The Utah Mammoth offense has struggled to get results through the first four games of the 2025-26 season. In each of these matches, the number of goals the team scored in one match was three. In total, the Mammoth scored eight goals in those games.
Everything changed on Friday in a game against the San Jose Sharks. The Mammoth scored six goals and each line managed to get some good attacking opportunities as they defeated the Sharks 6-3. Which players produced a game that bore similarities to a previous meeting between these two teams? Here are some takeaways from Friday’s game.
Nick Schmaltz gets the hat trick
Last season it took Nick Schmaltz almost two months to score his first goal of the season. While he racked up assists, it took a while for him to get going, unlike his previous seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. Ultimately, Schmaltz produced a career-high 63 points, but the Mammoth would have benefited much more if the scoring had started earlier.
It looked like the goal curse would strike again for Schmaltz early in the season after he scored three points in his first four games, all assists. However, that would not be the case on Friday evening.
Schmaltz’s night started early as Mammoth made a five-on-three power play. Clayton Keller received the puck and advanced to Logan Cooley, who automatically fed Schmaltz into the bumper position. The forward scored, putting the Mammoth up 1-0 early.
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The attacker’s second goal came from a fight in the corner boards on Yaroslav Askarov’s right. Keller ended up with the puck and passed it to Schmaltz, who skated to the front of the net and let it fly to score his second goal of the night.
Schmaltz’s final goal to complete the hat trick came again from Keller. Keller gave Schmaltz the puck on his backhand, which he shot past Askarov complete the hat trick. It ultimately became the winning goal.
At this point, do we make Schmaltzy our profile picture?!??! pic.twitter.com/iFnIgPTRsM
— Utah Mammoet (@utahmammoth) October 18, 2025
It was Schmaltz’s second career hat trick and his first since January 26, 2023 with the Arizona Coyotes. For him, ending his hat-trick drought was a great feeling, especially in front of his family.
“It was great, especially for our home fans, and shout out to my grandpa, he’s here,” Schmaltz said. “He’s seen me play twice now, in Arizona and here, and he’s seen a hat trick both times, so it’s pretty cool and special to have him here. Shout out to him.”
Schmaltz now has seven points in five games, adding one more assist on Keller’s goal against the Sharks. He leads the Mammoth in goals and points.
Head coach André Tourigny can appreciate Schmaltz’s hot start so far. As always, Tourigny obviously sees the attacking side of his game, but also the defensive side of his game.
“To be honest, he has been playing really well since the start of the season,” Tourigny said. “He had a lot of chances. He reloaded very well on both sides of the puck. He’s a trap. Has a lot of chances inside. It was a matter of time. I had a conversation with him yesterday and said, yeah, just do the right thing when you have those numbers and you make chances. It’s because you do the right thing, and it will come. Today was the day.”
The game was one of the best of Schmaltz’s career. Despite some players around him getting off to a slow start, like Keller, who scored just one goal in five games, Schmaltz has proven that he is still a great player in the NHL and could get a huge raise this offseason when his contract expires.
Liam O’Brien prepares for his first Utah goal
It’s been a tough ride for Liam O’Brien since moving Mammoth hockey operations to Salt Lake City. In his final season with the Coyotes, he scored 14 points, including five goals, both of which were career highs for the forward.
Last season in Utah, O’Brien had just two points in 28 games, both of which were assists. He retained his title as a fan favorite, while the nickname ‘Spicy Tuna’ went viral in the state.
Entering this season, O’Brien was placed on the non-roster injured reserve list and did not appear in the first four games of the season for the Mammoth. However, prior to the game against the Sharks, Tourigny opted to use O’Brien over Kailer Yamamoto because the Mammoth opponents were more of a physical team and to provide some sort of spark to a struggling bottom six.
It just happened to be the right time for O’Brien to come in, and he was on the ice at the right time. The puck went behind Askarov’s net and he went to get it. However, the puck went away from him and O’Brien turned and put it on his backhand.
The goal was O’Brien’s first in Utah and his first since April 17, 2024, the Coyotes’ last game. For him it was just good to finally get a goal in his new home.
“There’s a little bit of relief,” O’Brien said. “It took longer than I wanted, but it felt good, and I’m just happy that we got the win too.”
SEND UP SOME SPICY TUNA 🔥🍣 pic.twitter.com/JU90ouNV08
— Utah Mammoet (@utahmammoth) October 18, 2025
With the amount of depth the Mammoth have now, O’Brien won’t be an every night player. However, he has proven that he can be a reliable player when put in the lineup.
Between March and Friday, O’Brien played in just one game. He also suffered injuries during that time. Still, he was thrown into a physical game against the Sharks and ultimately had his best performance in a Utah jersey.
“I think it was proof to me that I can be put in an uncomfortable situation,” O’Brien said. “Last year I didn’t play for almost two to three months and they sent me to Edmonton at the last minute. I think that just proves that I can play in these situations, and I feel like I did well tonight. I definitely have a different level in my game, but as the game went on I felt more and more comfortable.”
Another shark bite avoided
Almost exactly a year ago, the Mammoth and San Jose Sharks had their first-ever meeting, with the latter looking for their first win of the season. Coincidentally, that was also at the Delta Center. In the match, the Mammoth played a very good game in the first two periods, taking a 4-1 lead.
However, the Sharks came back in the third period, ultimately leading to a 5-4 victory in overtime. It looked like a similar result would happen in Friday’s game, when Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Skinner scored within minutes of each other.
Fortunately for the Mammoth, they kept it together and continued to push the Sharks. O’Brien took advantage of Askarov’s mistake, and from then on the team never looked back. Schmaltz completed his hat trick and both Keller and Michael Carcone scored their first goals of the season.
It was a dominant first and third period for the Mammoth. In the first inning, the Sharks only got their first shot of the game after twelve minutes. In the third they were outshot 11-5. Both periods showed how dominant the Mammoth can be despite a mediocre second period.
“I liked the first and third,” Tourigny said. “I wasn’t in love with the second, but extremely proud of the way the guys responded in the third. There was a lot of maturity, a lot of focus and we played it right away. We put the puck behind and got rewarded early. Great play from Keller’s line, putting the puck deep and going on the forecheck.”
The Sharks are no slouch team either. They could be one of the bottom feeders in the Pacific Division right now. However, they have a good group of young and exciting players such as Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Sam Dickinson and William Eklund, along with a proven group of veterans such as Toffoli, Skinner and Barclay Goodrow.
The entire team, including Schmaltz, noticed the Sharks’ ruthlessness in the second period. However, they found out in the third period and dominated the final twenty minutes of the match.
“The second period was tough for us,” Schmaltz said. “We made soft plays and fueled their transition game. They had a high-end skill team. In the third we talked about getting behind them and working from below their goal line, and that’s where we wanted to exploit them, and I thought we did a better job of that, and we were able to pot a few more in the third.”
As mentioned, the Mammoth attack has not woken up yet. Most goals and points come from Dylan Guenther, JJ Peterka and Cooley.
Despite this, the Mammoth have created big chances in their opponent’s zone, but haven’t put it all together to produce more often. That ended tonight for a number of players, including the lethal line of Keller, Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton. Everyone knew the goals would come. The Mammoth hope this is the kickstart for their offense for the rest of the season.
“I like the way we’ve been creating offense lately,” Tourigny said. “I have a lot of confidence in our team. I know that if we do the right thing, goals will come. I think the win is the most important. Six goals is always great. But more importantly, the way we responded in the third period and there was no doubt about it, that’s the way.”
Tourigny is right. It’s a big win for the Mammoth if they get over .500. It also gives them a perfect home record over two games. Perhaps most importantly, it provides some sort of redemption value for the team in front of their fans from the last time the Sharks and Mammoth met in October.
That loss last year really hurt the team and the fans. This time, the Mammoth avoided a collapse and proved themselves as the better team. A standing ovation from the crowd in the final 30 seconds, leading to their third win of the season, was their reward. That’s about as perfect an ending as you could ask for if you’re the Mammoth.
The Mammoth are now 3-2-0 on the season. They face the Boston Bruins on Sunday as they complete their three-game home series. The Bruins have a 3-2-0 record and are coming off a 6-5 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. They play the Colorado Avalanche before traveling to Utah. These two teams played each other twice last season, splitting the season series, with the Mammoth losing the most recent game 1-0.
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