After a long road trip last week, the Utah Mammoth got to go home…for one game before embarking on a four-game road trip that brought them all the way on the other side of the country. That trip started in Buffalo on Tuesday.
With a losing streak sitting at two, the Mammoth’s game against the Buffalo Sabres was a crucial one to win. Starting the trip with a loss and three straight wins wouldn’t be great. It took nearly 50 minutes to score and an overtime period to finish it, but the Mammoth pulled off a win to beat the Sabres and snap the losing streak.
Unlike Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the stars came to play in northern New York. Here are some takeaways from the Mammoth’s 2-1 overtime win over the Sabres on Tuesday.
Karel Vejmelka Stands Strong in Net
Leave it to Karel Vejmelka to once again win the game for the Mammoth. He has become one of the most reliable players on the Mammoth. While he only faced 18 shots, some of those shots were great opportunities for the Sabres.
He also faced shots from his former teammates: Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring. That’s not easy to do. When you play with a goalie for as long as those two did with Vejmelka, they know how you play and where your weak spots are.
In fact, the biggest save of the game for the goaltender was against Kesselring. In the first period, Bowen Byram found his teammate on the other side of the Mammoth zone, right on the side of the net. Kesselring, receiving the pass, tried to one-time it in for an easy goal, but somehow Vejmelka made a sprawling pad save to keep the scoreless tie.
Veggie robs Kess on that one 🤯 pic.twitter.com/oHo06es702
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) November 5, 2025
“We expected pressure, and I just try to focus on myself for what I have to do,” Vejmelka said. “It was fun to play. It was a fun game, but we have to get better for the next game, especially at the start of the game.”
Vejmelka also made a massive save in overtime with his glove to keep the Sabres from winning. He ended up getting an assist on the overtime goal.
Despite getting shot at less than his counterpart on the other side of the rink, Alex Lyon, facing fewer shots, can be challenging for a goaltender. If you’re sitting cold for a couple of minutes, a simple shot could surprise you. That’s why Vejmelka’s mentality was important during Tuesday’s game.
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“It’s all about staying sharp mentally and being ready for another shot,” Vejmelka said. “It’s as simple as that. I didn’t have that many shots (against). It was a good game, but we need to be a little bit better defensively.”
Vítek Vaněček will more than likely start against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. While that will be a tougher opponent, the Mammoth needed a win on Tuesday. Of course, they’re going to put in their ace for that game. Vejmelka was outstanding, and he was a massive part of the win.
Clayton Keller Seals the Deal in OT
After two periods of scoreless hockey, the Mammoth finally got past Lyon around four minutes into the third. It was Nick Schmaltz who received a great pass from his longtime teammate Clayton Keller. Despite the goal, it was Keller who ended up being the main hero of the game.
The Sabres scored around four minutes after, off a controversial goal that should’ve been reviewed by either the league or the Mammoth for a high stick. For the next 12 minutes after that, it was all Mammoth. The team didn’t allow a shot on net during that time and ended up outshooting the Sabres in that period 12-3.
“We didn’t give a shot, but also, we were playing with the puck, and we’re not taking risks,” head coach André Tourigny said. “We were reloading. We’re doing all the right things. Honestly, the focus, the intensity, the mentality, was second to none.”
Keller’s big moment came in overtime. After the aforementioned Vejmelka save, the Mammoth entered the Sabres’ zone. The captain skated towards the middle of the zone looking for an opportunity, but turned back after not seeing anything.
However, an opportunity opened up. With Mikhail Sergachev doing a great job at blocking one of the Sabres’ defensemen, Keller skated on the right side of the zone, getting behind all of the defensemen and to the front of the net before putting it into the back of the net on a wrist shot to win the game.
Clayton Keller, Clayton Clutch! The Captain wins it in OT! pic.twitter.com/xN4Vnd8vVU
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) November 5, 2025
The goal was Keller’s eighth overtime goal in his career. While he isn’t consistently putting up overtime winners like Dylan Guenther, he was a massive part of the game. It wasn’t just his two points, though. It was his leadership as well.
The Mammoth had a lot of great opportunities throughout the game, including on the power play. However, they failed to score until near the end of the game. With the two-game losing streak in mind, it became frustrating for some.
Someone like JJ Peterka, who made his return to Buffalo for the first time since he was traded and was booed every time he touched the puck, must’ve been extremely fed up with the lack of results. However, Keller helped keep his team calm, which just speaks to the maturity of the group.
Looks like the boos keep coming. No tribute video for Peterka either it seems like. #TusksUp https://t.co/VgK3XcRDRK
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) November 5, 2025
“I think the biggest thing is you’re getting chances,” Keller said. “You’ve got to stay positive, no matter how pissed off you are, and it’s very hard to do. I think that’s the maturity in our team, and (something) everyone as an individual has gotten so much better at.”
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring and Utah Mammoth right wing JJ Peterka go after the puck (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)
After a quiet game from him and his line on Sunday, Keller showed up when the Mammoth needed him most. For what seems like his whole career, he’s made sure to bounce back from not-so-great games. Tuesday wasn’t anything different for Keller.
The Road Trip Begins With the End of the Losing Streak
The losing streak has been snapped at two games. While two games aren’t anything crazy, it was important to start the road trip off on a good note, and the win against the Sabres definitely has made it a good trip so far.
Ending the streak was something in the mind of every Mammoth player on Tuesday. After a fantastic stretch of seven straight games with a win, the team wanted to get back to that play. Things crept into their game in the past two matches that prevented them from that. They found a way to get rid of that against the Sabres.
“Something we talked about is not letting these weird things creep into our game, little mistakes,” Keller said. “We had a good video and broke it down, and it was a great response by the guys. Everyone played hard. All four lines chipped in. Made a difference tonight.”
It wasn’t a great first period for the Mammoth. The Sabres outshot them 9-7, and they had to rely on Vejmelka a bit. However, unlike the past, the Mammoth had a really good second period. They outshot their opponents 15-5 and looked like the better team.
In the past, it’s been mentioned that the Mammoth have to play a complete 60 minutes of hockey. Yes, that’s certainly still true, but it doesn’t have to be a perfect 60 minutes. Rarely does a team play a perfect 60 minutes of hockey.
Tourigny can probably point out every single negative from Tuesday’s game. He can more than likely tell you everything he wants changed for Wednesday’s game. However, instead, he focused on the positives because there were a lot of them for the Mammoth.
“Every game will never be perfect,” Tourigny said. “There are a few things we can control a little bit better, but there’s so much goodness tonight. I don’t want to waste my time on what we did wrong…We’re really proud, but it doesn’t mean anything anymore. We need to use the midnight rule, and we need to turn around and be ready for tomorrow.”
As mentioned, it’s a short turnaround for the Mammoth. They’ll fly into Canada and play the Leafs in less than 24 hours. That’s a team that’ll be tough to beat. The Leafs have had a poor start and are hungry for wins. Back-to-backs are tough, but this is one of the toughest you’ll get.
By Wednesday morning, the 2-1 overtime win against the Sabres will be wiped from the Mammoth’s memories, with the game against the Leafs in full focus. However, the game is something to be proud of. It showed the Mammoth really did learn from their prior mistakes, like playing better in the second period.
It’s something they’ll hopefully build on during Wednesday’s game. Even if that’s a tough game, the Mammoth’s game against the Sabres was one of their best efforts in a game this season. It really is a great start to this northeast Atlantic road trip.
“We learned a lot tonight,” Vejmelka said. “It was a big battle for us. It wasn’t an easy game at all. We just need to keep building on it and have the good habits and just keep it up.”
The Mammoth will play the Leafs on Wednesday. The Leafs are 7-5-1 this season and are coming off a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The two teams played each other twice last season, with the Mammoth losing both games, most recently 4-3 in a shootout in March. Wednesday’s game will also mark the first time Matias Maccelli faces off against his old team after being traded in the offseason.
