Don’t look now, but the Utah Mammoth are one win away from finishing .500 on this road trip.

Facing the Canucks, the Mammoth took care of business, winning 4–1 in Vancouver and looking in control the whole game.

Advertisement

Though Vancouver outshot Utah from the start — finishing with a 32–18 shot advantage — Karel Vejmelka was sharp in net and ready for the early pressure the Canucks sent his way.

Making 31 saves in this game, Vejmelka has certainly elevated his play for the Mammoth since being benched in Utah’s 6–3 loss to the Sharks. Since that game, Vejmelka has not only won both of his starts for the Mammoth, but he has been an anchor defensively, allowing just one goal and making 56 combined saves.

Along with Vejmelka’s improved play, Utah’s defense has also done a strong job supporting him, with the group recommitting to aggressive play — whether it’s collecting rebounds or pressuring every shot.

Advertisement

Whenever Vancouver looked poised to get a dangerous net-front chance, either Vejmelka was perfectly positioned or a Utah stick forced the Canucks into a tougher attempt.”

“I think we changed our mindset a little bit. We talked about it in our meeting,” said Vejmelka. “Setting the right mindset, be sharp no matter what, don’t think about the score and just play our game.”

With defense holding strong, Utah never looked rushed on the offensive side as the group made clean passes and played relatively mistake free hockey.

When the opportunity finally came for Utah to make a play on the offensive side — getting its first power play of the night on a Vancouver tripping penalty — Mikhail Sergachev delivered the Mammoth’s first goal.

Though Sergachev called the goal lucky — even thanking ‘the hockey god’ in his postgame interview because of the way the puck ricocheted into the net — he still helped the Mammoth capitalize on the power-play opportunity.

Advertisement

All the sudden, Utah has gotten power play goals in back-to-back games. Considering this unit had the worst power play in the league in the month of November, any success at the power play, no matter how lucky, is welcomed for this team.

“I think the boys have done a good job in the last couple games, even with the low number of minutes to find a way to dig deep and get two big goals, one last game and one today,” said André Tourigny.

That goal wouldn’t be the only play Sergachev made in this game either, as yet another one of his mid-range shots eventually led to a Utah goa

Sergachev didn’t need any luck to get this puck into the net this time. Instead, he had the help from Nick Schmatlz, who tracked and deflected the puck into the net with his stick.

Advertisement

“That’s a big one,” said Sergachev. “We talked about that and we’ve started talking more on the ice, helping each other… that’s a big one so, being more connected than we were before.”

There was still plenty of hockey left to be played, but Sergachev’s goal in the first and his assist in the second gave the Mammoth a lead they would never lose.

Even with Vancouver staying competitive and cutting the lead to 2–1 in the third, Utah continued to play physical hockey and never allowed momentum to swing in the Canucks’ favor.

And if Michael Carcone hadn’t gotten tangled up with Vancouver’s Arshdeep Bains, there’s a good chance Utah could have earned its second consecutive shutout of the season.”

But with one more road game on the horizon against the Calgary Flames, Utah has a chance to finish its road trip strong and on a three-game win streak.

Advertisement

It won’t come easy, though, as the Mammoth will be playing the tail end of a back-to-back, with backup goalie Vitek Vanecek likely getting the start.