The puck dropped Monday night in Anaheim when the Utah Mammoth visited the Ducks. The Ducks were fresh off a three-game road trip in which they didn’t win once. The Mammoth had an up and down week before the game, winning one and losing two, and on this visit to California they were joined by their mothers. According to Jeff Marekthis would be the first game in NHL history in which four Czech goaltenders would play against each other. Lukas Dostal and Karel Vejmelka would match between the pipes, assisted by Petr Mrazek and Vitek Vanecek.
First period
About four minutes into the game, Ducks forward Troy Terry took a minor penalty for hooking, while Mikhail Sergachev took the same time for decorating the hook. Four-on-four play yielded no goals.
Beckett Sennecke was assessed a tripping penalty midway through the period and Utah had its first power play of the game, which they did not convert. The Ducks’ Jackson LaCombe scored his first goal of the season in the final minutes of the period, with assists from Ryan Strome and Alex Killorn.
Just seconds after the goal celebration, Ross Johnston and Liam O’Brien got into a fight, with Johnston taking his opponent to the ice. They both received five-minute penalties. The period ended with just seven Mammoth shots on goal to the Ducks’ five, and the latter led 1–0.
Second Period
Lawson Crouse took a penalty for hooking early in the period, giving the Ducks their first power play opportunity of the night. They didn’t convert because of the man advantage. It was a very quiet period, with no extra penalties or goals for almost 14 minutes of play.
Related: ‘I will always be grateful’: Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring make emotional return to Utah
However, Dylan Guenther tied the score with less than two minutes to go, assisted by Nate Schmidt and John Marino. The Mammoth’s response late in the period would create a very different hockey game heading into the third period. They had seven shots on target in the middle frame; the Ducks had nine.
Third period and overtime
The Mammoth went up 2-1 when Logan Cooley fired a one-timer past Dostal. Sergachev and Nick Schmaltz assisted. There were no penalties in the final period. Just when it seemed like hope was lost for the Ducks, Chris Kreider and Cutter Gauthier’s Terry scored with just four seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
It didn’t take long for the Ducks to rally and complete their comeback victory. At the 1:50 mark of overtime, Killorn and Sennecke worked together to get the puck to Olen Zellweger, who put it into a wide open net behind Vejmelka. Against all odds, the Ducks earned a 3-2 win to start their six-game homestand.
The Mammoth will play the San Jose Sharks again tomorrow before returning home. The Ducks will be visited by the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
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