Tuesday night we saw the Utah Mammoth kick off a four-game road trip with a matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, who were in the middle of a three-game homestand.
This marked the first time these two interconference opponents have met since the Mammoth sent Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring from the Sabers in exchange for JJ Peterka in a blockbuster offseason trade.
Summary of the game
Throughout the early part of this period, the Mammoth and Sabers traded opportunities back and forth. However, Mammoth goalkeeper Karel Vejmelka and the Sabres’ Alex Lyon combined for seven dangerous saves in the period, keeping this match scoreless for the first twenty minutes.
The second period brought more of the same. The Mammoth controlled most of the scoring opportunities, outscoring the Sabers 9-5 in the middle frame.
However, Lyon made six more dangerous saves in that period to keep the Mammoth off the scoreboard. On the other hand, Vejmelka was not tested that often. Still, he had the highlight of the period, when he denied Jack Quinn on a breakaway after getting loose behind Mammoth defenders.
The Mammoth finally opened the scoring just over three minutes into the final frame. It came on Nick Schmaltz’s eighth of the season, after receiving a beautiful seam pass through the slot from Clayton Keller during the rush.
That lead didn’t last long, however, as the Sabers tied the game just under halfway through the period after Noah Ostlund scored his first career NHL goal, ricocheting off the end wall and into the back of the Mammoth’s net.
This goal forced overtime, with Keller dancing around all three Sabers on the ice and beating Lyon by five holes 47 seconds into the extra frame to secure the 2–1 win. It was the Sabers’ fourth loss in five games and their fifth straight game that went to overtime. With the win, the Mammoth snapped a two-game losing streak.
These two teams will meet again in just over a week at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City to close out their season series early. Before that, the Sabers return to action on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues to conclude a three-game homestand. The Mammoth are back in action tomorrow to play the second half of a back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Statistics via Natural statistical trick
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