On Tuesday night, the Utah Mammoth wrapped up a four-game homestand hosting the Colorado Avalanche at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
This was the second time this season that these two Central Division opponents have played each other, following their first meeting in the season opener when the Avalanche defeated the Mammoth 2-1 in Colorado.
Since then, the Mammoth have gone 4-1-0, while the Avalanche went undefeated through six games in the regular season.
Summary of the game
The Mammoth had the first few good chances in the match, but it would be the Avalanche who opened the scoring after a wrist shot from Cale Makar from the point that Karel Vejmelka did not see. Zakhar Bardakov and Parker Kelly assisted on the goal. It was the first career NHL point of the 2021 seventh-round pick in his second career game, and it was Kelly’s first point of the season.
The Avalanche carried the one-goal lead into the first intermission. However, the Mammoth finally broke the ice shortly after the middle of the game with Nick Schmaltz’s fourth goal of the season. It was his fourth straight game with a point and an eighth point over that stretch.
The Mammoth then took the lead on a goal with Kevin Stenlund making a nice pass to Lawson Crouse, who scored on a one-timer for his first goal of the season. Michael Carcone also had an assist on the play, as he was the first shooter to feed Stenlund before recovering the puck on a blocked shot and finding Crouse.
The Mammoth held that lead until the second break. But the Avalanche fired back 70 seconds into the period on Jack Drury’s first goal of the season, where he buried a rebound on a Ross Colton shot.
However, the Mammoth right back took the lead with just under five minutes to play after a shot from the top of the right circle beat Scott Wedgewood. It was Mikhail Sergachev’s first goal and point of the season.
The avalanche did not disappear; they clawed back again, with Martin Necas leveling the match with an incredible shot with just over two minutes to play in regulation to avoid their first regular-season defeat of the season.
The goal forced overtime, with Dylan Guenther tapping in a vicious backdoor pass from Clayton Keller to seal the 4-3 win 33 seconds into the extra frame. With the win, the Mammoth pull away, even with the Avalanche in the season series.
These two teams will meet two more times this season, with the next game scheduled for December 23 in the Mile High City. Before that, the Mammoth will head on a four-game road trip with the first stop being St. Louis, while the Avalanche return home to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
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