander Kerfoot. In 29 games prior to his injury, Cooley had recorded 14 goals and 9 assists for 23 points. During Cooley’s absence, Utah went 16-11-1.

Shortly before game time, an Avalanche team spokesman told the Denver Post that Nathan MacKinnon would be scratched because of “maintenance.” We can safely rule out a hangover following a Team Canada victory celebration.

During the first TV timeout in the opening period, the Mammoth showed a video tribute to their Olympians on the Jumbotron, concluding with the entire ice sheet turned into an American flag as Clayton Keller and Team USA were honored to the roar of the crowd and the sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”

When play resumed, Colorado was able to put the puck past Vejmelka to seemingly take a 1-0 lead, but Utah successfully challenged for goaltender interference with the video replay clearly showing an Avalanche stick knocking the glove of Veggie just prior to the puck flying past him.

The Mammoth have been successful in 6 out of 7 coach’s challenges on the year. The first period ended in a scoreless draw as Vejmelka and Colorado netminder Scott Wedgewood each turned away eight shots.

The second period was anything but a scoreless draw. Colorado drew first blood at 3:26 on Parker Kelly’s 13th goal of the season, assisted by Brent Burns and Josh Manson. At 9:13, Victor Olofsson made it 2-0 with his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Sam Malinski and Kelly. Just past the halfway mark, Gabriel Landeskog was whistled for holding against Lawson Crouse which opened the door for Dylan Guenther to cut the deficit in half with his 26th goal of the season, a wicked one-timer top shelf blast over the right shoulder of Wedgewood, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev and Keller. 91 seconds later, Brock Nelson restored Colorado’s two-goal lead with his 30th of the season, assisted by Landeskog and Martin Nečas.

Exactly one minute later, Guenther went top shelf over the right shoulder of Wedgewood once again for his second of the game and 27th of the season, matching his career high which was set last season, courtesy of some great moves by Logan Cooley who brought the puck up the ice, with the further assist to Jack McBain, closing the gap to 3-2.

McBain gave the Avalanche a power play opportunity late in the period when he went to the sin bin for tripping Valeri Nichushkin, opening the door for Nečas to score his 23rd of the season on the power play, assisted by Cole Makar and Nichushkin, sending the teams to the locker room with Colorado leading 4-2.

If one missed the second period, one would never know that a goal had ever been scored because the third period was a replay of the first, with both netminders completely shutting down the opposition, albeit Wedgewood faced only three Mammoth shots compared with Vejmelka stopping 13 from the Avalanche.

With the win, Colorado takes the season series with Utah winning three of four. Each of the previous three matchups were decided by a single goal. Of the Olympians on the ice, the only points in the game came from Nelson with his goal, and Keller, Landeskog, and Makar each with an assist.

“I think no matter the result, we want to make sure that we get back to our game as quick as possible. I just don’t think that was us,” said Dylan Guenther in the locker room after the game. “I think just the little intangibles, the battles and stuff like that, but we actually did a better job in the third, but I think just getting back to how hard we have to work to win games.”

Asked about how it felt to be back on the ice after his long rehab, Cooley said, “Personally, it felt pretty good. It’s good to be back out there with the guys. It’s no fun sitting in the stands watching them, and it kind of felt like a long journey. There’s a lot of hard work that went into it, big thanks to the trainers and everyone, my family supported me coming back and it felt good to be back, but now it kind of shifts to the team and how we need to be better.” Coming off of the Olympic break, the Mammoth do not yet fully have their groove back. Cooley noted, “You could tell there was some rust out there, and I don’t think it was just small details. It was losing battles, not coming back quick enough, not defending in front, little things like that that are our identity and what makes us successful. And we didn’t do that tonight.” Talking about Guenther, Cooley said, “He’s a pure goal scorer, you know? He could score from anywhere. You just try to find him when you’re in the O-zone, and, like I said, he could score from anywhere. It’s so fun playing with him, so smart, and hopefully he can keep a few more coming here.”

Head coach André Tourigny began his post-game remarks by saying, “We played a good team, but I didn’t like our grind. I didn’t like our physicality. I thought we didn’t have the pace we should have in our zone and on the forecheck. I don’t think we were the fastest team tonight, and that’s what makes us special. We need to realize that and be much better next game. … There’s a lot of man-on-man, and you need to win those battles. If you don’t win those battles, you don’t possess the puck enough, and you obviously have to defend too much.” On Cooley’s return, Bear commented, “Like everybody else, I think I saw a lot of rust and tough decisions with the puck. Not playing fast at all with and without the puck.”

Utah (30-24-4) returns on Friday to face the Minnesota Wild (34-14-10) which sports a lineup including Matt Boldy, who scored the opening goal for Team USA in the gold medal match, and Quinn Hughes, who scored the game-winning overtime goal against Sweden in the Olympics quarterfinals.

Utah Mammoth report: Mammoth Captain Clayton Keller Wins Olympic Gold With Team USA

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Utah Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny addresses the media. Tourigny is Clayton Keller’s head coach Keller who played for Team USA at the Olympics in Milan Italy (Utah Mammoth photo)

By Tom Walker

Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck denies Canada while Minnesota forward Matt Boldy and toothless New Jersey forward Jack Hughes score in historic 2-1 victory in Milan.

Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller played limited minutes for Team USA in Sunday’s gold medal win against Canada, but is nevertheless etched in American hockey history as a member of the first US team since the 1980 Miracle On Ice squad to claim the sport’s highest international prize, the third American team overall to win Olympic gold.

Team USA took a 1-0 lead at exactly six minutes into the first period when Matt Boldy (Minnesota Wild) split Canadian defenders Devon Toews and Cale Makar, both of the Colorado Avalanche, driving through them like Moses parting the Red Sea on his way to beating Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues) in net for his second goal of the tournament. Boldy was assisted on the play by Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Wild teammate Quinn Hughes.

Makar and Toews atoned for their defensive lapse with less than two minutes remaining in the second period when Makar beat Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets), assisted by Toews, to draw even at 1-1. The third period was largely dominated by Team Canada who had multiple opportunities to take the lead but couldn’t put the puck past Hellebuyck, whose highlight reel stick save against Toews at 1:24 of the frame will go down as one of the greatest stops in Olympic history.

Team USA had a prime chance to take the lead at 13:26 of the third when Sam Bennett went to the sin bin for minutes for high sticking to the mouth of Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils) who lost two teeth and some blood in the exchange, but the Americans not only failed to score, but Jack Hughes – who naturally remained in the game with his bloodied mouth – took a high sticking penalty himself to give Canada a late power play in the game. Team USA killed the penalty, sending the game to a 3-on-3 overtime.

Mirroring the overtime success of the American women against Canada in their gold medal match last week, Jack Hughes found the back of Binnington’s net at 1:41 of bonus time, his fourth goal of the tournament, assisted by Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) and winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to seal the match and send helmets and sticks flying as Team USA mobbed Hughes on the ice to complete the American sweep of Olympic hockey gold. Hellebuyck stopped 41 of 42 shots in the win.

In one of the most emotional and touching moments of the Olympic games, Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) and Werenski went into the stands to bring Johnny Gaudreau’s two oldest children, three-year-old Noa, and Johnny Jr. who celebrated his second birthday on Sunday, onto the ice to participate in the team photo as teammates held up Gaudreau’s jersey #13, with wife Meredith looking on. Their youngest son, Carter, was born last April only seven months after Johnny and his brother Matthew were killed by a suspected drunk driver in 2024.

Just a couple of hours later, an ocean and a continent away, the Utah Mammoth practiced at their new facility in Sandy, Utah, which was just opened to the public over the weekend for all manner of hockey and other ice activities. The America-born players on the squad were visibly excited for the success of their country, and the rest of the team joined them in expressing congratulations to their captain, Clayton Keller, who brings home the gold as play resumes this week, along with defenseman Olli Määta who returns with a bronze medal following Finland’s victory over Slovakia on Saturday. Karel Vejmelka (Czechia) and JJ Peterka (Germany) had already returned from Milan and joined Sunday morning’s practice.

Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt of St. Cloud, Minnesota, woke up early to watch the game. When asked his reaction, the first thing he thought of was “that Jack Hughes photo of him after the game will be iconic for a long time, with his mouth all messed up, it’s amazing.” When asked further about the memories he would take from the game by Brogan Houston of the Deseret News, Schmidt continued, “How well Helly played, and just the reaction, the celebration. I have a couple of buddies in town who might not have made their flight because they stuck around to watch the end of the game with us at home, so it was fun celebration at home too, fun for Kels, fun for everybody. It was a great game.” Cole Bagley of KSL-TV asked how the win defines USA hockey, and Schmidt responded, “They talked a lot during the broadcast how the 80 team inspired a generation of players, me included. Hopefully – it gives me goosebumps – they will inspire the next generation of kids. This is what the pinnacle looks like. I got goosebumps. It was so amazing.” I asked him what he’s expecting from three angry silver medalists on Wednesday when the Mammoth return to action against a Colorado Avalanche team featuring Toews, Makar, and Nathan MacKinnon, to which Schmidt responded, “I can only imagine, that we better be ready to rock. … It was already going to be a great game, but there will be a little extra jam in their step.” Briefly talking about how his family spent the first part of the Olympic break, Schmidt said that they visited Disneyland but otherwise stuck around the Salt Lake area doing things as a family that they normally don’t have time to do during the season, with his son doing some skiing and his daughter having fun tobogganing.

German Olympian JJ Peterka said that he enjoyed “competing with my buddies from Germany, for our country, just soaking up the whole Olympic feeling” while they were in Milan. “Being around those guys, especially the guys who play overseas as well, playing on the same team for once in awhile, but obviously super excited to be back now.” Asked how it felt to score in the Olympics, Peterka responded, “Obviously it felt good. I think overall, there were ups and downs teamwise as well. Would have wished we would have done a little bit better, but I feel like we progressed as the tournament went on.” With the Mammoth facing three divisional opponents coming back from the break, Peterka said, “We know it’s a tough schedule until the end. We’re super excited for it to start and gain some momentum right away and get going.”

Utah forward Dylan Guenther, talking about the matchup with Colorado and how the team’s silver medalists may be fired up for the game, said, “[they are] some of the best players in the league, so maybe a little extra incentive, but we’ll be trying to shut them down anyways.” Guenther said he spent part of the break down in Mexico working on his tan with Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain, while Alexander Kerfoot, seated next to him in the locker room, spent a couple of days in California but otherwise stuck around Salt Lake with his young family.

Fresh off the plane from Milan, Vejmelka said, “It was a great experience. I would say a lifetime experience. I enjoyed every moment.” Asked about the next Olympics in France, Vejmelka said he’d love to return. Looking toward the Avalanche, the Czech netminder said, “Obviously one of the best teams so far this season, so we have to get ready for them, be ready for a big challenge, we need every point. I think we had a great break. We practiced today and yesterday, so we have so much energy and we are rested, and I’m excited to get back on the ice with the guys and play good hockey for our fans.”

The Mammoth player who perhaps is looking more forward to getting back on the ice is young phenom Logan Cooley, who has been out of action since suffering a lower-body injury colliding with a goal post on December 5, 2025, against the Canucks in Vancouver. His return will shake up a roster which had been hot with a 12-4-1 record in the new year. Cooley was excited for his fellow Americans, saying of Team USA’s victory, “It’s super special. I think it’s great for the US having had a couple of tough bounces there at Four Nations. I thought it was unbelievable. That game was so much fun to watch, so many skilled players. That’s probably one of the fastest games that I’ve watched. Heck of a shot by Hughes there to cap it off, and just congrats to Kels.” Asked how the victory embodies what USA Hockey is all about, Cooley responded, “It’s awesome. Just like all the players were saying after they won, the brotherhood, it seems like they came together so close, they way they battled for each other, it was cool to see and unbelievable to cap it off with a gold medal.” Of his captain, Cooley said, “I’m so happy for him. He’s earned it. He’s had the right to be on that team. He’s worked his tail off. I see it every day. Just the experience that he has now and moving forward with upcoming Olympics, what he can take into the next one, it’s really good for him and the whole team too. It’s awesome to see, and hopefully he can bring that experience and help us.” Four years from now, one could see Cooley joining Keller on the Olympic roster in France. To that, Cooley said, “Those are the games you want to be in. As a competitor you want to be in those big games, you want to be representing your country on the world stage like that. It’s so fun watching, but I couldn’t imagine being able to play in a gold medal game for the Olympics, so that’s something that I’m striving to do. I’m going to work as hard as I can to eventually make that team.” Reacting to the team photo with the Gaudreau children, the Mammoth forward said, “That was one of the more cooler moments that I have seen. Just like it goes back to the brotherhood I think that the US has, and how close everyone in USA hockey is, to have them share that moment with them, it’s special.”

“What a game, eh?!” a jovial head coach André Tourigny said to begin his post-practice interview. “That was unbelievable. I think that was the best thing that could happen to our game, to our league I think, having the two best teams and the way it went, the overtime and everything. That’s a great day for hockey.” Asked what it felt as a coach to see two of his players earning medals at the Olympics, Bear responded, “There are two teams which won their last game. I think that’s great. We all would love to have a gold medal or a bronze medal at the Olympics. I think it’s great to have two of our four guys coming back with a medal, and four of them coming back with unforgettable memories and souvenirs. Good for them. I’m really happy. I’ve said many times how valuable and hard those experiences – when you play elimination games, when you’ve been there, you see the team, the feeling of belonging and all of it. I’m proud of them and for them.” Asked how Keller and Määta winning medals helps to grow the game in Utah, Tourigny said, “Everything happening in the last year and a half, from those guys showing up at Delta Center and being involved in the community and having exposed our young fans to our beautiful game and to our players in the community, plus those Olympics where you have the chance to see the big stage of hockey, to see the best, and you have a guy who just won the gold and the other one just won the bronze who will be at the Delta Center in a couple of days, so I think that means a lot I’m sure for our fans and means a lot for us to be able to showcase our game like that.” Responding to the question of what to expect from Colorado’s silver medalists on Wednesday, Tourigny said, “I don’t know. That can go either way, I guess. but I’ll let them deal with that and I will deal with our guys.”

The Mammoth (30-23-4) return to action at home on Wednesday against the NHL-best Colorado Avalanche (37-9-9) followed by games against the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks before heading out on the road for five games beginning with the Washington Capitals.

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.