Tag: Utah Mammoth

San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro: Sharks playing .500 hockey getting solid offense from Toffoli

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Left to right the San Jose Sharks John Klingberg (3), Will Smith (2), Macklin Celebrini (71) and Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrate a goal against the visiting Utah Mammoth at SAP Center on Mon Dec 2, 2025 (San Jose Sharks photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro:

#1 On Macklin Celebrini and what he’s done and what the latest report on performance.

#2 What impact did Tyler Toffoli have on the outcome of the game against the Mammoth on Monday night, given his two goals and two assists?

#3 How did Will Smith’s performance — scoring two goals and adding an assist — reflect his recent hot streak and affect the Sharks’ momentum?

#4 What role did Macklin Celebrini play in setting up scoring chances, and how significant were his three primary assists for this win?

#5 How did Yaroslav Askarov’s (8-2-0), goaltending (31 saves) 2.96 GAP, save percentage 910, contribute to the Sharks’ ability to secure a 6–3 win over the Mammoth?

#6 With the Sharks scoring three goals in the second period (including one by Adam Gaudette), how did that burst affect the flow of the game and what did it say about San Jose’s ability to capitalize on momentum?

Join Len Shapiro for the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Toffoli, Smith lead Sharks to statement victory over Utah 6-3

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San Jose Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates his goal with teammate Macklin Celebrini (71) during the first period of their game against the Utah Mammoth on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

By Lincoln Juarez and Ryan Hannagan

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Tyler Toffoli and Will Smith both net two goals en route to a dominant Sharks 6-3 win over the Utah Mammoth Monday night. The sleepover line of Smith, Toffoli, and Celebrini combined for 4 goals and 10 points in front of Yaroslav Askarov who turned away 31 of the 34 shots he faced.

The Sharks are coming into December after having their best month of November since 2019. The Sharks and Mammoth came into Monday night’s contest with identical records of 12-11-3. Yaroslav Askarov got the nod for the Sharks between the pipes.

After a rough start to the season he has been completely dominant and turned his numbers around. In November alone, he finished with a 6-1-0 record with a .944 SV% and 1.87 GAA. Coming off a loss in their recent game to Vegas, in a game where they nearly had a comeback, the Sharks looked to get back into the win column.

The Sharks got off to a quick start with tough pressure creating a snipe goal from Tyler Toffoli not even five minutes into regulation. Shortly after, San Jose scored a power play goal by Pavol Regenda in his season debut, his first as a Shark.

Regenda scored seven points in 19 games with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) before being recalled to the Sharks with defensemen Vincent Desharnais being placed on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury. Two goals in the first eight minutes for the Sharks was an ideal start to the month of December as the ice was tilted one side early.

A quick response from Utah with Lawson Crouse finding the back of the net made it 2-1 just under the halfway point of period one. The ice got tilted the other way after Crouse’s goal in a first period that saw momentum shift easily. Yaroslav Askarov refused to let Utah tie the game with a few high danger, great saves before the halfway mark of the period.

Despite Utah’s push, Toffoli found the back of the net right off an offensive zone faceoff to push the Sharks lead back to two goals. When asked about what went right in his first four-point night since 2023 Toffoli simply replied, “Couple good bounces early on, (and) Smitty dancing I think”. After allowing three goals on ten shots in thirteen minutes, Karel Vejmelka was pulled and Vitek Vanachek got thrown into the fire that was the Sharks offense.

JJ Petereka got the Mammoth back within one with 16:00 left in the first off a picture-perfect top shelf snipe.

After nonstop, fast-paced action in the first, it was a 3-2 Sharks lead.

Will Smith opened up the scoring in the second with a highlight-reel goal just under seven minutes in to give the Sharks their two goal lead back. Adam Gaudette backhanded a shot past Vanacek off a nice feed from Eklund, extending the lead to three with 8:25 gone in the period. Smith got his second goal of the game and period in his second game in a row with two goals.

The Sharks led 6-2 after a second period in which they dominated Utah. “We’ve talked about it since really day one of second periods in the National Hockey League is a really good opportunity to drive transition, and we’re starting to figure that out there a little bit”, said coach Ryan Warsofsky. He spoke highly of the three goal on 13 shot performance he saw in the second.

In the third period Dmitry Orlov was shaken up by an interference from Michael Carcone sending the Sharks to the powerplay against the 15th ranked Mammoth penalty kill. Team teal was held scoreless while allowing Lawson Crouse’s second goal of the night, short-handed at 7:30. San Jose finished 1-for-4 on the power play but didn’t need the man advantage to bring home a win.

At the end of the night, the Sharks went home with a good feeling in their guts, a difference compared to the sour taste in the mouth the Mammoth had on their plane ride out of the Golden State. The Sharks record now moves to 13-11-3 and they hold the first wild card in the West.

Sacramento Kings podcast Tony Harvey: Kings drop second straight game this time to Utah

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Sacramento Kings guard Zach Levine (8) goes for the dunk against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Fri Nov 29, 2025 (AP News photo)

Sacramento Kings podcast Tony Harvey:

#1 With Zach LaVine coming off a recent slump, bounced back and lead the Kings in scoring vs. the Jazz with 34 points.

#2 How did Russell Westbrook’s playmaking — assists and ball-movement — impact the Kings’ offensive flow against Utah’s defense Friday night?

#3 In the absence of Domantas Sabonis (out injured), Keegan Murray stepped up in the frontcourt and help the Kings battle on the boards and finished second in scoring with 23 points.

#4 Was DeMar DeRozan’s experience and mid-range scoring was enough to stretch the Jazz’s defense and open driving lanes for teammates? DeRozan finished with 16 points.

#5 Given the Kings’ recent defensive issues, how much did the supporting cast struggle against the Jazz’s pace on Friday night?

Tony Harvey does the Sacramento Kings podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

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Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in. 

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Canadiens Stage Third Period Comeback In 4-3 Victory Over Mammoth

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Utah Mammoth left wing Brandon Tanev (13) fights with Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Strubble (47), center Jared Davidson (49), center Joseph Veleno (90)in the second period at the Delta Center on Wed Nov 26, 2025 (Canadian Press photo via AP)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah scored three goals in the second period for the first time this season, but Montreal came from behind in the third to defeat the Mammoth 4-3.

The Utah Mammoth (12-8-3) wrapped up their four-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens (11-7-3). The game marked the return of Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi to the lineup following a 21-game absence due to an upper body injury.

Montreal struck first just past the halfway mark of the first period as Zachary Bolduc scored his 5th goal of the season on a slap shot which got past Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka, assisted by Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki. At 16:37, Suzuki would make it 2-0 Canadiens with his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Cole Caufield and Bolduc.

The second period has generally been tough for the Mammoth, but on Wednesday they scored a season high 3 goals in the period to take the lead. At 9:43 Barrett Hayton netted his 3rd goal of the season, assisted by Clayton Keller and Mikhail Sergachev. A couple of minutes later it would be Kailer Yamamoto tying the score with his 3rd on the year, assisted by Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley. Less than two minutes after that it would be Michael Carcone scoring his 4th of the year on a wrist shot, assisted by Kevin Stenlund and John Marino.

It seemed as if Utah had all the momentum going into the third, but Montreal quickly reclaimed it beginning with a holding penalty against Yamamoto which put Montreal on the power play. The Canadiens thought they had scored the tying goal just 19 minutes into the penalty, but Mammoth head coach André Tourigny took a timeout and then challenged the goal for being off side. The replay officials in Toronto agreed and Montreal went back on the power play still down a goal. They didn’t have to wait long, however, as Suzuki would get the equalizer on the power play with his 2nd goal of the night and 7th of the season, assisted by Bolduc and Brendan Gallagher. Barely a minute later, Ivan Demidov silenced the Utah crowd as he found the back of the net on a snap shot, assisted by Oliver Kapanen and Noah Dobson to take a 4-3 lead. The Mammoth came close on several occasions to send the game to overtime, but ultimately Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes kept Utah off the score sheet in the 3rd period, stopping 31 of 34 shots overall in the game, to give Montreal the victory.

Utah Mammoth forward Barrett Hayton spoke with the media after the game regarding the team’s momentum. “I thought we did a really good job in that second period, just managing the game better. Obviously, something we reviewed was something we had to be better at. And we did a really good job during the second period. Game wise I need a second to kind of reflect on exactly what it is. It’s frustrating right now not coming out with two points.”

Defenseman Sean Durzi talked about returning to the lineup after his 21-game absence. “Watching the guys all year, you kind of see how they go through the ups and downs. You try to be in all the meetings you can be, but when I’m rehabbing, they’re on the road and can’t see it all. You try to see the guy’s ways in warm-ups, things like that. Routines change so much throughout the year. Just wanted to contribute, whether it’s on the ice or off the ice, bring some energy. Do something.” Talking about the team’s adversity during the game, Durzi said, “I don’t think we lost focus. We, as a group, are mature enough to kind of control what we have to control. I thought we did a lot of good things. It was an emotional game; we all care so much that sometimes it’s tough. I think again, the maturity in here never wavered, and confidence never wavered. I thought we did a good job of keeping our focus and moving on to the next.” Durzi felt there were several positives in the game. “I thought we battled hard. A few missed cues led to a few goals, but at the end of the day, our primary focus was in the right place: tracking hard on their top guys, in a lot of situations, five-on-five, playing a team game. Direct and how we want to play. You see flashes of it. We’ve got to bring it, and can’t let those miscues cost us.”

Head Coach André Tourigny began his post-game comments by saying, “I think we played a good game, but unfortunately we got beat on our strength. Our (penalty kill) has been our strength since the start of the season. Tonight we were not as sharp on our PK. [To have a] power play score and a big goal was important for us. (Montreal) is a good team defensively and we generated a volume of shot quality and inside game. We had a lot of traffic there. I think (Montreal) scored two goals off of their rush; that’s unfortunate.” With regard to Durzi’s return, Tourigny added, “He played good; he made good plays with the puck, he was focused, he was urgent. He did a good job. But the toughest game when you come back is always the second one. The first one, you have all the energy and everything. He passed the test, no doubt about it. We’re happy to have him and he did a really good job. No doubt.” Comparing the second period with the rest of the game, Tourigny said, “That we managed the puck (in the second). I think we allowed ourselves to have five guys with energy all the time by managing the puck in the neutral zone. (We) allowed everybody to get the right changes so that we had guys with energy and with pace…I think we played a good game, period. That’s a good team on the other side…If two teams play a good game, what will happen? One team will pull the goalie with one minute to go–and hopefully we’ll be on the right side. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of it. We cleaned up our second period, we made some adjustments in our defensive zone. We’re satisfied about that. That was pretty good. The guys were really tuned in. We were at the net, we generated speed, we moved the puck good on the breakout. We need to clean up our PK. I’m not blaming our PK; they’ve been the best part of our game. That unit has been our rock since the season started. So I’m not blaming them; it’s just a matter of fact (tonight). We’ll clean that up and we’ll be ready for our next game…I think we can be a little bit better.”

Utah (12-9-3) split the four games of the homestand and will play the next six post-Thanksgiving matchups on the road against Dallas, St. Louis, San Jose, Anaheim, Vancouver, and Calgary before returning to Delta Center on December 8 to open a three-game homestand against the Los Angeles Kings.

NHL podcast Jessica Kwong: Stars turn up the offense on Oilers; Will Matthews and Roy return to Leafs to help end their losing streak?; plus more NHL news

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Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) can’t stop the Edmonton Oilers Connor Clattenburg’s (64) shot in the second period for a goal at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tue Nov 25, 2025 (Canadian Press photo via AP)

NHL podcast Jessica Kwong:

  1. Was Tuesday night’s showdown between Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers a preview of a Western Conference power-race?
  2. Can Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Nicolas Roy return in time to help the Toronto Maple Leafs end their skid?
  3. Will the sudden surge of the Utah Hockey Club’s Logan Cooley — coming off a four-goal, five-point night — make him the breakout star of the season?
  4. Are surprise teams like Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres reshaping the early-season standings more than expected?
  5. Could lineup shakeups and injuries across the league change the playoff-race narrative before December ends?

Join Jessica Kwong does the NHL podcasts every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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From the second you step in the front door, the sounds of Latin America will gently seduce your ears and continue as you relax outdoors with your favorite cocktail enjoying the view. The wonderful flavors and aromas of our cuisine will not disappoint.

We use only the finest, freshest, local ingredients in every dish and every dish is prepared to order. Enjoy live mariachi music weekly and on special occasions, catch balet folklorico dance performances among other live entertainment. Come visit us and have a great time! Enjoy fast, friendly service, fantastic food & cocktails, music and allow us to share our beautiful Mexican heritage with you.

LaTerraza Mexican Restaurant at 1027 2nd Street in Old Sacramento give them a call at 916-440-0874.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Logan Cools Vegas in 5-1 Mammoth Stomping

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Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley takes control of the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Anna Fuder)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah forward Logan Cooley scored four goals and assisted on another to exact revenge on the Golden Knights 5-1 from last week’s loss.

The Utah Mammoth (11-8-3) welcomed the Vegas Golden Knights (10-4-7) back to Delta Center on Monday night, just four days after Vegas defeated Utah 4-1 in Salt Lake City.

Dylan Guenther broke open the scoring at 14:54 of the first period with a top shelf blast for his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Logan Cooley and Nate Schmidt. Barely a minute later, Guenther returned the favor to Cooley, setting him up for his tenth goal of the season with the additional assist to Nate Schmidt to give the Mammoth a 2-0 lead heading into the locker room. Karel Vejmelka turned away all 8 Golden Knights shots in the frame.

At 5:24 of the second period, Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev cut the Utah lead in half with his eighth of the season, assisted by Jack Eichel, and Braeden Bowman. It would be the only goal allowed by Vejmelka on 15 shots in the period, while the Mammoth were unsuccessful in all three of their shot attempts.

Whereas Vegas seemed unstoppable last Thursday, Utah turned the tables completely on Monday, particularly in their dominant third period. Logan Cooley deflected a puck for an unassisted goal at 4:19 for his 11th of the season to put the Mammoth up 3-1.

Down by two goals with less than five minutes remaining, Vegas rolled the dice and pulled netminder Carl Lindbom early. The house won on the Golden Knights gamble as Cooley recorded the natural hat trick with goal #12 into the empty net as hats rained down on the Delta Center ice to give Utah a 4-1 lead. With a little more than three minutes to go in the third, Mammoth forward Kevin Stenlund went to the sin bin for holding against Cole Reinhardt.

Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy rolled the dice one more time with nothing left to lose, pulling Lindbom again to go for broke with a 6-4 advantage in the offensive end. The strategy failed as Cooley netted his 4th of the night and 13th of the season into the empty net at 17:43 to seal the 5-1 victory with the shorthanded goal.

Logan’s run of goals resulted in the first four-goal game in Utah franchise history, and the first in the NHL this season. The last player aged 21 or younger to record four goals in a game was Patrik Laine who scored 5 for Winnipeg against St. Louis exactly seven years ago to the day.

Cooley joins Macklin Celebrini (San Jose) and Connor Bedard (Chicago) as the only players with two hat tricks so far this season, and the Mammoth join the Blackhawks as the only teams with three hat tricks so far on the year.

Cooley talked about his feat in the locker room after the game. “It’s awesome. Any time you do that, it’s special. Just to see how excited the guys were for me too, you get a cool feeling when you get the support of your teammates. I just think in general, we have such a tight group. Guys really care about each other and want everyone on the team to have success. So it’s awesome.” Talking about his mental process going into the game, Cooley said, “Yeah, I think it’s a long season. I think the big thing is consistency, and that’s something that for me, personally, I’m always trying to work on. … It wasn’t the easiest path to tonight, but I think just finding a way to stay with it. It’s a grind of a season, mentally, physically, but I think just leaning on guys that have experience, family, little things like that, get you out of it. And, I was fortunate to have kind of a big game tonight.” On the team’s improvement, he added, “I think just the way we kind of handled the lead too. I think that’s a big thing. I feel like in the past, we’ve been up and kind of get comfortable and teams start to bury us. I think the game against the Rangers and tonight, that’s how we know how to play. When we’re doing that, you see the results we get. For us, it’s about staying consistent with this process and not changing anything. There’s still stuff to clean up, but overall I was really happy about our performance the past two nights.”

Winning goaltender Goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who stopped 33 of 34 shots on the night, said, “Yeah, obviously, this one feels really good. It’s a big two points against a really good team, one of the best so far this season. So it feels really good.” Talking about how the team handles adversity, Vejmelka remarked, “Yeah, I think we are a really good team, and if we want to be successful, we need to find a way every night, and that’s part of being one of the best teams in the NHL. So we need to find a way every single night, no matter what, and we did it tonight. We showed up, and it feels really good.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny said of Cooley, “He didn’t complicate his game. He didn’t try to get the play of the week. He will be on the play of the week because he scored four, but it was speed and space behind, and when he does that it’s special.” The second period has often been challenging for Utah this season, so it was particularly important to defend the lead. Tourigny commented, “Obviously in the second, they had a hell of a push. Like I said, they’re a good team. They’re a Stanley Cup contender for a reason. So we knew they would have a say in what will happen out there, but the intensity and the urgency we have in those situations and the way we protected that front, even if we’re not perfect and even if there’s a number of things we would like to get better at, I think the mindset is always the most important thing. I think the guys were really good with it. We were composed, we were intense, and we were even-keeled.” Last Thursday, Tourigny said that the team’s emotions got the best of them. Tonight was much different. “There was emotion and there was stress, you don’t want to lose the game, you don’t want to lose the lead, etc, etc. I think we did a pretty good job at staying composed. We did not do a perfect job. You could see the nerve, we didn’t make plays at the same pace, and we didn’t connect as much on our passes. So there’s stuff we can be better at, but that’s why there’s 82 games. We still have a lot of things to get better at, but the mindset of the guys was really good.”

Utah (12-8-3) wraps up the four-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens after which they will hit the road after Thanksgiving for six games away.

Utah Mammoth game wrap:Mammoth Snaps Losing Streak with 3-2 Victory Over The Rangers

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Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) and left wing Lawson Crouse (67) celebrate their victory over the New York Rangers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sat Nov 22, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–JJ Peterka scored his fifth goal in six games and Nick DeSimone netted the game-winner on his 31st birthday as Utah gets back on track with win over New York.

The Utah Mammoth (10-8-3) hosted the New York Rangers (10-10-2) at Delta Center on Saturday night for the second of four games on the current homestand. Both teams entered the night’s contest looking to snap losing streaks, with Utah having lost its previous four and New York having lost its previous three.

Midway through the first period, Thursday’s lone goal-scorer for the Mammoth, Nate Schmidt, put the puck on the net with the rebound tipped in by JJ Peterka for his 9th goal of the season with the additional assist to Jack McBain.

The goal was Peterka’s fifth over the past six games. That Utah lead would last a little more than 5 minutes before Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov tipped a shot from Adam Fox into the Mammoth net for his 3rd goal of the season. The period concluded with the clubs knotted up at 1-1. Jonathan Quick turned away 12 of 13 shots in the frame while Karel Vejmelka denied 11 of 12.

Eight minutes into the second period the Rangers went up 2-1 on a snap shot goal by Artemi Panarin, his 6th of the season, assisted by Vincent Trocheck and Gavrikov. At 11:15 of the period, Mammoth fans erupted in cheers believing their team had just scored, but the on ice officials did not signal for play to stop and coaches on the Utah bench waved their arms frantically and screamed for their players to get back on defense.

About 15 seconds later, with the puck now behind the Mammoth net, the goal horn sounded and play on the ice stopped. It was determined that the fans weren’t crazy and Utah captain Clayton Keller Goal had indeed scored his eighth of the season, assisted by Kailer Yamamoto tying the score at 2-2 which is how the period ended in which Quick turned away 7 of 8 Mammoth shots and Utah’s defense continued its season-long trend of limiting shots on goal by their opponents with Vejmelka turning away 2 of just 3 total shots.

At 7:32 of the third period, with Utah applying pressure around the New York net, the Rangers attempted to bat the puck out of the zone but instead found the stick of Mammoth defenseman Nick DeSimone at the top of the red circle who one-timed a slap shot through traffic and into the back of the net for his second goal of the season, unassisted, to regain the Utah lead 3-2.

Both DeSimone goals this season have come against opponents from his home state of New York. At one point near the middle of the frame, the Rangers were all over the crease as Vejmelka gave his best ninja impression to fight off the attack. With a little more than three minutes remaining, Mammoth forward Michael Carcone crashed the Rangers crease leaving Jonathan Quick keeled over inside the net.

After an extended break it was determined that Quick could remain in the game, but the damage was already done as Utah snapped its losing streak while New York extended theirs. The Mammoth improved their home record to 6-2-1, with Vejmelka stopping 20 of 22 shots on the night.

DeSimone’s goal held up as the game winner as he also celebrated his 31st birthday. When asked if it was the best birthday present he had ever received, he was torn between saying yes and ultimately wisely crediting his wife. It was the second game-winning goal in his career.

DeSimone was all smiles addressing the media in the locker room after the game. “Everyone bought in tonight. Every guy was playing out the game, and we just stuck with it for the whole night, and we got rewarded for it.” Speaking of the team gaining momentum later in the game, the defenseman added, “Each game, we have a different plan of how we want to create. We always want to get the middle or get pucks to the net and reward our forwards, or take cross-checks. We just want to get the puck there and let him get some chances.” Asked about how he stays ready for big moments, DeSimone said, “It’s my job to be ready whether I am playing or not playing. Just being in a good mood, being grateful for every day, and showing up. If I’m playing, I just try and do what I can to help.”

JJ Peterka began his interview opining on the team’s overall performance. “Good team effort throughout the whole game. Even when we went down tonight, we found a way to get back in the game and stuck to the game plan.” Regarding his team’s mindset and goals for the game, he remarked, “Competing harder. That was the message over the last couple of days. We got a little away from that over the last couple of games, and I think today we did a much better job of getting to the shooting line and getting second chances. That gave us a win.” The German forward praised Karel Vejmelka’s performance in the net, saying “Super consistent game. Huge saves. In the third, with four or five rebounds, it kept us in the game the whole game, and we did our job on the other side.” Peterka added, “Keeping it simple was the message for the game. It turned out to be good. Just a lot of pucks to the net and a lot of second efforts to the net. That won us the game.”

Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny was in high spirits as he entered the media room. “Saturday night. The Rangers. Two points. What a beautiful night in Utah, huh?” Tourigny continued, “I cannot be more proud of the battle level, the way we drove the net, the way we moved the puck quickly and we won battles forward. There’s a lot of guys I’m proud of, a lot of guys. There’s a lot of guys who could have, and should have been on the ice in the last minute of play. Hard to pick, but I had to pick guys, but it was fun to coach that game.” With regard to momentum swings, the coach said, “We had a tough shift in the third where we turned it over, and then Cool’s (Logan Cooley) line went on the inside, and we talked on the bench about momentum and how to get the momentum back. And not just by their decision, but they scored a goal on top of playing the right way on that shift. So that was good, and we need to give credit to Vej (Karel Vejmelka), because that key moment, like you just mentioned, he made a key save.” He concluded, “what we could control, we did it with pride, with intensity, with focus, and with determination. So it’s good, I’m happy about the way we play, but at the same time, it’s midnight rules, great, celebrate, good job. But it doesn’t mean anything anymore, we just have two more points. We need to be ready for the next game in front of our fans against Vegas, and have a bounce back game.”

Utah’s Thursday night opponent, the Vegas Golden Knights, return to Delta Center again on Monday for the 3rd game of 4 on the current homestand.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Golden Knights Spear Mammoth 4-1

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Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) shoots into an open net while four Utah Mammoth defensemen and a goaltender look on at the Delta Center on Thu Nov 20, 2025 (AP News photo)

Utah snaps overtime loss streak with regulation loss to the Vegas Golden Knights

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–It took 18 games of the 2025-2026 season for the Utah Mammoth to suffer its first overtime loss, 3-2 against the New York Islanders last week at home. The Mammoth were less than five seconds away from victory in Anaheim on Monday when Troy Terry found the back of the net to force overtime, and Olen Zellweger scored in overtime for a 3-2 Ducks win.

The next day in San Jose, Macklin Celebrini scored twice in the first six minutes to put Utah in a hole which JJ Peterka dug them out of with two goals of his own in the third period. With the Mammoth on the penalty kill due to a too many men on the ice penalty,

Celebrini would celebrate a game-winning hat trick to hand the Mammoth its third consecutive 3-2 overtime loss. It was Utah’s 8th loss in the past ten games, with both victories coming at the expense of the Buffalo Sabres home and away.

Utah (10-7-3) returned to Delta Center on Thursday to open a four-game homestand against the Vegas Golden Knights (9-4-6). The first period saw a lot of action but no scoring as Akira Schmid turned away all 9 Mammoth shots while Karel Vejmelka kept Vegas off the scoreboard stopping all seven of their attempts.

Jack Eichel opened the scoring for the Golden Knights at 3:09 of an action packed second period with his 9th goal of the season, assisted by Pavel Dorofeyev and Shea Theodore, just moments after the conclusion of a full two-minute 4-on-4 which felt more like a Vegas power play as the Golden Knights offense swarmed the Utah net for nearly its entirety.

19 seconds later, Ben Hutton netted his second of the year, assisted by Cole Reinhardt, to give the Vegas a 2-0 lead. At 6:16 of the period both teams dropped their gloves in a brawl in front of the Utah net which involved everyone but the goalies.

When the dust settled, Reinhard and Kaedan Karczak were charged with roughing penalties for the Golden Knights, while Mikhail Sergachev and Logan Cooley each received roughing penalties for the Mammoth.

Cooley was assessed two separate roughing penalties in the scrum, but got his money’s worth at the expense of Karczak’s face. 11 seconds later the Mammoth went on the power play when Braeden Bowman was whistled for interference against Ian Cole, and eleven seconds into the man advantage Utah’s Nate Schmidt cut the deficit in half with his first Mammoth goal, assisted by Ian Cole and Clayton Keller. At 16:51 Jack Eichel regained the two-goal Vegas lead with his tenth of the season, assisted by Bowman and Theodore.

Less than a minute into the third period, Braeden Bowman tipped in a shot by Jack Eichel for his 3rd goal of the season, padding the Vegas lead at 4-1 where it would remain until the final buzzer. Throughout the period Utah came across as outmatched on both ends of the ice.

Every flash of offensive opportunity fizzled with broken up passes and routine stops by Akira Schmid. The Mammoth squad which dazzled during its seventh-game winning streak, impressing to the point of reaching second on The Athletic’s Power Rankings, have now dropped 9 of their last 11 while falling to sixth place in the Central Division standings.

Captain Clayton Keller expressed frustration in the losing locker room. “I think it was a pretty emotional game. Maybe we didn’t get some calls that we should have, or there were some weird ones, but that’s part of the game, and those are things that we have to be able to tune out and get back to our game quickly. Whether it goes our way or doesn’t. So I think that’s something that we can take from the game for sure.” Keller continued, “You know that there’s going to be adversity. It’s a long season, it’s hard, it’s the best league in the world and I think our group has continued to stay motivated and confident, while still going through tough stretches. When there’s something that we want to attack and get better at, we address it and respond right away. So tomorrow we will have a good practice. We’ll break down the game tonight, talk about it, figure out how we can be better. That’s the good thing about, sometimes losing is that’s when you learn the most about your team and yourself and it makes it even that much better when things do go your way and you kind of get out of it.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny opened his post-game remarks by saying, “I obviously did not like the way we responded to the emotion of the game. We had a good first period, then we arrived in the second, and stuff happened to Stenny (Kevin Stenlund). I didn’t like the way we reacted to it at first. We got emotional and got out of our game. They took over, and it was difficult for us to get back at it. That was disappointing. We got a push in the third, but it’s clear we cannot have five-minute, two-minute, a few shifts where we lose our focus like that, and that costs us dearly.” Tourigny added, “Adversity and frustration are part of the game. We cannot lose our focus like that because of a call, a goal, a hit, or whatever. We can’t lose our temper and start running around. Vegas is a good team, and as soon as we started to run around, they made us pay for it. We need to learn from that. There are other things we need to do better in our 5-on-5 games. We need to play way faster, move the puck faster, and be more predictable with each other. It comes from a good place, from the player; they want to do more and do great. But, often less is more. We need to make sure we play with a lot of pace and play fast. That means moving the puck, moving the puck into space, and skating, support, and those kinds of things. We will address that, but the emotion thing is a big deal.”

Utah (10-8-3) will attempt to turn things around Saturday against the New York Rangers (10-10-2) who are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Macklin Celebrini’s Hat Trick Lifts Sharks Past Mammoth in Overtime 3-2

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Macklin Celebrini #71 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates after he scored his third goal of the night for a hat trick in overtime to win their game against the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center on November 18, 2025 in San Jose, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks returned home from a three game road trip as winners of five of their last eight games to take on the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night. The Sharks, having lost the final two games of the trip and looking for a win, defeated the Utah Mammoth in overtime, 3-2, as Macklin Celebrini recorded a hat trick.

The Sharks pounced on the Mammoth early on Tuesday night as Macklin Celebrini scored on a wrister on the left side of the Sharks offensive zone after just 1:47 gone in the first period. Celebrini’s shot was assisted by Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev to give the Sharks the early 1-0 lead.

However, Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks weren’t done yet. Celebrini followed up his early goal with a second goal at the 5:58 mark to give the Sharks the 2-0 lead over the Mammoth. It was an early Macklin hat trick watch for Sharks fans at the Tank. Macklin’s second goal was a wrister that was clocked at 84.6 MPH as Celebrini tucked it just under the right blocker of Vitek Vanecek.

The Sharks finished the first period up 2-0 and in a commanding position in the game.

In the second period, both the Sharks and the Mammoth played a less urgent brand of hockey. Neither team was really commanding the puck or checking, which led to a slow and uneventful second period.

In the third period, it was all Utah. The Mammoth, who had yet to score in the game, scored twice in the third period to tie the game and send the game to overtime. Utah also had to overcome a goal that was waived off after it was deemed the Mammoth interfered with Yaroslav Askarov. The game went to overtime and Utah had all the momentum going for them. 

In overtime, of course it was Macklin Celebrini who came through for the San Jose Sharks. After the Sharks started the overtime slow and without much time in the offensive zone, the Mammoth were charged with a penalty, and this got a fourth man on the ice for the Sharks. Macklin Celebrini ended the game scoring the overtime goal with 2:08 to go in the overtime session as he sent the SAP Center crowd into a frenzy. His goal was assisted by William Eklund and Will Smith. It was a hat trick for Celebrini who provided all the scoring for the Sharks in the 3-2 victory in overtime.

As expected, Macklin Celebrini led the Sharks with three points on his three goals in the game. Will Smith finished the game with two points on his two assists as Collin Graf, William Eklund, and Philipp Kurashev each added a point via assists.

The Sharks improved to 9-8-3 on the season which is good enough for 21 points and just two points out of a Wild Card spot.

Up Next:

The Sharks will stay home to take on the LA Kings on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST in San Jose at SAP Center.

Utah Mammoth game wrap:Islanders Kick Mammoth To The Curb 3-2 In Overtime

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Utah Mammoth Lawson Crouse (67) takes the puck against the New York Islanders Alexander Romanov (28) at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Fri Nov 15, 2025 (nhl.com photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah surrendered its third period lead on a controversial kicked in goal by New York and fall to the Islanders in overtime 3-2.

The Utah Mammoth (10-7-0) laced up Friday night for the final game of the current homestand against the New York Islanders (9-6-2), and their 100th game as a new franchise. Utah snapped a 3-game losing streak on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres, and entered Friday’s contest with a 5-1-0 home record.

New York captured the early lead on a snap shot by winger Emil Heineman at 7:13 of the first, his 8th of the season, assisted by Tony DeAngelo and Alexander Romanov. Just past the halfway mark of the period, the horn sounded for what appeared to be a goal by Utah forward Nick Schmaltz, but on video review it was ruled that the puck hadn’t crossed the line. The Mammoth quickly shook it off, however, as winger JJ Peterka hit the score sheet moments later with his second goal of the homestand, his 6th of the season, a tip-in from a shot by Lawson Crouse with the additional assist to John Marino. With less than two minutes remaining in the frame, the Islanders gifted Utah a lengthy 5-on-3 power play as Matthew Schaefer was called for interference against Clayton Keller, and then 7 seconds later Simon Holmstrom sent the puck over the glass from the defensive zone for a delay of game penalty. The Mammoth took advantage of New York’s miscues as forward Dylan Guenther fired off a slap shot which found the back of the net for his 7th goal of the season, assisted by Mikhail Sergachev and Keller. Utah went to the locker room sporting a 2-1 lead. Islanders goaltender David Rittich stopped 11 of 13 Mammoth shots in the period, while Karel Vejmelka turned away 5 of th 6 New York shots he faced.

The second period was a scoreless defensive display from both teams as Rittich stopped all 10 Utah shot attempts, and Vejmelka kept New York off the scoreboard on 7 shots.

At 13:44 of the third period Jonathan Drouin kicked the puck into the Mammoth net. Though the call on the ice was no goal, video replay officials overturned the decision despite clear video of the kick. Anyone searching the internet to see it for themselves will be stunned at the call. Nevertheless the goal stood, and the score at the end of regulation was 2-2.

In the overtime period, New York added insult to injury when Matthew Schaefer found a hole past Vejmelka to give the Islanders the overtime victory and handing Utah its first overtime loss of the season.

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny addressed the media after the game. “We had a really good first period, and for a number of reasons, we lost our momentum in the second period. They did a good job at keeping our guys tired on the ice, and we had a tough time changing. We didn’t turn the puck over a lot today, but we had a few costly ones which did not let us make good changes, and that wore us down a little bit. I think we were on our heels too much in the third period. We were protecting the lead, but we did not have the same aggression. I talked to you a lot about that. About the way we’re at our best to defend. It’s when we have aggression and pressure, and I did not like the way we closed that game.” Talking about the Mammoth special teams, Tourigny said, “Big goal on the power play for sure. I think that our power play had the opportunity to separate us during the game, and we didn’t. That’s unfortunate, because I think that was a key moment. On the flip side, the PK came up big. I think on the power play, we had a few good looks where the hole was there and the opportunity was there. We need to get clutch.”

Utah (10-7-1) now hits the road for games in Anaheim and San Jose on Monday and Tuesday, returning to the Delta Center for a four game homestand next Thursday beginning with the Vegas Golden Knights.